Sovereign Metals Ltd (ASX:SVM, OTC:SVMLF, AIM:SVML) has strengthened its owner’s team in the lead-up to development of the Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project in Malawi through appointing graphite and battery anode specialist consultant Dr Surinder Ghag as chief technology officer (CTO) – graphite.
Dr Ghag, an expert and highly qualified metallurgist with 25 years of experience across critical minerals including graphite and rutile, will assist Sovereign’s graphite strategy in qualifying graphite product from Kasiya for lithium-ion battery anodes.
Bolsters development team
This appointment bolsters the world-class Sovereign Project Development Team, which is working alongside strategic investor Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) to develop Kasiya.
It comes as Sovereign is poised to become a leader in natural flake graphite production, a significant by-product of the Kasiya Project.
To enhance graphite expertise
Managing director Frank Eagar said: “I am pleased to welcome Dr Ghag as we continue to strengthen our owner’s team in preparation for project execution. Kasiya will deliver the world’s lowest cost, lowest carbon footprint graphite.
"Dr Ghag joining Sovereign will significantly enhance our graphite metallurgical expertise and understanding of the downstream market to translate Kasiya’s bottom-of-the-cost curve advantage into significant active anode market capture.”
Kasiya is the world’s largest known rutile (titanium) deposit hosting a JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 17.9 million tonnes. It is also one of the largest known flake graphite resources with a MRE of 24.4 million tonnes.
Industry experience
The new CTO – graphite brings 25 years of industry experience including developing graphite test work programs, ore-to-anode graphite strategies, anode plant feasibility studies and project development and commissioning.
Recently, Dr Ghag was instrumental in developing an environmentally friendly and commercially viable method for purifying graphite, working alongside the Australian Government scientific research entity CSIRO.
Prior to his work in graphite, Dr Ghag’s work included process engineering at various Australian mineral sands operations.
Delivering graphite programs
Customer qualification is a major component of graphite sales agreements and in his new role, Dr Ghag will be responsible for designing and delivering graphite downstream test work programs to be aligned with graphite product development and qualification.
This is important as Sovereign continues discussions with battery anode processors, end-users and potential future offtake partners.
Previous initial characterisation test work on Kasiya’s graphite has indicated excellent suitability for use in lithium-ion batteries with high purity and high crystallinity being the key features.
Additional spheronisation and purification test work is underway at a leading German graphite laboratory to validate key parameters at a larger scale with results imminent.
Furthermore, Sovereign is undertaking a graphite bulk sampling program to produce large quantities of flake graphite product for further downstream test work and initial product qualification to support ongoing discussions with battery anode processors, end-users and potential offtake partners.