Next Graphite obtains clearance certificate

Next Graphite will commence with intensified drilling and exploration efforts after it received an environmental clearance certificate from the Ministry of Environment and Tourism this week. The Economist had earlier reported that the line ministry gave Next Graphite the green light for the commencement of an environmental impact assessment study.
Cliff Bream, Next Graphite Chief Executive Officer said, “We are proud of the results and the approval by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Karas regional regulators, which enabled the company to commence with exploration and drilling on our property.”  He added, “Our geologists have already re-qualified areas on our property as priority targets to contain quantities of high-grade, hydrothermal graphite. These lodes contain identifiable high-grade graphitic lumps. We will also evaluate lodes which have been drilled throughout the mine’s history to determine if new technologies can discover previously untapped veins and lenses within the reaches of the former pits and adits.

Additionally, we now have clearance to do new drilling on the property and have just completed our detailed geological mapping of the area in preparation for initial drilling” In the interim, Next Graphite also reported the conclusion of its bulk screening programme, moving the development of the Aukam project into the second part of its bulk testing phase. 120,000 tonnes of graphite tailings will undergo scrutiny on its Aukam property while 500 tonnes of graphite bearing rock will be tested by Gecko Namibia, and SGS Lakefield Canada. Results obtained from the bulk screening phase graded an average of 41.58% graphite. 95% of samples tested to date range from 32% to 69% graphite content with the highest sample recorded at 82% graphite. A representative sample collected from its 350 metric tonne fines stockpile. This unscreened sample graded 35% graphite content according to Next Graphite. “Our testing phase and preliminary results from Gecko Laboratories is a significant validation and milestone at our Aukum site. We will continue our testing and begin more detailed, flotation testing on our samples and then report these new findings to our shareholders. With these preliminary results in hand, we will continue our testing at SGS Labs in Canada to also evaluate the processing equipment and mining options needed to commercialize our on-site graphite, at the highest price we can obtain from the market,” Bream concluded.