ASX-listed International Graphite has successfully commissioned its new graphite micronising plant in the South West town of Collie in what it says is a first for the Australian battery minerals industry.
Its qualification-scale microniser, with a capacity of 200 tonnes per annum, will be the first to produce graphite products in Australia for customer acceptance testing. Management says the plant commissioning represents a major milestone in the development of a domestic graphite industry as part of its mine-to-market strategy.
The company plans to process ore from its Springdale graphite project near Hopetoun on Western Australia’s south coast at its Collie processing facility, which sits about 450km from the deposit. The procedure will allow it to transform the raw graphite material into a substance appropriate for use in the construction of lithium-ion batteries.
The Springdale project is a near-surface, potentially open-pit mining operation with a well-developed infrastructure of roads and ports.
More than 100 jobs are expected to be created at Springdale and Collie and the new plant is the precursor to a 4000-tonne-per-annum commercial micronising facility that is expected to be operating at Collie within 18 months. Management believes the construction of the $12.5 million plant could be given the green light as early as mid-year.
We are delighted to have successfully produced commercial grade micronised products from this new facility, the first of its type in Australia. Australian companies like us are in the box seat to deliver. We have the assets, the technical capability and Western Australia has an unparallelled reputation as a top resource supplier with outstanding ESG credentials. International Graphite managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Worland
Just last year, the company more than tripled the size of its mineral resource at Springdale to a whopping 49.3 million tonnes at 6.5 per cent total graphitic carbon (TGC). The impressive resource includes a grade increase from the previous figure of 15.3 million tonnes at 6 per cent TGC, with 11.5 million tonnes at 7.5 per cent TGC in the indicated category.
Notably, management says the upgrade has been delivered with only about 10 per cent of the tenement area explored to date and some 20 per cent of its exploration targets tested. About 10 per cent of the new resource has come from drilling at the operation’s new graphite discovery at Mason Bay, 2km east of the main Springdale deposit.
Micronised graphite is used in many industrial products, from lubricants, polymers, plastics and ceramics to lightweight structural materials and fire-resistant building materials.
In addition to being a critical conductive additive in the cathode of lithium-ion batteries, micronised graphite is also the first stage in producing battery anode material for battery-powered technologies – particularly for electric vehicles (EVs) and green-energy storage.
International Graphite believes the vulnerability of the battery supply chain is now highly exposed following China’s decision to restrict its graphite product exports from late last year. The company says China supplies more than 80 per cent of the world graphite market, leaving battery gigafactory developers across Europe, North America, Korea and Japan searching for a consistent and reliable supply of critical raw materials.
Management says its strategy has won favour with both the WA Government, which supports early micronising as an important contributor to Collie’s economic transition from coal, and the Australian Government, which recognises the critical role graphite plays in the battery minerals mix. Together, State and Federal Governments have contributed $6.7 million in grant funding to International Graphite.
WA Regional Development Minister Don Punch today described the commissioning as an “exciting milestone” for International Graphite.
“It’s an exciting signpost in Collie’s journey as we build resilience through economic diversification,” Punch said. “The Cook Government is investing in new and emerging industries in Collie to create job and training opportunities for local people across a range of industries, ensuring a strong future for the community.”
International Graphite’s business plan has already attracted the attention of potential customers and finance partners in Australia, Japan, Korea and North America.
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