Sovereign Metals Ltd has opened a new market opportunity with the latest test-work on natural graphite from its Kasiya Graphite and Rutile Project in Malawi, confirming medium to coarse graphite concentrate can meet or exceed specifications for the expandable and expanded graphite markets.
Used for a wide range of applications including flame retardants and gaskets, seals and brake linings, the expandable and expanded graphite markets require almost 100,000 tonnes of natural graphite a year, growing at a compounding annual growth rate of 6-8%.
The 94-95% purity graphite concentrate used in these markets was priced at about US$1,140 per tonne (free on board) in December last year, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
Three key graphite markets
“Our continuous graphite downstream application testing has shown that the high-quality Kasiya concentrate is suitable for the three key natural graphite markets: the high-growth anode materials for graphite fines; the stable and large refractory materials market for coarse flake and the growing expandable and expanded graphite markets for medium to coarse flake,” Sovereign Metals managing director and CEO Frank Eagar said.
“These results along with our industry-low cost position, offers Kasiya the potential to become the world’s dominant natural graphite supplier, whilst remaining a primary rutile project.”
SVM says these three major graphite sectors account for over 94% of the 1.6-million-tonnes-per-annum global demand for natural flake graphite.
The company intends to produce a concentrate of 96% graphite at an incremental cost of US$241 per tonne (free on board), based on a recent optimised pre-feasibility report.
The results from this latest test work will be provided to potential customers and offtake partners to advance formal discussions.