Positive feasibility study for Mazarin graphite play

The project, to operate at a rate of 400 tonnes of material per day, could be in production in early 1991, President Regis Labeaume said. Projected annual production is 23,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate.

While the mill will operate year-round, the open pit mining operation s, to be contracted out, will take place for only six months of the year. (To provide a mill supply during the winter, the ore will be stockpiled.)

The study was carried out by Roche and Associates of Quebec City and Davy Canada of Toronto. Estimated cost of bringing the project to the production stage is $32.6 million. Labeaume said government grants obtained under the Ottawa-Quebec auxiliary agreement on mineral development will reduce Mazarin’s cost to $26.3 million.

Plans call for a milling facility to be built near Hwy. 389 just outside Fermont, and along the road leading to the mining installations of Quebec Cartier Mining. Ore from the deposit will be transported by truck to the mill along a 35-km road. In total, 85 jobs will be created by the project.

The Fermont area is known for its iron ore deposits. A road kept open all year connects Fermont with Baie Comeau on the St. Lawrence River. The area is also served by the railway.

According to the study, the Lac Knife deposit has three zones of quartz-feldspar gneisses containing an average of 17% graphitic carbon and 5-20% sulphides constituted mainly of pyrrhotite. Total reserves (all classes) are estimated to be 8.75 million tonnes grading 14.2% graphitic carbon.

At a rate of 400 tonnes per day, a 67-year mine life is projected.

While the world market for graphite is relatively small, new applications for the mineral continue to be found. The strategy being employed by mining companies hoping to sell their graphitic concentrate is to strike a deal with a global distributor; Labeaume said he expects to be able to announce such a deal in the near future.

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