'We believe the renewed attention on battery minerals will provide the stimulus to bring Lindi into production at just the right time,' said managing director
The company said progress was being made on a conditional
'We are seeking debt funding from African banks to fund the project,' Mulligan added.
While the slow pace of funding is frustrating for the Australian-listed company, it expects to be able to move quickly once the process is complete and has previously highlighted a very short development timeframe of seven months from the receipt of financing.
Ore reserve
The graphite project in southeast
A definitive feasibility study (DFS) was based on annual production of 40,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate with a high-grade feed to the plant at an average of 230,000 tonnes per annum over the mine's 24-year lifespan.
The very high grade and exceptional distribution of large graphite flakes within the project area provide a strong competitive advantage in capital and operating cost. The project has been independently verified by Benchmark Minerals Intelligence as the world's second-highest margin graphite project in development.
Graphite been declared a critical metal in the US and
Lithium-ion batteries consume about a quarter of graphite production and growth in hybrid and all-electric vehicles and off-grid storage have continued to boost demand. Graphite output will need to jump by almost 500% by 2050 to meet this demand, according to a
'Excellent' outlook
Mulligan said the outlook for graphite and lithium - Walkabout also has a lithium project in
'These minerals will be in short supply for some time. The robust battery minerals market will draw graphite away from other uses and increase general demand.'
Metallurgical results indicated that about three-quarters of the flake distribution in concentrate at Lindi Jumbo were in the 'Super Jumbo', 'Jumbo' or 'Large' size categories which sell at a premium.
The company is fast-tracking the project's development to capitalise on the predicted high demand for premium flake concentrate.
It plans to sell its larger flake graphite predominantly into the traditional and more specialised non-anode markets, which are also expanding. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence sees non-anode natural flake graphite demand growing about 14% between 2025 and 2035.
Walkabout took Lindi Jumbo from discovery in
Strong relationship
The company has two projects in
'We expect no changes within the next five years. We have a very strong relationship with the Tanzanian Government and receive a lot of support from the
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