Sarytogan Graphite (ASX:SGA) reports it has started to manufacture bulk graphite concentrate at the UVR-FIA laboratory in Germany using a 240kg sample derived from its namesake project.
Sarytogan Graphite says that the product produced is a premium micro-crystalline graphite that is ‘well suited’ to a future-facing battery anode product strategy.
The Sarytogan Graphite Project is located in Central Kazakhstan and is connected by a highway 190km from the industrial city of Karaganda.
Sarytogan Managing Director Sean Gregory says: “We are now manufacturing bulk graphite concentrate to take the next step towards battery anode material in the form of Uncoated Spherodisised Graphite (USpG). By manufacturing more graphite concentrate than our immediate needs, we are getting ahead of the sample demands which are anticipated to continue to grow. The program will be an important input to our planned Prefeasibility Study.”
“We are now manufacturing bulk graphite concentrate to take the next step towards battery anode material in the form of Uncoated Spherodisised Graphite”
The ‘high-grade’ 209Mt @ 28.5% Total Graphitic Carbon (TGC) Inferred Mineral Resource offers future mining economics a head start. The process starts with the graphite concentrate using grinding and flotation to a graphite purity of around 84%TGC. Australian Laboratory Independent Metallurgical Operations (IMO) was first to develop this process and has been replicated by German graphite experts Pro-Graphite.
UVR-FIA is a German laboratory contracted to manufacture bulk graphite concentrate. UVR-FIA specialises in the research, development, and small-scale production in the field of mechanical process engineering and preparation of mineral resources.
UVR-FIA will homogenise the graphite and split it into 4 equal portions of 60kg. This is recognised as the most economical scale to manufacture the required graphite concentrate.
Sarytogan Graphite states that about 27kg of graphite concentrate is expected from each batch. The planned USpG optimisation tests require a minimum of 5kg of flotation concentrate which is more than the bench scale tests have delivered so far.
The bulk flotation program is anticipated to run through Q2 2023 to then feed into the spheroidisation program in Q3 2023 ahead of battery performance tests in the following quarter.
Sarytogan Graphite through its subsidiary Ushtogan is the 100% owner of the Sarytogan Graphite Project. The project is located in the Karaganda region of Central Kazakhstan and the exploration concession covers 70 km-square. As its name suggests, the Sarytogan Graphite Project is prospective for graphite and a meaningful initial JORC compliant resource has already been delineated on the project.
