Bass Metals eyes downstream graphite joint venture

Australia-based Bass Metals has entered into an initial agreement with US-based Urbix Resources to develop downstream graphite products.

The agreement will see the two companies work over the next six months to set up a joint venture for the processing of high-grade graphite from Bass' Graphmada mine in Madagascar into value-added downstream graphite products, including expandable graphite.

The proposed joint venture will combine Bass' high-grade large flake resources with Urbix's environmentally-friendly purification methodology that is not reliant on hydrofluoric acid treatments.

Urbix is building one of North America's largest natural graphite purification facilities at Mesa in Arizona. It is also working with Hanoi-based Vietnam Graphite to build a purification plant in Vietnam.

The Graphmada mine produced 745t of natural graphite in July and August and is expected to produce over 1,000t in the July-September quarter. Graphmada has a mineral resource of 3.5mn t grading 4.2pc total graphitic carbon estimated to contain 146,000t of graphite within the Loharano and Mahefedak deposits.

Bass Metals has announced an exploration target of 86mn-146mn t of additional mineral resources likely to contain 4.1mn-8.4mn t of contained graphite. This comprises a target of 13mn-23mn t of soft easy to mine saprolitic graphite resources contained 600,000-1.3mn t of graphite and a 73mn-123mn t mineral resource of primary graphite material potentially containing 3.5mn-7.1mn t of graphite.