Northern Graphite Corp. has released the results of a new preliminary economic assessment (PEA) that evaluates moving the processing plant for its Namibian operations located at Okorusu to the Okanjande mine rather than rehabilitating the mill in its current location.
The PEA envisages average production of 31,000 tonnes per year of concentrate over a 10-year period. However, a new PEA is planned that will examine a possible expansion scenario that is based on current resource estimates at the mine site, the company said.
The Namibian assets are part of a package that Northern Graphite acquired from French industrial minerals company Imerys Group for US$40 million, a move that Northern Graphite described as “transformational” for the company.
Those assets included the producing Lac des Iles graphite mine in Quebec and the Okanjande graphite deposit/Okorusu processing plant in Namibia. The Namibian project was held by Imerys and a joint venture partner.
Northern Graphite launched the PEA to examine the viability of building a large new processing plant at the Okanjande deposit with a capability of producing 100,000 to 150,000 tonnes-per-year of graphite concentrate to serve the electric vehicle/battery market.
The PEA confirms the viability of moving milling operations directly to the Okanjande mine site, which eliminates the cost of trucking mineralized material 70 kilometres to Okorusu.
“This allows for a more sustainable operation that also includes the use of solar power and lower water consumption,’’ the company said.
“Moving the mill also provides room for potential future expansion from the perspective of both processing and tailings capacity, which is something we do not have at the current location,’’ said Northern Chief Operating Officer Kirsty Liddicoat.
“The new approach also incorporates dry tailings into an integrated waste landform which means less water use and a more sustainable operation in support of the green transition,’’ she said.
The Okanjande graphite mine is a key catalyst in Northern Graphite’s strategy to become an integrated and sustainable mine-to-battery company, supplying markets in North America and Europe as they embrace the energy transition and widescale electrification.
Graphite from the Okanjande mine will also supply traditional markets, from refractory bricks for steelmaking, to heat management in consumer electronics, to friction and lubrication products for the global automobile industry.
The PEA is based on processing 6.1 million tonnes of measured and indicated resources, producing an average of 31,000 tonnes per year of concentrate over a 10-year period.
The company said the substantial measured and indicated hard rock resource at Okanjande, which is not yet closed off by drilling, presents a clear opportunity to substantially increase production in the future.
On Monday, Northern Graphite shares eased 6.45% or $0.02 to 29 cents in light trading volume. The shares currently trade in a 52-week range of 70 cents and 27 cents.
