Battery Minerals granted licence for Balama Central graphite project
Australian firm Battery Minerals has received a mining licence from the Mozambican Government for its Balama Central graphite project.
The project will allow the firm to produce 50,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of graphite concentrate.
Battery Minerals chairman David Flanagan said: “This is another important milestone for the Balama Central graphite project for the production of graphite concentrate.”
According to the previous feasibility study, the Balama Central project will require $69.4m in capital investment.
It is expected to have an operational life of 27 years.
In August 2021, Battery Minerals signed a deal to sell its Mozambican subsidiary Suni Resources to Tirupati Graphite for $9.1m in cash and Tirupati Graphite shares.
Suni Resources owns the Montepuez and Balama Central graphite projects.
The sale is part of Battery Minerals’ efforts to focus on its Australian mineral exploration assets.
Flanagan added: “We look forward to completing our sale agreement for our Mozambican graphite assets with Tirupati Graphite announced in August 2021 in the coming months.”
The transaction is planned to be completed over the coming months.
Tirupati Graphite CEO Shishir Poddar said: “Both the Montepuez and Balama Central projects now hold granted mining licences, which, on completion of the acquisition, advances Tirupati on its journey to becoming a material supplier to the high-growth EV and battery markets and playing a part in the global energy transition.”
Located around 260km east of Pemba, the Balama Central project is currently in the advanced feasibility study stage.
The project includes two main graphite ore bodies, which comprise mineral resources of 32.9Mt at a grade of 10.2% TGC.
