Modern Mining December 2023

MINING News

Battery materials development company, NextSource Materials, has made its first bulk container shipment of SuperFlake® graphite from the company’s Molo Mine in Madagascar. The first shipment of Molo SuperFlake® graphite has been sent to the company’s downstream technical partner’s Battery Anode Facility (BAF) to be pro cessed into spheronised, purified graphite (SPG) that will then be further processed into coated SPG (CSPG) as part of large scale, multi-step verification tests being NextSource Materials announces first bulk shipment of SuperFlake conducted by automotive EV supply chains in South Korea and Japan. The company expects to receive its first series of verification test results starting in December 2023. NextSource Materials has also completed commissioning and achieved full operations of its solar and battery hybrid power plant at Molo. The Solar Hybrid Plant is owned and operated by CrossBoundary Energy (CBE) under a 20-year power purchase agreement and comprises a 2.69 MWp solar photovoltaic As we continue the optimisation phase of the commissioning process and towards ramp-up to nameplate production capac ity for Phase 1 of Molo mine operations, NextSource is well positioned to play a criti cal role in the global, sustainable lithium-ion battery supply chain that is expected to see exponential growth over the next few decades. We are also delighted to have completed commissioning of our Solar Hybrid Plant, which will enable us to sig nificantly reduce our carbon emissions and all-in sustaining costs.”  Kodal and Hainan Group to complete Bougouni Lithium funding package NextSource Materials shipped its first container of SuperFlake graphite and completed development of its Solar Hybrid Plant. array (PV array) combined with a 1.37 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), and a 3.1 MW thermal (diesel) generator plant. The Solar Hybrid Plant will be able to provide up to 35% of Molo’s complete sys tem power needs from renewable energy, significantly reducing all-in sustaining costs and carbon emissions by 2 275 tonnes annually. CEO, Craig Scherba, commented: “Completing our first bulk shipment is a sig nificant accomplishment and the result of the hard work and dedication of our opera tions team.

Mineral exploration and development company, Kodal Minerals, has announced that Kodal Mining UK (KMUK), Hainan Mining (Hainan) and Hainan’s wholly owned UK-incorporated subsid iary, Xinmao Investment (Xinmao and together with Hainan, the Hainan Group) have agreed terms to complete the funding pack age announced on 19 January 2023. KMUK is the company’s new UK registered subsidiary, formed to be the holder of the Mali lithium assets and which will be owned 49 percent by Kodal and 51 per cent by the Hainan Group. The agreement for completion of the transaction follows from the waiving of certain conditions precedent to the reorganisation of Kodal’s Mali lithium assets. Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, remarked: “The development activity is progressing

The Bougouni Lithium project in Mali.

on site with the road upgrades to provide access for the start of construction of site infrastructure. Off-site, Kodal, Hainan and our consultants are continuing to finalise the engineering design of the processing plant as well as progressing mine design and site optimisation. The completion of the funding package transaction is a major milestone for the development of the Bougouni Lithium project and we look forward to working closely with our partners to achieve production as soon as possible from the Bougouni Lithium mine.” 

State Diamond Trader appoints Nosiphiwo Mzamo as new CEO

The State Diamond Trader has appointed Nosiphiwo Mzamo as its new CEO, effective from10 October 2023. She is a highly capable, results-driven Management Professional, holding a Master of Business Administration, B.Sc. Hons Geology, and a Graduate Diploma in Mining Engineering. Mzamo has over 21 years combined experience in the fields of Geological Sciences, Mineralogy Research and Development, Mining, Analytical Chemistry, Strategic Management and Human Resources Management. 

4  MODERN MINING  December 2023