PERTH: BlackEarth Minerals NL has commenced the excavation of 60 tonnes of bulk material from the Maniry Graphite Project in southern Madagascar, as part of its trial mining / large scale pilot program.

The mining and excavation activities on site are expected to be completed by late November, and the 60+ tonnes bulk sample is expected to arrive at Beijing General Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (BGRIMM) in early January 2020.

An initial 250kg of Maniry material has already been received at BGRIMM’s facility in China, with testing expected to commence shortly, with the aim of establishing optimal operating conditions for the large scale pilot plant program.

Mining from the defined Razafy Resource has commenced with the full cooperation and involvement of the local community.

BlackEarth Minerals Managing Director, Tom Revy, commented: “BlackEarth continues to meet the milestones required to progress the Company from graphite developer to producer. With 250kgsof Maniry concentrate already in China and testing to commence shortly, the further60 tonnes of bulk material currently being mined, will be shipped to China as part of the Stage 2 large scale pilot plant program, which will provide valuable information and data to the Company. BlackEarth continues to take consistent steps towards formalising binding offtake agreements and the completion of the bankable feasibility study. We look forward to continuing to advance the Maniry graphite project over the coming period.”