International Graphite has been on a company-defining journey since it listed on the ASX in April 2022, with its ‘mine-to-market’ strategy recently endorsed by the Federal Government.
In honouring the one-year anniversary of its ASX listing, International Graphite wrote to its shareholders thanking them for their support, highlighting its key milestones over the prior 12 months.
“Since listing, we have established a downstream research and development facility in the Collie light industrial area, which was officially opened by Western Australia’s Premier, the Hon. Mark McGowan, in November last year,” the company said in a letter to shareholders.
“The facility houses pilot graphite micronising, spheroidising and purification equipment that is some of the most sophisticated plant of its kind in Australia.
“We have successfully used this equipment, with imported concentrates, to demonstrate that we are able to produce a spheroidised graphite product that meets market specifications.”
International Graphite’s mine-to-market business model sees raw materials mined from the company’s Springdale graphite project in WA before being fed into a downstream processing plant in Collie.
International Graphite successfully commissioned its micronising facility in September 2022, with micronising the critical first step in the downstream processing of battery anode materials.
“What micronising does is essentially takes a fine concentrate, which might be 100–150 microns in size, somewhere in that order, and essentially grinds it down to a 20-micron size,” International Graphite managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Worland told Australian Resources & Investment in a May feature.
“Generally speaking, somewhere in the vicinity of 20 microns is what’s needed to progress a micronised graphite product through the battery anode process. You then spheroidise the micronised graphite and purify it, which involves taking a concentrate grade, let’s say 95 per cent, up to battery grade of 99.95 per cent.
“The final step is coating, and then you have a high-value product which is available for battery manufacturers.”
International Graphite has made significant progress in recent months, making a fourth high-grade graphite discovery at its Springdale project, releasing a new scoping study for the Collie downstream facility, while also securing the plant’s site.
These achievements culminated in the Federal Government awarding International Graphite a $4.7 million grant to support its mine-to-market strategy.
“Australia has set its sights on becoming a critical minerals powerhouse and we are thrilled that the Federal Government has recognised our potential to contribute to that vision,” Worland said in an ASX announcement.
“The world needs new graphite supply. Battery and electric vehicle manufacturers worldwide are searching for new graphite supplies, with high ESG values, to meet the unprecedented demand for batteries.”
And with International Graphite’s advanced mining and processing aspirations, looks like the company has an important role to play in the world’s decarbonisation narrative.
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