Lincoln Minerals Limited Investigates Quality Graphite Resources in South Australia

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Sugar Land, Texas)--Graphite mineral, an allotrope of carbon, is predominantly used in the production of steel, electronic equipment and lithium-ion batteries, and has been popularized as an old commodity with new exciting applications.

Graphite can be found in two forms: amorphous and crystalline flake graphite. Flake graphite is the most valuable with current market prices for high grade (94%-97% carbon) between $2,000 to $3,000 per tonne. Amorphous graphite sells for under $1,000 per tonne.

China, currently the major supplier of graphite, recently imposed a 20% export duty tax and implemented a 17% value-added tax export licensing system. Given the recent price increase on Chinese graphite, buyers are looking elsewhere to secure their future graphite supply.

Lincoln Minerals Limited (Wayville, Australia) recently identified substantial graphite resources on Eyre Peninsular in South Australia. Lincoln Minerals has a dominant ground position with numerous graphite tenements situated around historic mines. In particular, the Australian graphite developer is investigating resources at Koppio and Kookaburra Gully, two adjacent tenements 35 kilometers north of Port Lincoln, South Australia.

Lincoln Minerals is currently conducting a project scope for a grassroot, aboveground graphite mine and processing plant. Parsons Brinkerhoff Australia (Adelaide, Australia) has been appointed to carry out the scoping study, which is expected to take four weeks. The study will investigate capital, maintenance and operating costs associated with one or more mines in the Koppio-Kookaburra Gully area feeding into a single processing plant.

Samples of the flake graphite that are found in the Koppio mine and Kookabura Gully are already undergoing metallurgical test work in Germany and Austria. Inferred mineral resource data indicates that the quality of the high-grade flake graphite found in the Koppio and Kookaburra Gully deposits equal or better many operating graphite mines around the world.

The proposed mine(s) and associated plant will process up to 10,000-15,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate per year. Lincoln Minerals is looking to prepare for a full economic evaluation. If the project is approved, construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2014, with project completion expected by the end of 2014.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.