International Graphite’s Springdale deposit, near Hopetoun in Western Australia, has been named Discovery of the Year in the 20th annual Australian Mining Prospect Awards.
The award, which is one of the most prestigious in Australia, celebrates a greenfields or brownfields site that is recognised as significant for the broader Australian industry.
Four judges chose the Springfield Graphite Project, which has grown from an unknown asset into the second biggest graphite deposit in the country in under 18 months.
International Graphite Managing Director and CEO Andrew Worland said: “This is wonderful recognition of the skills of our technical team and in particular our exploration team lead by Darren Sparks, from OmniGeoX.
“Four graphite discoveries and a 3.4 times increase in mineral resources is testament to a well planned and executed drilling program.
“In a very short period of time we have established the Springdale Graphite Project as a serious development stage property with significant further mineral resource growth potential.
“Springdale will be an important source of raw material for the downstream processing operations we are developing up the road at Collie.
“Having a complete mine to market supply chain, in a Tier 1 resource jurisdiction like Western Australia, sets International Graphite apart. It will ensure we can create jobs and opportunities in our regional communities and retain the value of our natural resources at home in WA.”
IG6’s Springdale Graphite Project is now the second largest graphite deposit in Australia and one of the top 15 outside China.
A new Mineral Resource Estimate released in September 2023 identified a resource of 49.3Mt @ 6.5% Total Graphitic Content (TGC). Four new graphite discoveries were made in 2022-23 with significant exploration areas still to be investigated.
More than 27% of the resource is now at an indicated level of surety with more drilling planned in the near future.
A long-life, open cut graphite mine backed by a simple flotation circuit is planned at Springdale. This will establish a completely integrated circuit and provide a secure and stable feed of graphite concentrate for downstream processing at Collie.
The fine flake mineralisation at Springdale is ideally suited for battery materials. Bulk concentrate testwork is currently underway with a scoping study expected by the end of the 2023 calendar year and a full feasibility study for the mine due to be released next year. (2024)
International Graphite’s first commercial graphite micronising plant, at Collie, is also expected to be operational in late 2024.
The Discovery of the Year Award was presented at a gala dinner in Brisbane, attended by more than 200 mining industry leaders.
Caption: IG6’s Director of Marketing and Communication Marie Howarth, accepts the award from sponsor David Davies, representing Atlas Iron, at the presentation in Brisbane