Battery Minerals Ltd (ASX:BAT) has increased the size of its Montepuez Graphite Project’s Elephant deposit in Mozambique by 14% to 76.9 million tonnes grading 7.3% total graphitic carbon (TGC).
Another prospect, Warthog, has been identified 1.5 kilometres south of Elephant with a previous hole intersecting 12 metres at 14.27% TGC from 1 metre.
The company is expecting results from follow-up drilling of another 16 holes over a 500-metre strike length at Warthog.
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Infill drilling has also been completed at the Buffalo deposit and another mineral resource update is expected this quarter.
Updated mineral resource
The latest update included an increase in TGC gradings of measured and indicated mineral resources to 9.3% at a 6% TGC cut-off, compared to the December 2016 resource statement of 8.9%.
Independent mining consultants RPM Advisory Services Pty Ltd completed the revised resource statement for Elephant using a 2.5% TGC cut-off.
It upgraded a further 5.3 million tonnes into the measured category and 6.1 million tonnes into the indicated category while inferred resources decreased 10.5 million tonnes due to the upgrades.
Battery Minerals managing director David Flanagan said: “These results underpin our view that there is potential for substantial growth in the inventory, forecast production rates and mine life at Montepuez.
“We are confident that we will also continue to increase the run-of-mine grade, which would reduce costs and increase revenues due to the increased tonnages of concentrate we would produce.”
Flanagan said the company was in a strong financial position and was in talks with parties interested in financing the remainder of its development costs.
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Earlier this year the company pulled in $20 million in financing for Montepuez.
Battery Minerals aims to finish constructing the project in Cabo Delgado Province this year and commission it by the March quarter next year.
Output for stage I of Montepuez was previously targeted at 45,000 to 50,000 tonnes a year of graphite concentrate, to generate some US$25 million of net operating cash flow each year.