Modern Mining September 2018

COUNTRY FOCUS: MOZAMBIQUE

other infrastructure at Ancuabe. It also advised that the capex for Ancuabe is expected to be reduced by 20-25 % compared with the DFS estimate. Turning to the fourth graphite developer in Cabo Delgado Province, ASX-listed Mustang Resources, it too is hoping to be producing graphite in 2019. Its Caula vanadium/graph- ite project – located along strike from Syrah’s Balama mine – is now being fast-tracked with the intention of achieving first production by the middle of next year from a phase one trial mining programme. Mustang (which is planning to change its name to ‘New Energy Minerals’) also holds ruby interests in Mozambique (in the same area as Caula), but these are in process of being acquired by Fura Gems Inc (see page 33), allow- ing the company to fully focus on Caula. A new management has been in place at Mustang since the beginning of the year, with the appointment of Dr Bernard Olivier as MD and Cobus van Wyk as COO. A geologist (his doctorate from the University of Stellenbosch is in economic geology), Olivier recently served as CEO of Richland Resources (previously Tanzanite One), which used to mine tanzanite in Tanzania but is now focused on sapphires in Australia. Earlier this year, he completed a strategic review of Mustang’s operations, which recommended the trial mining and processing strategy for Caula that is now being pursued. The trial mining development strategy is based on a robust, low-cost mining operation and construction of a processing plant capable of handling approximately 100 000 t/a of ore to produce high-grade graphite concentrates as well as vanadium concentrate. According to Mustang, it is likely that virtually all of the equipment purchased for trial mining will be incorporated into full-scale operations. While it prepares for the trial min- ing, Mustang has also commissioned Bara Consulting to undertake a scoping study on the project, due for completion shortly, which is examining the viability of a full-scale com- mercial mining operation. In its report on the June 2018 quarter, Mustang announced that a modified and improved flowsheet has been developed for the Caula ore which allows for integrated vanadium and graphite extraction, with high concentrate grades of more than 97 % TGC being maintained. It also reported that preliminary ore sorting conducted at the TOMRA Sorting Facility in Australia had demonstrated that the Caula ore was highly amenable to sensor-based ore sorting.

Caula hosts a JORC (measured) mica-hosted vanadium resource of 22 Mt at 0,37 % V 2 O 5 (0,2 % cut-off) for 81 600 tonnes of vanadium pentoxide (180 million pounds) with high grade intersections up to 1,9 % V 2 O 5 . It also hosts, within the same deposit, a JORC (mea- sured) graphite resource of 21,9 Mt at 13,4 % TGC (8 % cut-off) for 2,9 Mt of contained graphite with high grade intersections of up to 29 % TGC. Olivier recently told Modern Mining that Mustang and Syrah were the only two com- panies operating in Mozambique to have measured, JORC-compliant vanadium resources and pointed out that the company’s measured graphite resource at Caula was second in size and grade only to Syrah’s Balama deposit. He also noted that flake size was another impor- tant factor separating Caula from its peers in Mozambique, with large, jumbo and super jumbo flake sizes representing 63 % of the pro- posed product. Finally, it should be mentioned that all of the players in Mozambique’s graphite mining sector have the potential to expand their opera- tions. Battery Minerals, for example, is working hard on its Balama Central project, roughly 80 km to the south of Montepuez and adjacent to Syrah’s Balama mine, while Triton holds the Nicanda Hill project, also close to Balama, which it describes as “one of the world’s largest graphite deposits for the EV (Electric Vehicle) market and a globally significant vanadium deposit”. Clearly, the current mines could be supplemented by additional developments, fur- ther strengthening Cabo Delgado’s status as a fast-growing mining district and Mozambique’s position as an exporter of graphite and, poten- tially, vanadium. 

Tented accommodation at Triton’s Ancuabe project (photo: Triton).

A modified and improved flowsheet has been developed for the Caula ore which allows for integrated vanadium and graphite extraction.

September 2018  MODERN MINING  31