Operating costs are lower than at all other competitors
EcoGraf Limited (ASX: EGR; FSE: FMK; OTCQB: ECGFF) has further increased the proven Ore Reserve for its Epanko Graphite Project in Tanzania by 110% following recent due diligence by KfW IPEX-Bank, Euler Hermes and independent technical engineers. The ore reserve now amounts to 14.3 million tons with 8.8% total graphitic carbon (TGC) for 1.25 million tons of contained graphite.
The increase in the ore reserve is based on the “Oxide Ore first” approach, which enables an improvement in the throughput of the processing plant and the profitability of the project. 80 percent of the soft oxide ore near the surface can be easily extracted with the excavator as so-called “free digg material”. The updated Ore Reserve is based on the Epanko (Stage 1) development of 73,000 tons per year and offers significant potential for future production expansion as the Ore Reserve represents 2.3 km of the total 3.5 km strike length of the estimated Mineral Resource and only about 20% of the vertical extent. The Ore Reserve allows for an initial 18-year life of mine (LOM) for Stage 1, with additional Mineral Resources allowing for incremental expansion up to 300,000tpa (refer ASX announcement April 28, 2023).
The new mine design, which implements the “Oxide Ore first” strategy, offers significant operational benefits. These include an increased initial processing plant throughput of 850,000tpa treating oxide ore to produce 73,000tpa of graphite product. Low grade material of ~3.1Mt at 5.1% TGC will be stockpiled and processing deferred to the end of the current mining program, extending the initial Stage 1 operating life by a further 5 years to 23 years.
Figure 1: The Epanko Graphite Project contains a huge resource while keeping the footprint small.
Figure 2: The graphite ore will be mined in two open pits, one in the Western Zone and one in the Eastern Zone. These are about one kilometer apart and are located near the northern boundary of the license area. A flyover video https://youtu.be/G4iKtBJUGVk gives a detailed impression of the outstanding quality of the Epanko project.
Conclusion: There are probably few graphite projects in the world that have been investigated as thoroughly as EcoGraf's Epanko project in Tanzania. Although the due diligence required by KfW and other potential financiers was complex and time-consuming, in the end it contributed to a considerable optimization of the project. In particular, the oxide-first strategy in the weathered ore near the surface has had a positive impact on the project's financial figures. Other project data includes a number of superlatives: The waste to ore ratio is 0.3 to 1 and the average thickness of the deposit is 200 meters. The ore reserve already allows mining operations to continue for a period of 18 years.
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