WA battery graphite pilot plant ready for commissioning

Equipment has been installed and International Graphite’s pilot-scale micronising and spheroidising plant is ready for commissioning at Collie in Western Australia.

The equipment installation marks a critical step in the company’s push to become a producer and global supplier of high-quality spheroidised graphite products, suitable for battery anode material (BAM.)

“Establishment of this micronising and spheroidising pilot facility at Collie is our first step towards realising our vision of creating a vertically integrated from-mine-to-final-battery-anode-material production facility in Western Australia,” said Executive Chairman Phil Hearse. “This development, which comes only four months after our successful IPO, is a testament to the extensive work the IG6 team did in the years prior to and since our IPO.”

Wet commissioning will be undertaken using imported fine-flaked graphite concentrate that is onsite ready to be processed. The concentrate was sourced from ISO9001 and ISO14001 certified producers.

The pilot plant will establish the company’s presence in the marketplace, build operating expertise in graphite product handling and packaging, and assist in the development of a process for the purification of graphite concentrates.

“With governments focused on establishing supply chains for critical minerals such as battery-grade graphite, including the recent announcement by the WA Government of approximately $660 million investment into the Collie region to support such endeavours, we look forward to continuing to deliver milestones,” said Hearse.

The company intends to apply the knowledge gained from the pilot facilities to consider implementing a commercial-scale micronising facility that could treat third-party concentrates, generate cashflow, and be subsequently expanded and integrated with graphite spheroidising, purification and potentially coating facilities to treat concentrates from the company’s Springdale Graphite Project and produce battery anode material.

Purified micronised graphite can be sold as a conductive additive to battery cathodes or other industrial applications, or as an intermediate product used in the production of purified spheroidised graphite. Micronising is a necessary step in the production of battery anode material in lithium-ion batteries.