en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 12, InVert Graphite (ASX: IVG) disclosed the maiden Mineral Resource estimate for the Kumba graphite deposit in Tanzania. At a 4% total graphitic carbon (TGC) cut-off grade, the deposit hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource of 32.2 million tonnes at an average TGC grade of 8.0%, containing approximately 2.56 million tonnes of graphite. The estimate has been prepared in accordance with the JORC Code (2012 Edition).
Mineralisation at Kumba starts from surface, with approximately 97% of the resource occurring within 75 metres of surface, and the mineralised body remains open down-dip. This resource has been reported for a potential open-pit mining scenario, using a density of 2.8 tonnes per cubic metre, and does not account for mining dilution or ore loss. Its shallow nature is amenable to conventional open-pit mining methods, and further development will require resource upgrade, metallurgical test work, and economic evaluation.
The resource model is based on data from 9 trenches totalling 2,181 metres, 20 reverse circulation holes totalling 1,281 metres, and 4 diamond drill holes totalling 279 metres. The average drill hole depth is approximately 65 metres, with a maximum depth of 100 metres. The resource estimate was completed by Elizabeth Haren of Haren Consulting, an independent technical consultant.
Kumba forms part of InVert Graphite's wholly owned Morogoro Graphite Project. The project covers an area of approximately 386 square kilometres, located approximately 25 kilometres south of Morogoro city and approximately 200 kilometres west of Dar es Salaam. The project is approximately 30 kilometres from both the standard- and narrow-gauge railways and the Morogoro–Dar es Salaam highway, and approximately 25 kilometres from the Tanzanian national grid connection point.
Surface sampling carried out in 2022 confirmed graphite mineralisation at seven prospect areas, with sample TGC grades ranging from 5.77% to 30% and an average grade of 12.6%. Early trenching at Kumba returned continuous mineralised intervals of 312 metres at 8.8% TGC and 212 metres at 13.5% TGC, respectively. Drilling in 2025 further returned intersections of 33 metres at approximately 10.0% TGC and 45 metres at approximately 9.9% TGC, providing the foundational data for this resource estimate.
Preliminary metallurgical test work on the Kumba and Kasanga prospects employed standard grinding, flotation, and cleaning processes. Graphite concentrate grades for five individual samples ranged from 95.4% to 98.4%, with recoveries of 88.3% to 95.5%; a composite sample achieved a concentrate grade of 97.4% with a recovery of 92.5%.
InVert Graphite plans to resume drilling in September, focusing on infill drilling to facilitate the upgrade of a portion of the Inferred Resource, while also collecting representative metallurgical test samples and continuing to test the strike and down-dip extensions of the Kumba mineralisation.
