Location Eyre Peninsula Country Australia Opened 2014 (2014) | State South Australia Products graphite | |
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Active 1920s to 1993 and from 2014 | ||
The Uley graphite project is a proposed graphite mine at Uley on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is also known as the Ouray mine.
Contents
Project Overview and History
Graphite was discovered in the area of the Uley project in the early 1800s and it was mined intermittently from the 1920s until 1993, when it was placed on care and maintenance. When in production, the open cut mine was capable of producing up to 14,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate annually.
The project was re-activated in 2014 by its current owner, Valence Industries Ltd. Valence Industries is an ASX listed company (ASX code VXL) focused on graphite development and production. The Uley project is its core asset and main focus. Valence reported first sales of graphite from the Uley mine, under its ownership, in 2014 and has all approvals in place to commence production at the mine, plus a high grade Ore Reserve. It has also completed a Feasibility Study for the significant expansion of its Uley graphite operations.
The Uley Graphite Project is acknowledged as one of the largest coarse flake graphite deposits in the world. The deposit contains near-surface, disseminated, high-grade flake graphite. The project is held on free hold land, and comprises two Mining Licences and two associated Retention Licences, plus a large Exploration Licence south of the existing Uley graphite facilities.
Location
The Uley project is located in a region comprised predominantly of freehold and perpetual leasehold land used in the main for cereal cropping and livestock grazing. An established network of haul roads and sealed highways connect the project to available port facilities, and national road and rail networks. A two lane highway connects Port Lincoln to other regional towns on the Eyre Peninsula and Adelaide, the South Australian capital.
Port Lincoln is the major regional centre in the Lower Eyre Peninsula and has a population of about 14,000, and has extensive public facilities, an airport serviced by regular flights to Adelaide, and a modern deep-water port, capable of handling up to Panamax-size ships.
Existing Plant and Infrastructure
The Uley Graphite Mine has significant existing plant and infrastructure which facilitate its current operations. This includes a 14,000 tonnes per annum graphite processing facility, site access and haul roads linking a sealed road to Port Lincoln and associated port infrastructure, plus power and water infrastructure requirements of the project. The project area is connected to the National Electricity grid. There are also existing workshops plus laboratory and administration buildings on site.