Sarytogan Graphite Ltd (ASX:SGA) is this week set to begin a trial mining exercise at its exceptionally large and high-grade Sarytogan Graphite Project in Kazakhstan to collect graphite ore for vendor test work and customer sample generation.
The company expects to begin trial mining of a 20-tonne bulk sample from the project’s Central Graphite Zone in the coming days, with the sample to be milled at a local Kazakh laboratory to confirm the grinding assumptions of the pre-feasibility study (PFS) to a definitive feasibility study (DFS) standard.
Sarytogan then plans to ship up to one tonne of the milled sample to Australia for generation of 'Micro80C' products for machine vendor testing and customer qualification.
Some of this Micro80C is planned for refining to 'five nines purity' for qualification by battery customers.
Next steps
Sarytogan managing director Sean Gregory said: “Following the positive PFS results, we now move forward with the next steps in the development of the Sarytogan Graphite Project, being customer-focused early-works.
“A 20-tonne trial mining exercise will provide samples for grinding and machine vendor tests to a DFS standard and most importantly, generation of samples for customer qualification.”
Trial mining imminent
Sarytogan is mobilising a hydraulic excavator to site this week. The company plans to cast aside the thin soil profile to mine 20 tonnes of representative graphite ore before the pit wall is battered back and the soil returned.
The PFS modelled that the first 60 years of the high-grade mineral resource at the Sarytogan Graphite Project would be mined as a probable ore reserve of 8.6 million tonnes grading 30% total graphitic carbon (TGC).
Importantly, this would consume just 4% of the project’s giant and exceptionally high-grade 229 million tonne at 29% TGC mineral resource.
The average strip ratio is modelled as only 0.2:1, ie 0.2 tonnes of waste for every tonne of ore, meaning that ore is readily available at surface.
The first half of the mine plan is exclusively from the Central Graphite Zone (CGZ) before the Northern Graphite Zone (NGZ) is mined from year 30 onwards. The trial mining exercise will therefore be representatively conducted in the CGZ.
Mining and infrastructure for the PFS of the Sarytogan Graphite Project.
Samples for customer qualification
The 20 tonnes of ore will be trucked to Karaganda where bulk milling tests are planned to confirm the energy requirements and equipment sizing for this step at a level of detail suitable for a definitive feasibility study (DFS).
SGA plans to ship up to one tonne of the milled ore to Australia for generation of additional bulk flotation concentrate, similar to the 20 kilograms previously produced, except at a larger scale.
The samples will then be available firstly for vendor test-work with machines designed for thermal purification, size classification, and spheronisation. Secondly and most importantly, the samples will be available for customer qualification.
Other updates
In addition to news of the planned trial mining, the company reported it is now working through satisfying the conditions precedent to complete the A$5 million equity placement from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the EBRD).
Completion of Tranche 1 is on track for October, followed by Tranche 2 in December.
Sarytogan also notes that copper exploration is continuing at Bainazar and expects to shortly announce soil sampling results and an aeromagnetic survey.