Sarytogan Graphite has launched a significant 20-tonne trial mining program at its Central Graphite Zone (CGZ) in Kazakhstan. This initiative involves collecting graphite ore samples for comprehensive testing and customer qualification. These samples will play a crucial role in the company’s definitive feasibility study (DFS), aiming to refine the milling assumptions detailed in the prefeasibility study (PFS). The trial will see the bulk sample excavated from the CGZ and processed at a local laboratory in Kazakhstan. The processed product will be analyzed to determine the energy and equipment needs for full-scale production.

A portion of the sample, up to one tonne, will be sent to Australia for the production of a bulk flotation concentrate. This new batch will be larger than a 20kg sample that was previously produced and shipped a year ago. Additionally, Sarytogan plans to develop a micro-crystalline C graphite product named "Micro80C," which will have a grade of 80 to 85 percent. Initially, both the concentrate and the Micro80C will be offered to vendors equipped for thermal purification. Additionally, a portion of the graphite will undergo further refinement to reach "five nines (5N)" purity, a premium grade essential for battery manufacturing.

Managing Director Sean Gregory highlighted the progress since the positive results of the PFS, noting that the 20-tonne trial mining will provide samples for both grinding and machine vendor tests to DFS standards, as well as for customer qualification. The recently released PFS has projected a 60-year mine life, initially drawing ore from the CGZ. This deposit holds 8.6 million tonnes of graphite with a 30 percent total graphitic carbon (TGC) content, which constitutes just four percent of Sarytogan’s overall 229 million-tonne resource. With a low average forecast strip ratio of 0.2:1, the project is expected to be highly cost-effective, potentially producing 50,000 tonnes per annum for a capital expenditure of just $95 million.

The company plans to use the cash flow from initial staged production to fund three additional development stages, with an extra $433 million in capital expenditure, potentially increasing the project’s net present value (NPV) to $787 million. Sarytogan is also advancing exploration at the Bainazar project, located 20km west of its graphite deposit, where it is investigating copper porphyry mineralization with results anticipated soon. Additionally, the company is finalizing a $5 million equity placement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, receiving the first tranche of $2.5 million next month and the second in December.

Although the Sarytogan graphite deposit was first discovered in the 1980s, it wasn’t until 2018, following graphite’s addition to critical metal lists in Europe and Japan, that the company secured exploration permits and released its mineral resource. Positioned centrally between China and Europe, major consumers of graphite, Sarytogan is strategically poised to attract competitive demand for its products. With its low-cost, high-grade graphite and a diverse product range, the company is well-positioned to capitalize on growing market opportunities.