Sarytogan Graphite Ltd (ASX:SGA) has resumed geotechnical and hydrological drilling at its namesake graphite deposit in Central Kazakhstan ahead of a pre-feasibility study.
The graphite explorer and project developer will use the campaign to identify initial mining areas, with six diamond drill holes planned to scope prospective regions.
Meanwhile, Sarytogan plans to drill hydrogeological holes for dewatering and process water supply investigations.
As the program gets underway, managing director Sean Gregory said the team was pleased to be back in the field at Sarytogan.
“These investigations in areas of geotechnical and hydrogeological engineering will be an important input to the pre-feasibility study,” he explained.
Capitalising on major resource
Sarytogan recently upgraded its namesake graphite resource to 229 million tonnes, weighing in at a substantial 28.9% total graphitic carbon (TGC).
Sarytogan mineral resource estimate.
As part of the estimation, work confirmed that a preliminary pit optimisation was an economically viable way to extract the graphite resource.
Even still, the existing Sarytogan resource is far larger than what an initial mine development requires, meaning optimisation work is honing in on the orebody’s highest grade components.
As a result, the upcoming pre-feasibility study will focus on two highly prospective graphite zones to the north and in the centre, aimed at providing ‘more bang for your buck’.
About Sarytogan
The Sarytogan Graphite Deposit was first explored during the Soviet era in the 1980s, when work focused on sample trenching and diamond drilling.
While early work showed promise, it wasn’t until 2018 that exploration resumed under Sarytogan subsidiary Ushtogan LLP.
Five years later (with a mineral resource to boot), Sarytogan has upgraded the mineralisation to 99.87% purity by flotation, alkali roasting, and chemical purification and is onto feasibility studies.
Overall, the company hopes to supply high-quality anode pre-cursor material for the rapidly growing electric vehicle battery market.
To support this vision, Sarytigan recently pegged the 309-square-kilometre Kenesar graphite project in northern Kazakhstan, where it hopes to turn the soil on more high-grade graphite.
Outcropping graphitic schist at Kenesar.
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