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of the market’s depth. ramics market,” Hosack said. “In the
“The current state interim, the lithium carbonate market
of the market is a dis- is likely to change as the inevitable EV
tortion to the medium bounce takes effect.”
to long term outlook. The flowsheet reflects the initial focus
There is a large amount on low-cost petalite production. Con-
of speculation on the ventional crushing is followed by high-
current market but it’s pressure grinding rolls before the petalite
more a case of short- concentrate is separated by dense me-
age of battery grade dia separation. The remaining material is
hydroxide and an over- sent through cyclones, spirals and mag-
supply of lithium car- netic separation and milling and flotation
bonate at a time when to produce the spodumene concentrate
hydroxide is increasing product.
in demand.” Prospect general manager Trevor Bar-
The explosion of spo- nard said both the orebody and process-
dumene producers over ing had been heavily scrutinised.
the last two years has “The reserve is well-defined near sur-
meant customers face deposit. It’s a pegmatite with moder-
can be more se- Arcadia boasts high-grade spodumene material ate surface weathering but not enough to
lective about the be a problem,” Barnard told Paydirt. “We
product they take. In our research, we undertook a price have completed 26,000m of drilling and
Hosack believes this discovery exercise to understand the are very confident in the reserve declara-
should play into Pros- prices that customers would be willing tion. It is a flat orebody with a 3.2:1 strip
pect’s hands. to pay to receive technical grade lithium ratio with the pit going down 80m and we
“It probably didn’t minerals, such as our ultra-low iron pet- see grade control being highly advan-
matter four years ago alite, where the concentrates iron grade tage on the account it’s easy to differenti-
when there were very will be less than 0.05%. The information ate the ore and overburden visually.”
few sources of spo- gathered validates that this high-quality On the processing design side, Pros-
dumene concentrate specification derives a material premium pect has chosen renowned lithium and
but as the sources in price to the value it would achieve in African specialist Lycopodium
have multiplied con- the battery grade. Its indicated that it “After testing the market, we selected
vertors are recognising trades at almost double the price that a Lycopodium for the DFS because of their
the need for lower iron chemical grade product would receive. modular, EPC and lithium experience
content and are becom- This is why the glass and ceramics mar- and we’ve been very well supported with
ing more discerning in ket is our core focus and where we have this compliment of abilities,” Barnard
other quality considera- built a targeted marketing strategy to said.
tions; they are not just capture than premium.” The Prospect team are clearly con-
accepting any product. Market research has indicated an ul- fident they have answered any project
They want low impuri- tra-low iron petalite product could attract financier’s technical and market objec-
ties, particularly iron/ a 60% premium on standard 6% Li2O tions, but jurisdictional risk still looms.
mica/moisture. spodumene concentrate. Hosack said The removal of former President Robert
“Our impurities are a the company had worked hard at under- Mugabe in 2017 was thought to herald
third of those resourc- standing the nuances of the space. a reintegration of Zimbabwe into the in-
es compared against Prospect’s marketing strategy is to ternational community. However, current
our hard rock peers, with Arcadia’s iron maximise spodumene sales into the President Emmerson Mnangagwa has
grades between 0.2-0.35% iron which is chemical/battery market through long- failed to entice international investors
extremely competitive when 1% is the in- term offtake agreements while selling back to the country, his reform agen-
dustry average. the ultra-low iron petalite products direct- da largely failing to materialise on the
Arcadia’s mineralogy is offering Pros- ly into the glass and ceramics technical ground.
pect further assurances around the po- market. In contrast to international percep-
tential diversification of the product mix. In April 2018, the company signed tions, Prospect has found the Zimbabwe-
While the WA lithium miners are wedded a seven-year offtake agreement with an Government a willing supporter of its
to the EV market via conversion of their Sinomine Resources (Hong Kong) In- intentions.
spodumene product to lithium carbonate ternational Trading Co. Ltd for a corner- “It is a very present and visible project
or lithium hydroxide, Prospect is ventur- stone 42% of production. in Zimbabwe in the middle of the most
ing into alternative markets. Subsequently, the compelling nature central province and it is getting support
Since 2018, Prospect has been inves- of the glass ceramics opportunity has from Government,” Hosack explained.
tigating whether Arcadia’s lithium miner- seen Prospect adjust its mining plan and “Prospect has received all its licenc-
alogy – there are two lithium minerals in flowsheet to take advantage. es and approvals in well-defined and
the deposit; spodumene and petalite – “During the debt-sensitive part of the achieved timeframes.
would be suitable for the glass/ceramics project, the first five years, we have de- Problems remain, however. Fuel, food
sector which currently uses 500,000 tpa cided to prioritise the security provided and power shortages prevail and the
of lithium equivalent material. by the mature and stable glass and ce- recently reintroduced Zimbabwean cur-

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