Volt Resources Ltd (ASX:VRC)’s Zavalievsky Graphite (ZG) operations in Ukraine recorded production of 807 tonnes of graphite product during December 2021, up 44% on November.
This translates to an average production of around 50 tonnes per operating day.
The graphite producer and battery anode material developer also noted that European graphite prices continued to increase during the month.
Zavalievsky Graphite operations
Ore mined for December was lower than November as mining operations focused on the mining of waste at a level required for appropriate open pit mine development.
Mobile equipment availability was impacted by the age of the equipment, which affected ore production.
ZG continues to evaluate the use of contract mining for waste removal due to the increased material movement required in the next 12 months.
Replacement of the existing ZG-owned mining fleet is also being evaluated, which is expected to substantially improve future mined graphite ore production.
Plant operating days
As winter ends and temperatures increase, the plant operating days will increase resulting in substantial increases in monthly graphite production.
In December, the plant operated for about 16 days and production performance was reasonable for the period averaging around 50 tonnes of concentrate production per day of operation.
During the winter months, plant operations can be disrupted by very low temperatures, which freeze process water pipelines and tailings material in pipelines.
Replacement with insulated piping and other options are being evaluated to provide a permanent solution, which will result in significantly higher graphite production levels during the winter months.