Premier African Minerals says interim audit findings on its Zulu Lithium project support the company’s decision to fast-track installation of a new 15–20 tonne-per-hour flotation plant, as it seeks to achieve commercially viable grades and recoveries.
The company said it has received initial results from the third-party audit of the Zulu Lithium plant and associated operations, following the review announced on 30 October.
The audit assessed the entire plant, including equipment that could be incorporated into a redesigned processing configuration, and examined the performance of the existing flotation plant.
Premier said the interim findings are now being reviewed by both the company and the original equipment manufacturer of the current flotation plant. A further update will be released once both parties agree on the final conclusions.
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For now, Premier says the audit reinforces the board’s earlier decision to proceed immediately with the acquisition, installation and commissioning of the Xinhai Technology Processing EPC flotation plant. The company believes the new plant offers the strongest assurance of achieving early commercial production at Zulu.
Meanwhile, Premier remains in discussions with potential lenders and offtake funders regarding a possible purchase or restructuring of the prepayment and accrued interest owed under the project’s offtake agreement.
Any deal will depend on Zulu demonstrating consistent production at the required tonnage and grade. Premier cautioned there is no guarantee that negotiations will result in acceptable funding terms.
Managing director Graham Hill said the audit identified practical steps to improve operational performance and evaluated the suitability and configuration of the existing flotation plant, pending the OEM’s final assessment.
“The general consensus is that the overall design of the Zulu Lithium plant processing technology is appropriate and that the Zulu ore is definitely amenable to processing by the selected route,” Hill said.
He added that the audit will help establish how the existing plant could eventually supplement the new Xinhai flotation plant, but emphasised that the immediate priority remains installing the Xinhai unit to secure the earliest possible commercial output.
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