Lithium Energy Ltd (ASX:LEL) has drastically increased its total graphite inventory in Queensland, doubling its held resources to 2.6 million tonnes of contained graphite with the addition of a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) from the Corella Graphite Project.
LEL delivered some 13.5 million tonnes at 9.5% total graphitic carbon (TGC) for 1.3 million tonnes of contained graphite in this initial MRE from Corella, with a higher grade inferred portion of 4.5 million tonnes at 12.7% TGC for 570,000 tonnes of graphite.
The company isn’t finished at Corella – the deposit remains open to the east, west, and at depth, offering further extensional upside that could add materially to the maiden estimate.
Additional resources to feed manufacturing
“The major increase in our graphite inventory contributed from the Corella Project adds significant value to the overall Burke Graphite Project,” Lithium Energy executive chair William Johnson said.
“In particular, the additional resource provides the company with the potential for expanded development options for our proposed vertically integrated battery anode material manufacturing facility based in Queensland.
“These potential options will be considered as part of the engineering studies currently being undertaken at Burke.”
LEL is undertaking a program of metallurgical test work on graphite from Corella, assessing the mineral as a potential feedstock for an expanded purified spherical graphite (PSG) production facility based in Queensland.
The company is assessing the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct near Townsville in North Queensland as a site for its proposed vertically integrated battery anode material manufacturing business.
Lithium Energy says the site is of particular interest as an emerging battery-related critical minerals production region.
Burke and Corella Graphite Project Tenement Locations in North Central Queensland.
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