Black Earth Minerals has commenced a 60-tonne bulk mining trial at the Maniry Graphite Project in southern Madagascar.

The bulk material will be shipped to the Beijing General Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (BGRIMM), forming part of the Company’s Stage 2 pilot plant program. The outcomes from the Stage 2 pilot plant program are pivotal in finalising the Company’s process development work and Bankable Feasibility Study, which is due to be completed in H2 2020.

The mining and excavation activities on site are expected to be completed by late November 2019, and the 60 tonnes bulk sample is expected to arrive at BGRIMM in early January 2020.

An initial 250 kilograms of Maniry material has already been received at BGRIMM’s facility in China, with testing expected to commence shortly, with the aim of establishing optimal operating conditions for the large-scale pilot plant program (Stage 2).

Mining from the defined Razafy Resource has commenced with the full cooperation and involvement of the local community. The full program involving trial mining and piloting will provide BEM with:
•    Greater understanding of early mining conditions
•    Final Process Design Criteria (PDC)
•    Final equipment sizing and power draws
•    Analysis and test work on the final tailings
•    Sufficient concentrate sample to finalise binding offtake arrangements prior to the commencement of construction

BlackEarth Minerals Managing Director, Mr Tom Revy said that the company continued to meet the milestones required to progress from graphite developer to producer.

“With 250 kilograms of Maniry concentrate already in China and testing to commence shortly, the further 60 tonnes of bulk material currently being mined, will be shipped to China as part of the Stage 2 large scale pilot plant program, which will provide valuable information and data to the Company,” said Mr Revy.

“BlackEarth continues to take consistent steps towards formalising binding offtake agreements and the completion of the bankable feasibility study. We look forward to continuing to advance the Maniry graphite project over the coming period.”

Source: www.blackearthminerals.com.au