Sarytogan Graphite Ltd (ASX:SGA) managing director Sean Gregory joins Jonathan Jackson in the Proactive studio after the company identified significant market potential for its Micro80C graphite product, targeting the grey cast iron industry as a potential high-volume application for its recarburiser.
Testing has shown that this product is effective in reintroducing carbon during cast iron manufacturing. In this process, up to 6% carbon is added back to improve durability and malleability, a practice known as recarburising.
The grey cast iron industry, producing approximately 31 million tonnes annually, consumes about 1 million tonnes of recarburiser, presenting a substantial offtake opportunity for Sarytogan.
Gregory noted that this market represented a base load opportunity that could drive further expansion of the Sarytogan Graphite Project, complementing recent pre-feasibility study results.
The next phase involves processing 20 tonnes of trial-mined ore from the Sarytogan deposit in Kazakhstan, with milling scheduled in Karaganda. From this, a tonne of milled ore will be transported to Australia to produce flotation concentrate, a portion of which will then be shipped to the US for purification.
The resulting product samples, expected in quantities sufficient for vendor testing and customer qualification, mark a crucial step toward commercialising the 229-million-tonne Sarytogan resource.