Strong outlook for ‘first-of-its-kind’ Australian graphite...

Strong outlook for ‘first-of-its-kind’ Australian graphite plant

Olivia Thomson

15 hours ago

International Graphite’s graphite micronising plant in Collie will process graphite concentrates from the Springdale project. Image: International Graphite

A new front-end engineering and design (FEED) study has highlighted the strong economics of International Graphite’s proposed Collie graphite micronising facility in Western Australia.

A qualification-scale microniser with a 200-tonne-per-annum (tpa) capacity was successfully commissioned in February 2024, making it the largest qualification-scale microniser in Australia.

It was the predecessor to a commercial micronising facility International Graphite expects to begin operating at Collie in late 2026.

Now, a FEED study has been conducted to outline the technical, economic and regulatory framework for developing the facility.

The study found that the facility could produce approximately 4000tpa, resulting in an average annual revenue of $14.1 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 43 per cent over a 20-year period.

Other finding from the study include:

a capital cost estimate of $6.3 million

an average sales price of $3722/t

an average annual operating cost of $2536/t over a 20-year period

$25.8 million in net present value calculated using a 10 per cent discount rate (NPV10)

$282.3 million in total revenue over a 20-year period.

The study also provided a basis for the facility’s expansion, which included an increased annual micronised graphite production of approximately 7500tpa.

“The economics for the Collie micronising facility are strong,” International Graphite managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Worland said.

“(The) successful implementation and progressive expansion option would rank International Graphite as an international force in the industrial graphite market.

“We believe the key to advancing graphite projects is through the control of value-adding industrial and battery anode downstream processing facilities.”

The Collie micronising facility is part of International Graphite’s plans to establish a fully integrated mine-to-market graphite operation in WA through a graphite mine and concentrate production facility at Springdale and battery anode facilities in Collie.

Micronised graphite is the first stage in producing battery anode material for battery-powered technologies used for electric vehicles and green energy storage.

“Our goal is to develop markets and generate early cashflow that will assist in the financing of our Springdale graphite project and mine to market strategy,” Worland said.

“We see the Collie development as a first step in the build-out of our Australian and international downstream industrial facilities.”

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