Modern Mining December 2017

LITHIUM

Prospect is also evaluating the develop- ment of an integrated lithium chemical plant at Arcadia. In October the company said that it had produced battery grade >99,5 % lithium carbonate in its custom laboratory in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe. In a major step forward for the project, Prospect announced in November that it had executed a conditional placement and offtake agreement with Sinomine Resources Exploration Co and Sinomine Exploration (Hong Kong) Co. In terms of the agreement, Sinomine will invest A$10 million via a share placement in Prospect. Prospect, for its part, has agreed to sell to Sinomine 390 000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate and 1 097 000 tonnes of petalite concentrate over a proposed seven-year period. The parties also agreed indicative terms for a facility agreement and a build-and-transfer contract. Commenting at the time on the agreement, Prospect’s Warner said: “The transaction will fully fund the building of Prospect’s lithium mine and plant at the Arcadia lithium project through to full production. This deal is the cul- mination of close to a year’s work. During this time, we have developed a close relationship with Sinomine and we like their style and com- mitment to both the project and the Prospect team. This is evidenced by the significant com- mitment to developing this important resource. Both teams are cooperating closely to integrate their considerable technical knowledge into a structured efficient roll out. As previously reported, the Prospect team has been carefully assembled over the last 18 months in prepara- tion for just such a scenario.” 

using Whittle and Surpac software from which the ore reserve, as delivered to the process plant, was derived. The ore reserve is contained within three open pits comprising the main pit and two satellite pits. The resulting mine plan, completed to PFS level, details a project with a plus 20-year mine life based on an ore processing rate of 1,2 Mt/a. The mine plan is technically achievable, economically viable and robust under a range of pricing, physical and costs parameters scenarios, says Prospect. The Arcadia project is located approxi- mately 38 km east of Harare close to the long-established Arcturus gold mine. The proj- ect occupies an area of more than 14 km 2 and consists of some historical lithium and beryl workings within an existing agricultural area partially surrounded by a number of hills rising some 50 m above the central basin floor. The findings of the PFS defined a 1,2 Mt/a mining and processing operation producing, on average for the life of mine of 15 years, 75 000 t/a spodumene and 155 000 t/a petalite concentrates destined for the battery (chemical) and glass/ceramics (technical) markets. The PFS estimates the capital cost of the project at US$52,5 million. Mining at Arcadia would be by conventional open-pit methods. The proposed concentra- tor plant is based on conventional DMS and froth flotation technology and would produce three lithium streams. The processing plant comprises key areas including three-stage crushing, grinding, dense media separation, mica-flotation, spodumene flotation, petalite flotation, magnetic separation, concentrate dewatering and drying, and tailings filtering.

Arcadia main and satellite pit designs (facing north).

“Both teams are cooperating closely to integrate their considerable technical knowledge into a structured efficient roll out.”

December 2017  MODERN MINING  21