By Business Reporter – Wednesday 27 November 2019
HARARE (Mining Index) – AFRICAN lithium company, Prospect Resources is pleased to announce a significant increase in the ore reserve estimate of its 87 percent owned Arcadia Lithium Project in Zimbabwe, which further extends life of the mine and a pathway to updated project economics.
An optimised DFS is currently being finalised to reflect this increased ore reserve. The optimised DFS will reflect the optimisation works that has been undertaken over the past 12 months to better reflect the economic potential of the Arcadia Lithium Project.
Commenting on the recent development, Prospect Resources Managing Director Sam Hosack said, “The Prospect team have worked tirelessly to extract the maximum value from the Arcadia deposit, with technical support from CSA Global we have added significantly to our inventory and reinforced the strength of Arcadia’s project economics”.
“This incredible result confirms Arcadia as a globally unique and significant lithium deposit to supply the glass and ceramics market with technical grade ultra-low iron petalite. We see the battery market as a key driver of lithium demand growth but remain focused on the glass & ceramics market where Arcadia seeks to become a significant, consistent and reliable high-quality supplier and access the premium prices available in this market”.
The upgraded ore reserve of 37.4Mt grading 1.22 percent Li2O and 121ppm Ta2O5, which represents a 39 percent increase on the ore reserve announced in December 2017, incorporates updated pricing provided by Benchmark Minerals Intelligence following the completion of the low iron petalite market assessment in July 2019 and updated petalite recovery in line with recent testwork developments. ENDS//
