Sovereign Metals Ltd has expanded potential markets for products from the Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project in Malawi after confirming that graphite concentrate meets or exceeds all requirements for refractory applications with comprehensive tests by leading German laboratories.
Refractories are ceramic units designed to withstand very high temperatures in manufacturing, used in a wide variety of industrial applications and representing 24% of market demand for natural graphite.
Those numbers place refractories as the second-largest end-use market for natural graphite, after battery applications which account for a 52% market share.
Strong foundation for sales
“The refractories market is the second largest end-user of natural graphite and requires larger, coarser graphite flakes with specific chemical and physical properties,” Sovereign Metals managing director and CEO Frank Eagar
“We know that almost 70% of Kasiya’s graphite meets the size requirements for refractory applications.
“Today’s results confirm that our graphite product also meets or exceeds the key chemical and physical properties required to sell into the refractory market.
“Combining these results with the excellent results for anode materials testing highlights the premium quality of Kasiya graphite concentrate and provides a very strong foundation for sales and marketing discussions.”
Attract a premium
Refractories tend to use larger and coarser flake graphite products, which are typically sold at a premium over smaller-sized products used in the battery sector.
In Q4 2024 the price for large flake was up to US$1,193 per tonne while smaller flake was sold for US$564 per tonne – Kasiya is set to produce graphite concentrate for just US$241 per tonne (free on board).
SVM will use the results from this latest test work – undertaken by ProGraphite and Dorfner Anzaplan – to engage with potential customers and offtake partners.
Previous work done on Kasiya graphite has already confirmed its suitability for battery anode material manufacturing.
Read: Sovereign Metals produces “outstanding” battery anode material from Kasiya Graphite Project