Sarytogan Graphite Ltd (ASX:SGA) has recruited world renowned engineering and marketing talent to lead a pre-feasibility study (PFS) into its namesake graphite play in Central Kazakhstan.
Global firms GR Engineering Services and Snowden Optiro will oversee process and mining engineering outcomes across the PFS, while graphite expert Lone Star Tech Minerals will advise on the study’s critical marketing aspects.
The appointment comes just one day after Sarytogan heralded the PFS with a revitalised mineral resource estimate, bringing more than half its graphite up to indicated status.
Sarytogan MD Sean Gregory said all three companies would bring “outstanding” international credentials and graphite industry experience to the pivotal PFS.
“The pre-feasibility study is a very important stepping stone for the company that will enable the quantification and optimisation of the Sarytogan Graphite Project development,” he summarised.
The Sarytogan Graphite Project.
Supply crunch meets "giant" opportunity
As the global energy revolution takes centre stage, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence predicts demand for natural graphite will jump more than seven-fold in the next 12 years. However, there aren’t enough new mines in development to meet this burgeoning demand.
With demand tipped to outstrip supply, Macquarie Bank expects uncoated spherical graphite to fetch more than US$5,000 a tonne in the next three years — a far cry from the US$3,400/tonne price point in 2021.
Enter Sarytogan: a graphite stock that’s just elevated more than half of its flagship mineral resource. The namesake graphite camp is reported to host 229 million tonnes of in-situ material, grading at 28.9% total graphitic carbon for 66 million tonnes of contained graphite.
While the resource certainly speaks to Sarytogan’s potential, there’s a way to go before it gets the graphite out of the ground.
Road to production
To make its graphite vision a reality, Sarytogan needs to showcase the project’s technical and economic feasibility.
The latter relies on two key foundations: a majority-indicated resource (which Sarytogan delivered yesterday) and strong metallurgical test-work and battery performance testing, which the company plans to run throughout 2023.
PFS engineers GR and Snowden will initially provide input into phase one of the study, which will include critical data collection work across the metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and hydrogeology verticals.
The first phase will also include an internal conceptual study, serving as a ‘toll gate’ for the board’s due diligence.
From here, phase two will involve the bulk of the detailed engineering, informed by the ongoing technical studies.
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