Renascor Resources (ASX:RNU) has produced battery-grade purified spherical graphite (PSG) at its demonstration plant in Adelaide, achieving 99.97% carbon purity.
The company produced the material during batch trials using third-party graphite, establishing benchmarks for demonstration plant performance. Each trial ran for about five days, with samples collected at each stage of the integrated purification flowsheet.
The result demonstrates the ability of the integrated hydrofluoric acid (HF)-free purification process to achieve battery-grade purity at demonstration scale, building on purities previously achieved in laboratory test work.
Managing Director David Christensen says the milestone moves the company beyond ‘laboratory-scale validation’.
“We have now confirmed that our HF-free purification process works at demonstration scale, achieving 99.97% carbon purity through the plant’s integrated purification circuit,” Christensen remarks.
“This provides important validation of the scale-up of our technology.”
The result follows Renascor’s recently announced purification cost study, which estimated operating costs of about US$459 ($658) per tonne.
The demonstration plant was built with support from a $5 million grant under the Australian Government’s International Partnerships in Critical Minerals program. The facility is designed to continuously process graphite and produce tonne-scale quantities of battery-grade material.
Renascor plans to continue batch trials this quarter using both third-party spherical graphite and Siviour graphite. The trials aim to build confidence in the process’s performance and consistency, support optimisation of operating parameters, and produce samples for evaluation by prospective offtake partners.
Following the batch trial program, the company plans multi-tonne trials comprising extended continuous operating runs. These campaigns will assess performance over longer periods and produce larger quantities of PSG for customer qualification programs.
Renascor has secured sufficient feedstock, including Siviour material, to support processing through the March 2027 quarter.
The company holds a conditionally approved $185 million loan facility from the Australian Government’s Critical Minerals Facility and a cash balance of about $94 million as of 30 June 2026.
Renascor Resources is an Australian graphite developer advancing battery anode material projects across South Australia.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Renascor Resources
