International Graphite Ltd (ASX:IG6) earlier this week released its first formal guidance for the company’s expandable graphite facility in Germany, outlining strong early-stage economics and advancing development milestones.
The company told investors that the plant is expected to cost just over €6.00 million to build and will produce approximately 4,200 tonnes of expandable graphite per year. It said the project has a pre-tax NPV of more than AU$100.00 million across 25 years, with a projected payback of 18 months once full capacity is achieved.
International Graphite said output could potentially increase further depending on final process design, and that testwork is continuing to refine the operational model.
CEO Andrew Worland said six different graphite concentrates — including material from Springdale — are currently being processed in Europe to inform flowsheet design and chemistry. The company is also working to finalise intellectual property licensing arrangements and commercialise the process.
In parallel, the company is advancing its product marketing strategy in Europe and finalising site logistics and land arrangements at the Midfield Chemical Park.
Feasibility and technical studies will continue over the next three to six months, with project funding and construction planning to follow.
Proactive:
Welcome back to Proactive Newsroom. I'm now joined by International Graphite Managing Director and CEO Andrew Worland. Andrew, it’s good to have you back.
Andrew Worland:
Yeah, wonderful to be back.
Proactive:
You provided your first guidance to investors this morning on the potential performance of your graphite facility in Europe. What can you confirm today?
Andrew Worland:
We’ve been working through the technical aspects of the project over the past three or four months. We've now reached a position where we’re confident enough to share initial guidance with investors.
We’ve outlined a capital cost of just over €6 million for a facility in Germany that will produce around 4,200 tonnes of expandable graphite per annum. The project delivers strong cash flow and has a projected 25-year NPV of over AU$100 million, with a payback period of 18 months at nameplate capacity. The economics are outstanding. This supports our strategy to enter the downstream graphite processing space — a proven path to success, particularly in the private sector.
Proactive:
The current design calls for around 4,200 tonnes of output. Does that number still hold?
Andrew Worland:
It does. Our current process design allows for between 3,500 and 4,500 tonnes per annum. The 4,200-tonne figure reflects the quality of the testwork results we’re seeing. That number may increase slightly with minor capital or process design changes, but that will be determined by the testwork over the next 3 to 6 months.
Proactive:
It’s been a while since we last caught up — can you give us an update on the facility and what you’ve been working on?
Andrew Worland:
Certainly. The two most important things we’ve been working on are testwork and securing IP rights. We have graphite concentrates in Europe now from six different sources — including material from Springdale — and this is informing our process design and chemistry.
We’re also working closely with the IP owner to develop a commercial flowsheet. Additionally, we’ve started developing our marketing strategy in Europe and are planning to engage a specialist firm to help with this over the next few months.
Finally, we’re progressing site logistics and land tenure at the Midfield Chemical Park in Germany. All of these steps are leading toward completing our feasibility and technical studies over the next three to six months, which will allow us to finance and begin construction.
Proactive:
We’ll look forward to more updates soon. This was International Graphite Managing Director and CEO Andrew Worland.