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Lindi Jumbo is in the same Tanzanian graphite province as Nachu (Magnis Resources) and Chilalo (Graphex Mining)

Allan Mulligan has never been afraid to walk a different path. So, Nachu and Graphex’s Chilalo project,
when he injected a graphite project into Walkabout Resources Ltd but nothing could be guaranteed until the
in late 2014, the chances of it following a familiar and traditional route first drilling campaign in September 2015
to development were slim at best. confirmed its presence.

“We knew we were entering the [graph- Walkabout could take heart from the pro- “We had no doubt and the preliminary
ite] sector quite late, compared to others, gress made by Magnis at the neighbour- report had indicated there was graphite
and therefore we knew from the outset ing Nachu project. on our ground,” Mulligan said.
we would need to differentiate the project
and ourselves somewhat,” Mulligan told The probability of finding graphite on “We received some chip sample re-
Paydirt. its tenements was always high for Walk- sults from surface and among them were
about, given Lindi Jumbo’s proximity to some 30-40% results that indicated to us
Walkabout’s acquisition of the Lindi there was an opportunity to find a higher-
Jumbo project, about 200km east of Mt- Walkabout executive director Allan Mulligan grade deposit.”
wara in Tanzania, came several months
after the graphite sector bubbled and a With Mulligan, technical director An-
host of ASX-listed hopefuls entered the drew Cunningham and consulting ge-
space. ologist Rickard Taljaard on the ground
to oversee the programme, Walkabout
Replicating what the likes of Syrah struck a high-grade zone within the first
Resources Ltd, Magnis Resources Ltd, two holes drilled.
Kibaran Resources Ltd and another rela-
tive newcomer, Graphex Mining Ltd, had What followed next was the implemen-
done in the preceding months and years tation of a three-pronged strategy to fast-
meant Walkabout faced an uphill battle track production, which would underpin
to catch up to its peers, if at all. the company’s rapid progress over the
next 16 months.
At the time of the acquisition, very lit-
tle exploration work had been carried out “Once we hit the high-grade zone, we
on the Lindi Jumbo property. However, decided not to spread the programme
over the original planned area and to fo-
cus on that particular zone as far as we
could identify it,” Mulligan said.

AUSTRALIA’S PAYDIRT APRIL 2017 PAGE 21