iTech Minerals Ltd (ASX:ITM) has achieved an upgrade of 300 percent in the mineral resource estimate (MRE) of its Eyre Peninsula Graphite Project in South Australia, as the company seeks to capitalise on the strong metallurgical features of the project’s mineralisation, and its potential for an economical mining and processing operation.
A 12-month program of drilling throughout 2023 and 2024 provided the basis for the upgrade, bringing the resource to 35.2 million tonnes at 6.0 percent total graphite content (TGC), at a minimum cut-off grade of 2 percent TGC for 2 million tonnes of contained graphite in the measured, indicated and inferred categories.
Of particular focus in the expansive reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling program was delineation of the Lacroma Graphite Deposit, and it was this addition that pushed the total MRE to a 300 percent increase.
Lacroma’s indicated and inferred resource has been estimated at 26.6 million tonnes at 5.0 percent TGC, and while metallurgical test work on its ore is continuing, iTech has already noted its simple metallurgical characteristics and high recoveries, reporting recoveries of 94 percent (as graphite concentrate) in May.
iTech’s managing director Mike Schwarz said the overall upgrade and delineation of Lacroma represented an important milestone for the company.
“A 300 percent increase of the global graphite mineral resource estimate at our Eyre Peninsula Graphite Project is a massive achievement for iTech after just 12 months of exploration and resource drilling,” he said.
“Importantly, the simple geology and metallurgy of the Lacroma Deposit gives it all the hallmarks of a low risk and potentially low-cost mining operation which will no doubt prove especially important in a global market that has shown volatile graphite pricing.
“With the definition of a significant resource, we have the confidence to move forward to the next phase of developing this exciting project and look forward to helping the world meet the graphite shortages that many analysts are predicting over the next decade.”
At 12:57 AEDT, iTech was trading at 6.2 cents, a rise of 10.7 percent since the market opened.