- Metals Australia’s (MLS) scoping study for the Lac Rainy graphite project in Quebec is on track for completion in January 2021
- Preliminary mine design, mine planning and mine scheduling to underpin the project’s economic analysis are already complete
- Metallurgical studies show the operation can adopt a relatively straightforward processing flowsheet, with strong recoveries producing high-grade concentrate
- Conditions look favourable for a relatively low-cost and sustainable operation, with hydroelectric power supporting a simple open-cut mine
- The project has indicated and inferred resources totalling over 1.5 million tonnes of contained graphite with considerable exploration upside remaining
- MLS believes Lac Rainy offers the potential to develop a long-life, high-grade graphite mining operation
- Metals Australia is trading grey at 0.2 cents
Metals Australia’s (MLS) scoping study for the Lac Rainy graphite project in Quebec is on track for completion in January 2021.
Onward march
DRA Global will conduct the scoping study, while Benchmark Mineral Intelligence will provide forecasts on factors expected to drive growth in future graphite markets.
DRA has already completed the preliminary mine design, mine planning and mine scheduling to underpin the project’s economic analysis.
So far, conditions look favourable for a relatively low-cost and sustainable operation, with hydroelectric power supporting a simple open-cut mine with only a limited environmental footprint.
MLS will also adopt a dry stack tailings facility to reduce environmental impacts and minimise any water run-off issues.
Metallurgical studies show the operation can adopt a relatively straightforward processing flowsheet, producing almost 94,000 tonnes per year of graphite concentrate with an overall recovery rate of 86.3 per cent and a concentrate grade of 96.7 per cent.
Metals Australia Director Gino D’Anna says the work done so far bodes well for the project’s development.
“The Lac Rainy project offers significant flexibility. It has projected low strip ratios, can be readily accessed through open cut mining methods and has consistently delivered exceptionally high-grade results,” Gino said.
“The recently completed scoping study-level metallurgical testwork program confirmed that the graphite mineralisation at Lac Rainy is able to deliver a graphite concentrate that not only exceeds the industry standard benchmarks, but can produce a high-purity and high-carbon (total) graphite concentrate,” he added.
Outlook
With indicated and inferred resources totalling 1,529,500 tonnes of contained graphite, Lac Rainy offers the potential to develop a long-life, high-grade graphite mining operation.
There also remains considerable exploration upside, with just 1.6 kilometres of the approximate four kilometres of strike along the Main Carheil Graphitic Trend drilled so far. The West Carheil Graphitic Trend remains untested, and there are also other high-priority targets in the pipeline.
The company will continue extensional drilling, aimed at upgrading the mineral resource, with an exploration target of up to an additional 1.83 million tonnes of graphite — potentially more than doubling the current resource.
Once the project’s economics are better defined and Benchmark’s market analysis is complete, MLS will have firm indications of the project’s true potential.
Gino D’Anna is optimistic about the future.
“We believe that as the world starts to emerge from the current COVID-19 risk-averse environment, economies will start to rebuild and strengthen, resulting in significant funds being invested back into alternative energy sources and electrification,” Gino said.
“This will help to stimulate demand for those critical battery metals, of which graphite is a key ingredient,” he continued.
“We see a lot of upside in the future demand for graphite and we are positioning the company to be able to take advantage of the change in market dynamics,” the director concluded.
Metals Australia is trading grey for 0.2 cents at 1:55 pm AEDT.