The Annual General Meeting of International Graphite Limited (ASX:IG6) was held today with all resolutions passed.
We took the opportunity after the meeting to talk to Managing Director and CEO Andrew Worland about the significant milestones that have been achieved at both the Springdale Graphite Project and the Collie Downstream Processing Hub as the team pushes ahead with its vision to be Western Australia’s first mine-to-market battery graphite producer.
Mr Worland said: “At the AGM last year, we laid out our mine-to-market strategy and development plans for the Springdale Graphite Project and downstream processing ambitions in Collie, Western Australia.
“We have been incredibly active since listing on the ASX in April 2022. The highlight of the past twelve months has undoubtedly been the outstanding drilling success at Springdale and recognition of the Springdale Graphite Project as a deposit of international significance.
“The Mineral Resource estimate of 49.3Mt @ 6.5% TGC for 3.4Mt contained graphite, which was published on 12 September, positions Springdale in the top 15 JORC reporting resources globally, with a substantial amount of exploration potential still to be tested.
“The achievement resulted in Springdale being named Discovery of the Year in the prestigious 2023 Australian Mining Prospect Awards. The award celebrates a greenfields or brownfields site which is recognised as significant for the broader Australian industry.
“Bulk metallurgical testwork on drill core samples from Springdale is now well advanced and is expected to yield ~125kg of graphite concentrate for further testing and downstream research. A Scoping Study for concentrate production operations at Springdale is scheduled to be completed before the end of December. That study will be integrated with the Collie BAM Facility Scoping Study released in April this year.
“The Collie study demonstrated strong economics for the production of uncoated and coated purified spheroidised graphite and will further benefit as feedstock costs from Springdale are expected to be lower those use in the study modelling.”The Collie study demonstrated strong economics for the production of uncoated and coated purified spheroidised graphite and will further benefit as feedstock costs from Springdale are expected to be lower those use in the study modelling.
“Our Collie R&D Facility was opened last November by former WA Premier Mark McGowan. It has recently been expanded with the installation of CMS20 qualification micronising equipment (with spheroidising capability) which will be used to qualify micronised graphite products for commercial scale micronising operations, firstly based on imported concentrates as set out in the micronising feasibility study released in March of this year, and secondly based on Springdale concentrates. The plant will also support BAM testwork for Springdale.
“In recent weeks we have seen graphite emerge as a geo-political issue following an announcement that the Chinese government intends to restrict the export of graphite products. This highlights the sensitivity of the battery supply chain. Enormous commitments have been made by firms in Europe, North America, Korea and Japan, to build out gigafactory capacity and they all rely on a stable, reliable and consistent supply of raw materials.
“No jurisdiction in the world exceeds Western Australia’s reputation as a supplier of raw materials. We will be a supplier of first choice for graphite.
“I expect our rapid progress will continue over the next twelve months. At next year’s AGM we aim to be closing in on a decision to mine at Springdale, based on a clear market entry strategy, while simultaneously advancing commercial scale micronising in Collie. As our projects mature through the next 12 months, strategic investment and offtake discussions will advance. We look forward to delivering outstanding results in 2024 and beyond.”
Caption: Managing Director and CEO Andrew Worland presents at the International Mining and Resources Conference, in Sydney, November 2023.
Refer to the Company’s ASX announcements for more information on the year’s activities.