Graphite projects advance in Tanzania, Sweden

Recovery and growth in the global graphite market have been reflected in funding support for a flake graphite project in Tanzania and an initial agreement to form a graphite anode material joint venture (JV) in Sweden.

Perth-based Walkabout Resources has secured a $20mn project finance facility for the $32mn construction of its high-grade, large-flake Lindi Jumbo graphite mine in Tanzania that is on track for first production in the second or third quarter of 2022, building to output of 40,000 t/yr of graphite concentrate over 24 years. Funding, from the CRDB Bank of Tanzania, is expected to be finalised in the next three months with a 9-12 month construction period.

Walkabout said Lindi Jumbo will represent "the first serious construction effort of a mining project in Tanzania since the 2017 Mining Act amendments".

Mineral Commodities, another Perth-based firm, has entered into an initial agreement with US-based Superior Graphite towards developing a JV to produce, market and supply sustainable graphite anode material. The aim is to produce 15,000-20,000 t/yr of anode material mainly for battery manufacturers in Europe, Scandinavia, the US and Australia at Superior's Sundsvall facility in Sweden, which would be incorporated in the joint venture.

The JV will use Superior's proprietary electro-thermal purification technology to purify graphite from Mineral Commodities' Skaland natural flake graphite project in Norway.

Through its US and Swedish plants, Superior has over 80,000 t/yr of thermal purification capacity and has purified over 100,000t of flake graphite material.

Graphite, soon expected to be in a supply deficit, is the major element in the anodes of electric vehicle and energy storage batteries.

By Angus Macmillan