Hot on the heels of last week’s cracking high-grade graphite results from BlackEarth Minerals’ Ianapera project in southern Madagascar, the company has served up another set of mouth-watering assays from the emerging play.
The latest results included 14 metres grading 10.36% total graphitic carbon, or “TGC”, that incorporated higher grade sections of 2m @ 23.9% TGC and 2m @ 10.9% TGC.
Another significant trenching sample produced a 14m section grading 10.23% TGC.
The new trench assays overlay wide intersections of surface outcropping graphite mineralisation and are situated along strike to the south of last week’s 18m trench sample that produced an exceptionally high-grade result of 22.06% TGC.
According to the company, the results continue to highlight the significant potential of its Ianapera graphite project.
BlackEarth Minerals Managing Director Tom Revy said: “To have the discovery of further significant trenches along strike of the previously announced results of 18.0m @ 22.06% TGC, is an exciting development for both the Board and shareholders alike.”
“Given the current data that now exists, the Board believes that Ianapera has the potential to host multiple high-grade graphite deposits in the area.”
The trench samples approximate the true width of the mineralisation and therefore outline the potential for significant resource tonnages at high TGC grades for the project if the ore system continues to depth.
The initial trenching results from Ianapera represent some of the highest graphite grades being achieved globally at present.
The company undertook the maiden trenching program at Ianapera late last year and covered about 4.5km of strike on highly conductive zones that were inferred to host graphite mineralisation from an interpretation of the available geophysical survey imagery.
BlackEarth’s Ianapera project lies just 10km north-northeast of TSX-listed NextSource Minerals’ undeveloped Molo graphite project that holds a mineral resource of 141.3 million tonnes grading 6.13% TGC.
NextSource has a 40-year mining permit granted over the Molo project and is moving closer to financing and building that project.
The company said that this region of Madagascar could potentially become a global hub for graphite mining production and processing, located only a short distance from the coastline, which faces the Indian Ocean.
BlackEarth’s emerging Maniry graphite project is centred about 70km south-southwest of Ianapera and is located even closer to the coast.
That project currently holds a JORC-compliant mineral resource of 20.2 million tonnes grading 6.51% TGC, which encompasses the Razafy and Haja graphite deposits.
By Matt Birney
