Sarytogan is looking to build a purification and spheroidisation plant that will process its own mined product and it is investigating options to acquire industrial land in Karaganda, just 190km from the project.
The company has identified three revenue streams from ore at its Kazakhstan operation, in relatively equal portions. The first is a microcrystalline graphite at about 80 per cent to 85 per cent carbon to be sold for use in traditional industries including refractories, crucibles, foundries, pencils and lubricants.
The remaining two thirds will be split and made available to produce uncoated spherical purified graphite (USPG) for lithium-ion battery anodes, in addition to ultra-high purity fines (UHPF) for advanced industrial uses including the nuclear industry and as a cathode activity enhancer for batteries.
According to company, the global market for nuclear graphite is currently about 60,000 tonnes per annum and is set to grow with the renewed worldwide investment in nuclear power.
Sarytogan is continuing its long-cycle battery testing on coin cell batteries made with USPG anodes, with results expected within the next few weeks. The results will form a critical part of its upcoming prefeasibility study (PFS), which is set to be delivered next quarter.
And with the global sentiment for nuclear power gaining traction, the latest clearance for the company’s high-purity graphite product may just be perfectly timed.
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