Walkabout Resources Ltd’s (ASX:WKT) resettlement action plan (RAP) for its Lindi Jumbo Graphite Project has been approved by all stakeholders and officially signed by the chief government valuator for Dodoma in Tanzania.
The final valuation for the resettlement and land compensation totalled about US$2 million and allows on-site work at Lindi Jumbo to begin.
Walkabout executive director Allan Mulligan said the milestones were being ticked off one-by-one.
He added: “Our construction arrangements at Lindi Jumbo are progressing well and we are very pleased with this achievement managed by our small project team.
“The organised and well-communicated execution of the RAP compensation is very important to our local communities.
“It validates in hard currency the goodwill and social outcomes we have worked closely on achieving with our local stakeholders.”
READ: Walkabout Resources continues to progress Lindi Jumbo graphite feasibility study
The approval completes a lengthy and comprehensive process of public consultations, stakeholder engagement and extensive fieldwork.
Each individual land use compensation agreement is valid for 6 months and must have its valuation process repeated if Walkabout does not settle with the beneficiary in the allotted timeframe.
The rates for compensation have a statutory foundation and are not negotiable by any party.
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A survey has identified 1,120 personally affected people impacted by the project, comprising 271 asset owners and 848 household members.
The project will result in loss of land for farming, forestry and residential use.
Agriculture dominates 89% of land-use over the project area and small-scale mining activities make up 11%.
The majority of the RAP program is for crops, of which cashew nut farming makes up the largest component.
READ: Walkabout Resources lifts graphite resource tonnage at Tanzanian project by 41%
Lindi Jumbo hosts a JORC 2012-compliant measured, indicated and inferred mineral resource of 41.8 million tonnes at an estimated grade of 10.9% total graphitic carbon (TGC).
This resource contains a super high-grade core of 5 million tonnes at 22.5% TGC for 1.13 million tonnes of contained graphite, making it the highest mineable graphite resource in Tanzania.
More than half of the resource that forms part of the initial mining area is in the measured and indicated categories, containing 1.67 million tonnes of flake graphite.