Premier African Minerals Limited (“Premier” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide an update on progress at operations at Zulu Lithium and Tantalum (“Zulu”).
As previously announced in April, all efforts have been focused on the Zulu floatation circuit which is now running in a continuous state and is producing saleable spodumene concentrate. The process to complete rectification and optimisation of the floatation circuit remains ongoing and Premier expects continuous and significant improvement in both floatation grade and tonnage to follow.
George Roach, CEO, commented, “Thanks to the support the Company receives from ENPROTEC, the supplier of the float plant components and innovation and dedication from our team at Zulu, we are now able to run the floatation circuit continuously and produce saleable spodumene concentrate.
There is much to be encouraged by, notably, the use of an activator in the spodumene floatation plant that has seen recoveries in internal laboratory work approaching 90% and the indications that the ore body in situ grade is higher than was estimated in our Resource model. The overall plant is currently running at a feed rate to spodumene floatation that is approximately 50% of original floatation design capacity and will need a further conditioning tank and minor pump upgrades to operate at the full design capacity. This is over and above the recently completed flow changes. The required pumps are already at site and the additional civils for the conditioning tank should complete in May 2024.
Target production for the coming week is expected to start at 50 tonnes spodumene concentrate per day with increasing production. Target full projected capacity remains at 4,000 tonne per month. Grade is consistently improving with continuous running and latest internal chemical analysis of spodumene concentrate produced by the floatation circuit indicates grades have now improved to between 4.5% and 6.3% Li2O.”
The Zulu Plant
For the reasons previously reported, Premier replaced the original plant contractor in March 2024. Whilst the floatation circuit is now running in a constant and stable state, it will take time to fully remedy the original design deficiencies in the overall plant and move from what in many instances are interim fixes to the final operating plant. Some of these issues are set out below:
Ore Sorters
Neither the XRT or the Ultraviolet sorters are adequately performing the functions for which they were sold and delivered to the Company. It is only the diligent and very careful efforts of a team from the Zulu Geology Department that both carefully oversees mining and ROM pad inspections to avoid waste reporting to the plant and thus allows the plant to operate contaminant free. This interim solution is working well and is adequate for now, but does not represent a long-term solution. The equipment supplier has been called upon to deal with this. Premier will seek to enforce its rights and is investigating alternatives.
Milling and sizing
The original mill and screen system was inadequate and unable to provide ore adequately milled and screened. This set back Zulu by a year. The new ball mill and sizing equipment has resulted in an interim stable operation but only after a complete redesign of the mill discharge and hydrosizer circuit to operate at a consistent optimised feed rate. Additional upgrades will be installed in this circuit in the near future to bring this to industry standard.
Magnetic separation and Tantalum recovery
The plant was supplied with a magnetic separator and a circuit intended to remove both a paramagnetic and a magnetic fraction for bagging. The magnetic separator supplied is low intensity (LIMS) and cannot remove a paramagnetic fraction that would include tantalum. The magnetic separator circuit is further unable to efficiently remove iron generated from the milling process to an acceptable degree and will need to be upgraded in the near future.
Floatation Circuit
The components of the floatation circuit were originally specified by the original plant contractor on the basis that they would be integrated, installed and commissioned by them. That ENPROTEC has committed to rectify design constraints and commission this part of the plant is a major factor in the successful operational status now achieved.
Ore body and plant grades
With development of the open pit, the Company has now been able to validate the actual pegmatite that is being mined. In-pit evaluation is undertaken through the sampling of the pegmatite from blast hole drilling and channel samples cut across the bench. This allows for better reconciliation to the 5m x 5m x 5m Assay Block Model grades. On the bench level currently being developed and mined, the Indicated Resource grade from the assay block model was 1.01% Li2O while the average grade of the ore hauled to the ROM pad is currently 1.13% Li2O, an approximate 10% increase.
At the same time, with material blended from selective mining in the EPO area, Li2O grades recorded in the ore feed to the floatation circuit are in the range of 1,1% Li2O to 1,8% Li2O, and the dry solids being fed to the spodumene float plant contain between 12% and 25% spodumene.
Spodumene Concentrate
The term SC6 is used as a price determination point, being the price paid for spodumene concentrate in which the Li2O grade is 6%. Approximately 74% of the concentrate would then be made up of spodumene. Spodumene concentrate in any grade more than 4% Li2O is saleable with an adjustment to the price paid relative to the actual amount of spodumene contained in that bag. It should be noted that prices are quoted for spodumene concentrates at lower grades and these prices are in the public domain.
It is worth noting that the market for lepidolite is improving and Premier believes that it is likely that our Mica/lepidolite will sell in the near future.
Financial model
The Company will engage an independent consultancy to assess overall cost implications related to the present mining operation. Previously, the Company has indicated a mine gate production cost at $800 per ton. This may benefit from reduced mining costs linked to ore sourced from within the EPO.
About ENPROTEC
ENPROTEC is a Multi-disciplinary Engineering Applications Group that Offers End-to-end Solutions to the Mining & Mineral Processing Industry. ENPROTEC aim to extract ore optimally and derive tangible value for its clients from their operations while eliminating environmental risks. ENPROTEC is a global partner in the mineral processing industry, offering a diverse range of solutions and technologies.
ENPROTEC is committed to working together with Premier on the Zulu plant to mitigate the current flotation plant constraints to produce a high grade saleable SC6 concentrate at the required design throughput.
Competent Persons Statement
Bruce Cumming, a consulting geologist to Premier, has reviewed and approved this release to the extent that reference is made to the geology and mineralogy of the Zulu pegmatites. Mr. Cumming is a SACNASP and GSSA registered geoscientist with 48 years’ experience in exploration and project management, in multicommodity projects throughout Africa.
Market Abuse Regulations
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (“UK MAR”).
The person who arranged the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was George Roach.
A copy of this announcement is available at the Company’s website, www.premierafricanminerals.com
Enquiries:
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George Roach |
Premier African Minerals Limited |
Tel: +27 (0) 100 201 281 |
