Walkabout Resources Ltd (ASX:WKT) has upgraded the proven and probable ore reserve at its Lindi Jumbo Graphite Project, delivering a 10% increase in tonnage and 22% increase in total graphitic content (TGC).
The increased grade allows for greater operational efficiency with a 13% reduction in required throughput while maintaining annual production of 40,000 tonnes of flake graphite.
There is a high degree of confidence in the reserve as only measured and indicated resources were used in the calculation.
The potential for further upside in the resource is apparent in both the inferred resources and the recent discovery south of the open pit.
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Walkabout executive director Allan Mulligan said the company had successfully delivered on its objective to validate Lindi Jumbo as the highest-grade graphite project in its peer group.
The updated ore reserve is based on 37% of the measured and indicated resource tonnes and is a 10% increase on the maiden ore reserve announced March 2017.
Increasing the grade to 17.9% makes Lindi Jumbo the highest-grade mineable ore reserve of all the reported graphite reserves in East Africa.
The additional resource tonnes have also resulted in the modelling of a completely new put design.
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Mulligan continued: “The super-high-grade mill feed means that Lindi Jumbo is an incredibly robust project and positions the company to deliver the largest margins in the industry.
“This gives Walkabout the ability to take advantage of opportunities for increased market share as well as providing a meaningful downside protection.
“Our goal continues to be the non-China producer-of-choice for premium large-flake natural graphite.
“Importantly, we see the potential for further upside in several areas, including the ability to produce and sell more graphite than designed for and also expanding into not-yet utilised high-grade deposits to the south and bringing those to account.”
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Walkabout holds 100% of Lindi Jumbo’s mining licence and between 70%-100% of adjacent graphite prospecting licecnes with an enduring option to acquire the remaining 30% share.
A high-grade graphite mineral reserve has been delineated within the mining licence application area.
The company is also exploring in southern Namibia at the Eureka Lithium Project and has acquired an exploration portfolio for gold and base metals in Northern Ireland and Scotland.