- Triton Minerals (TON) bolsters the potential production capacity of its Ancuabe Graphite Project commercial pilot plant amid an ongoing strategic review of the project
- The company says it now envisages a 250,000-tonne-per-annum (tpa) plant capable of producing between 15,000 and 17,000 tpa of graphite concentrate
- This represents a production increase of between 50 per cent and 70 per cent compared to the initial 10,000-tpa figure announced in November
- This increase in potential production comes at no extra cost for the company compared to the estimated development costs announced ino the November report
- Shares in Triton Minerals were down 5 per cent to 3.8 cents each at 11:01 am AEDT
Triton Minerals (TON) has bolstered the potential production capacity of its Ancuabe Graphite Project commercial pilot plant amid an ongoing strategic review of the project.
The company today said that following an ongoing investigation into the development and production of the pilot plant at the Mozambique project, it now envisaged a 250,000-tonne-per-annum (tpa) plant capable of producing between 15,000 and 17,000 tpa of graphite concentrate.
This represents an increase of between 50 per cent and 70 per cent in potential production for the pilot plant compared to the initial 10,000-tpa figure announced in late November.
What’s more, this increase in potential production comes at no extra cost for the company, with estimated development costs of between US$32 million and US$52 million (A$45 million and A$74 million) unchanged from the November report.
Triton said it was in discussions with potential offtake partners about the potential increase in production. The company has already signed an offtake contract for the initial 10,000 tpa of graphite concentrate with Chinese graphite giant Yichang Xincheng Graphite Co (YXGC).
Triton Executive Director Andrew Frazer said the company was pleased to once again report “rapid and positive” results for its proposed pilot plant.
“These results from the refined desktop study on the proposed commercial pilot plant are overwhelmingly positive — a material increase in expected production of 50 to 70 per cent, to 15,000 to 17,000 tpa of graphite concentrate for no additional capital expenditure than previously envisaged,” Mr Frazer said.
“We are already speaking to potential offtake partners for this additional potential production, in addition to the significant 10,000 tpa binding offtake agreement executed with YXGC.”
He added that the company was aiming to complete its strategic review and desktop study of the Mozambique project in early 2022. If all goes according to plan, this should “positively impact” discussions with potential debt providers for the financing of the pilot plant.
From here, Triton will finalise a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the plant, with a final investment decision slated for the second quarter of 2022.
The pilot plant at the Ancuabe project is designed to produce commercially viable quantities of graphite concentrate as a precursor to a large-scale 60,000-tpa project to be developed in the longer term.
Shares in Triton Minerals were down 5 per cent to 3.8 cents each at 11:01 am AEDT. The company has a $51 million market cap.