Modern Mining November 2018

GRAPHITE

for Malingunde

the maiden JORC resource was announced, highlighting it as the world’s largest known saprolite-hosted graphite resource. A Scoping Study based on the maiden resource was com- pleted in 2017 and – says Sovereign – showed compelling economics. In June 2018, Sovereign announced a min- eral resource upgrade with a total of (saprolite + saprock) 45,7 Mt at 7,2 % TGC including a higher grade component of 14,5 Mt at 9,7 % TGC. The PFS focuses on an ore reserve of 9,5 Mt at 9,5 % TGC. Pit optimisation, mine design and mine scheduling for the PFS were completed by Orelogy. A schedule was developed that pro- gressively mines material from the north-west zones 1 and 2, then the central zones 3 and 4, and finally the south-east zone 5. A three- month pre-strip of 190 kt of waste is required in order to provide sufficient material to construct the initial Tailings Storage Facility. The life of

and capital cost advantages over hard-rock deposits. Currently operating saprolite-hosted flake graphite mines are located in Madagascar; however, these are mostly small and low grade (typically 4-6 % Total Graphitic Carbon or TGC). Malingunde is rare in that it is the world’s largest reported saprolite-hosted flake graphite deposit and also has a high-grade ore reserve at 9,5 % TGC, says Sovereign. The Malingunde deposit is located just 20 km south-west of Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital city, with excellent access to infrastructure. It is 25 km from operating rail and just 10 km from a planned power sub-station at Bunda expected to be completed in 2024, with plentiful process water also available. In 2015, Sovereign’s geological team iden- tified a large area on the Lilongwe Plain that was prospective for saprolite-hosted graphite deposits. A significant graphite discovery was subsequently made at Malingunde and in 2016

Drill rig operating at Malingunde during

Sovereign’s December 2016 resource drilling campaign.

November 2018  MODERN MINING  29