Sovereign Metals Ltd (ASX:SVM, OTC:SVMLF, AIM:SVML) has confirmed the “excellent” qualities of its Kasiya Graphite and Rutile Project feedstock for natural graphite battery anode materials after producing high-quality Coated Spherical Purified Graphite (CSPG).
In describing results achieved as "outstanding", the company says tje product has “performance characteristics comparable to the highest quality natural graphite battery material produced by dominant Chinese anode manufacturers”.
Electrochemical testing revealed very high first cycle efficiencies of 94.2% to 95.8%, excellent initial discharge capabilities greater than 360mAh/g, very lose specific surface areas (BET) of ≤2.0m2/g and tap densities of 1.11 to 1.18g/cm3.
These attributes contribute to longer battery life, minimise loss of lithium in the battery charging cycle and offer high electrical storage capacity, demonstrating the high quality of the feedstock.
Excellent battery anode product
“These results confirm that Kasiya graphite concentrate will be an excellent anode material feedstock to the battery industry,” Sovereign Metals managing director Frank Eagar said.
“Not only is the weathered, saprolite-hosted graphite easy to purify to very high grades, the anode material produced meets the highest industry specifications.
“Along with the very low BET specific surface area and high tap densities (both resulting in excellent first cycle efficiencies and initial battery discharge capacities), Kasiya has the potential to become a dominant source of graphite supply ex-China.
“Combining these excellent results with one of the largest graphite resources globally, industry-low operating costs and lowest global warming potential, Kasiya is presenting significant advantages over its graphite peers.
“We look forward to further test work and market updates as we continue to develop Kasiya as a supplier of premium quality, cost competitive natural graphite concentrate.”
Highly weathered ore body
SVM says the quality of its feedstock is directly influenced by the geology of the Kasiya deposit, which represents a highly weathered orebody compared to fresh rock graphite deposits.
Kasiya boasts high purity in its natural flake formations, near-perfect crystallinity and very low levels of sulphur and other impurities.
The company intends to complete further optimisation test-work using additional concentrate at its pilot-scale facility in South Africa – results will form the basis for ongoing and future discussions with potential offtake partners.
SVM has also developed a program for assessing Kasiya concentrate for traditional refractories and foundry applications. The coarse component of the pilot plant concentrate will be used for that program.