Sovereign Metals (ASX: SVM; LSE: SVML) has reached a major milestone by confirming the battery-quality of graphite concentrate to be processed from its Kasiya project in Malawi.
The Australian company said the coated spherical purified graphite produced at Kasiya was an “excellent feedstock” for anode materials, which presented a low-cost opportunity to develop lithium-ion battery supply chains outside of China.
The mining exploration and development company, in which Rio Tinto (ASX, LON: RIO) has a 19.76% interest, said the product had performance characteristics comparable only to “the highest quality” natural graphite battery material produced by dominant Chinese anode manufacturers.
“These results confirm that Kasiya graphite concentrate will be an excellent anode material feedstock to the battery industry,” managing director Frank Egar said. “Not only is the weathered, saprolite-hosted graphite easy to purify to very high-grades, the anode material produced meets the industry specifications.”
Few impurities
The high purity, near perfect crystallinity and low levels of impurities in the natural flake from the Kasiya orebody contributed to the positive results, according to Sovereign Metals.
These attributes, the company noted, contribute to longer battery life, minimize loss of lithium in the battery charging cycle and offer high electrical storage capacity. Further optimization test work is to occur at a pilot-scale facility in South Africa.
Sovereign Metals has also launched a program to evaluate the potential of Kasiya concentrate for use in traditional refractories and foundry applications. The initiative will use the coarse fraction of the concentrate produced at the pilot plant to test the material’s suitability for these industrial purposes.
Shares in Sovereign Metals gained 1 pence to close at 33.5 pence apiece in London on Wednesday, valuing the company at £200.2 million. It’s traded in a 52-week range of 20 pence to 41 pence.
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