Walkabout Resources Ltd (ASX:WKT) has completed a 24 hole infill drilling program at its 70% owned Lindi Jumbo Graphite Project in southeast Tanzania.
The new drilling, focused on the Gilbert Arc deposit, confirms wider and shallower mineralised zones than observed during the first drilling program.
A significant portion of the Inferred resource is expected to be upgraded into the Indicated and Measured categories.
The deposit remains open in all directions.
Allan Mulligan, managing director, commented: “The high grade graphite zones correlate very well with the existing mineralisation model and are often wider than previously modelled.
“The high grade and massive graphite mineralisation is superbly distinctive when exposed.”
Lindi Jumbo Graphite Project
The company has a 70% interest in a total exploration area of 325 square kilometres in southeast Tanzania.
During the June quarter, the company finalised the Integrated Study Level 1 (scoping study), a technical and financial assessment based on the high grade Inferred Resource.
Due to regulations, the technical and financial results of this report are to be used for internal planning purposes only and are not able to be released to the market.
Following a review of the report, the company board unanimously agreed to proceed to the next level of study.
With the current low capex-early cash flow strategy now approved, Walkabout is aiming to enter production in 2017 through a surface mining and processing operation at the site.
Recent test work at Lindi produced a super jumbo, high margin graphite concentrate containing up to 25.7% super jumbo flakes and grades up to 98.85% total graphitic content.
These verified results place the project in a high class of revenue per tonne of saleable concentrate.
Analysis
The preliminary results from infill drilling support Walkabout’s prospects of receiving a resource upgrade at Lindi, which bodes well for project economics.
Walkabout is fast tracking the development of Lindi to take advantage of forecast market conditions for flake graphite deposits with high ratios of large and jumbo flakes.
The company has developed a proprietary processing technique which yields exceptionally high ratios of large, jumbo and super jumbo flakes into concentrate.
This premium product will allow higher than average revenues to be achieved
Metallurgical results have already indicated a basket price for Lindi concentrate valued at US$1,529 to US$2,567.
Furthermore, highly pure natural graphite such as that found at Lindi is suitable for sphericalisation and use in the lithium-ion battery market.
The feasibility study, currently in progress is expected in the December quarter.
The development of the Lindi project is in line with Walkabout’s dual lithium-graphite focus.
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