International Graphite Ltd (ASX:IG6) will receive $2 million from the Western Australian Government’s Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (JTSI), as part of a Financial Assistance Agreement.
The agreement on behalf of the State Government of Western Australia formalises the grant announced in July 2021 and is being made available via the Collie Futures Industry Development Fund.
The money will be used for IG6’s micronising facility in Collie and continued R&D of battery anode material facilities.
IG6 is an emerging supplier of processed graphite products, including battery anode material, for the global electric vehicle and renewable energy markets and is developing a sovereign Australian ‘mine to market’ graphite production capability, with integrated operations wholly located in WA.
Establishing a new industry
IG6 executive chairman Phil Hearse believes the agreement will help establish a new industry for WA and create new jobs in Collie.
"Graphite is critical for global decarbonisation and we are proud to be partnering with the WA Government in Collie to establish a new sovereign supply for Australia and a new global source for international battery manufacturers as they source raw materials needed to achieve the exceptional forecast growth in battery demand.”
Pushing forward at Collie
The company recently commissioned its pilot micronising and spheroidising plant at Collie and with the backing of $2 million, it can look to develop a 1,000 tonnes per year commercial graphite micronising facility.
IG6 can also turn its attention to ongoing research and development at its planned battery anode material plant in Collie.
The company is working to procure ‘production qualification scale’ equipment which will demonstrate IG6’s ability to produce micronised graphite product and provide the quality control necessary to secure customer sales agreements.
IG6 will then turn its attention to the procurement of commercial-scale equipment and complete front-end engineering and design for the Collie micronising facility by the end of 2023.
IG6’s overarching plan for its downstream graphite operations is to process graphite concentrates from its Springdale Graphite Project near Hopetoun in Western Australia.
The micronised and spheroidised graphite product will then be purified and is also expected to be coated to produce a finished product suitable for the manufacture of lithium-ion battery anodes.
The company says production of a coated BAM product in Australia for export to global anode manufacturers would capture the full value of the graphite resource.