Story: Mohammed A.Abu
Over a decade of passion and commitment on the part of the Australia Securities Exchange(ASX) listed company ,Castle Minerals Ltd ,is set to give Ghana’s up country’s generally agrarian driven economy, a diversification to commercial gold and Graphite(one of the”Critical Minerals”) production touch.
Gold
The company’s ambitious Wa Gold Project owned by its local subsidiary,Azumah Resources Ghana Ltd,has since earned for the Upper West region in international investor community circles the accolade, ‘The Emerging North Western Gold Province”
The project is located approximately 10km away from the regional capital of Wa. It extends over a total land holding of 3,164km² and comprises three main deposits namely Kunche, Bepkong and Julie along with two satellite deposits Aduane and Collette.
The open pit gold mining project includes a 1.2 million tonne per year carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing plant for treating oxide and transition ore. It is estimated to produce approximately 100,000oz of gold a year over an initial mine life of seven years.
Graphite
In an official announcement today, Monday, Castle Minerals Managing Director,Stephen Stone notes, “Castle Boosts Kambale Graphite Resource to 22.4Mt Higher Confidence Indicated Resource Increased 55% Solid Platform Established to Underpin Development Ambitions”
“Graphite concentrate sample successfully produced during Perth test work is now in Germany undergoing evaluation for its use in lithium-ion batteries (“LiBs”), the announcement disclosed.
The emerging flagship Kambale Graphite Project owned by 100% Ghanaian subsidiary, Kambale Graphite Limited, is located in the country’s Upper West region.
| Castle Managing Director, Stephen Stone commented:
“We are delighted to deliver for the fast-emerging Kambale Graphite Project a 38% increase in contained graphite and can now boast a Mineral Resource Estimate of 22.4 million tonnes grading 8.6% TGC containing 1.94 million tonnes of graphite. Forty-three percent of the MRE is in the higher confidence Indicated Resource category.
“The MRE increase provides a very solid platform upon which to advance our development ambitions, especially now that Castle has demonstrated in test work that a fine flake graphite concentrate of commercial specifications can be produced using a conventional flotation process. This is the primary material used in the manufacture of lithium-ion battery anodes.
“This all comes just as China this week has introduced a surprise ban on natural and synthetic graphite exports to protect its battery and car manufacturing industries.
“This will immediately intensify the multi-billion-dollar rush by the USA, EU and other non-China EV manufacturing nations to secure other sources of graphite, battery anodes and EV batteries which they are presently almost totally reliant on China for.
“The accelerating take-up of EVs alone is driving an enormous increase in demand for graphite for use in lithium-ion batteries for EVs, power storage units and other chargeable consumer devices.
“Each EV contains between 30kg and 60kg of battery grade graphite where every kg of that is derived from at least 3kg of natural flake concentrate.
“With another 100 million light EVs forecast to be on the road by 2030, it’s no surprise that forecasters are predicting a natural graphite concentrate supply deficit as current and proposed supply is wholly inadequate.
“Castle continues to fast-track and de-risk its Kambale Graphite Project and has just kicked off a specialist evaluation in Germany of the concentrate to confirm its suitability for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.
“Mining and metallurgical engineering groups will be appointed shortly to assess the technical and commercial merits of establishing on-site a commercial-scale mining and processing facility.
“With good access to two international ports in Ghana that can service the USA and EU markets, Kambale has a strategic importance as a still uncommitted resource.
“The Project will also use mainly hydro-generated “green-grid” power. With Ghana recognized as a safe, stable and established mining jurisdiction, this all bodes well for the Project’s future.” Mr. Stone further disclosed.
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