In the last three months, Lincoln Minerals has boosted the resource for its Kookaburra Gully graphite project (KGGP) in South Australia by 87 per cent.
These findings will form the basis of a pre-feasibility study targeting 60,000–100,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of graphite concentrate. This follows on from a feasibility study delivered in 2017.
Lincoln Minerals has completed 25 aircore holes on the northern section of the Kookaburra Gully deposit, with graphite intersections encountered in 11 of these holes. Eight holes were north of the current resource, demonstrating strong continuity.
A two-part exploration program has aimed to extend the Kookaburra Gully resource to the north, and also test electromagnetic anomalies from a Loupe ground magnetic survey conducted to the north-west and north-east of the designed pit.
Lincoln Minerals chief executive officer Jonathan Trewartha said the ability to upgrade the resource by 87 per cent in a matter of months demonstrated the quality of Kookaburra Gully.
“Lincoln is confident … additional drilling, combined with drilling completed in 2017 but previously not included in the resource calculation, should deliver on the company’s resource growth objective which was to double the resource from the September 2023 level,” he said.
“Pleasingly, this outcome looks set to be achieved in six months, far faster than originally planned, which is a testament to the quality of the KGGP mineralisation.
“With this result achieved earlier than anticipated, Lincoln has now accelerated its plan to update the 35,000tpa concentrate feasibility study, completed in 2017, with a planned pre-feasibility study for a project producing 60,000 to 100,000tpa of concentrate.”
Trewartha said a mine of this scale would be far more attractive to potential offtake partners and support the submission of Lincoln’s final program for environment protection and rehabilitation (PEPR).
With a PEPR in place, Lincoln would be able to finalise the approvals required for Kookaburra Gully’s project development.
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