Kazakhstan graphite grabs global attention for Sarytogan
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ByJames Pearson
Sarytogan Graphite’s new partnership with a major European project financing bank for its operation in Kazakhstan has been highlighted as an investment case study of note on the margins of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.
After the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was given a special mention during the establishing of the UN’s Minerals Security Partnership Finance Network, the bank also singled out its new partner Sarytogan after it last month agreed to a $5 million investment through a 16c placement aimed at funding the development of the latter’s graphite project in Kazakhstan.
The EBRD showcased the partnership as a prime example of how countries are working together on critical mineral supply chains. The remit of the newly-formed UN critical metals network is to bring together governments from major economies such as the United States, European Union, Japan and others to commit to supporting sustainable investments in global supply chains.
Sarytogan also secured the backing of the Kazakhstan Government for its project after it met with senior officials in the nation’s capital, Astana. In particular, Kazakhstan Vice-Minister of Industry and Infrastructural Development, Iran Sharkhan, offered to help smooth out any necessary approvals for the project.
‘The Sarytogan Graphite Project is attracting significant attention and support from all levels of governments.’
Sarytogan Graphite managing director Sean Gregory
The town of Agydyr has also shown a keen interest in becoming host to Sarytogan’s downstream purification facility, with its strong infrastructure and energy resources making it a front-runner. The company says it has found the local community equally enthusiastic, especially with the prospect of job creation in the region, after it held public forums to gather support.
Its meetings included talks with the local Mayor of Agydyr, who is known to be supportive of investment in new jobs for the town.
Sarytogan Graphite managing director Sean Gregory said: “The Sarytogan Graphite Project is attracting significant attention and support from all levels of governments who recognise the global and local strategic importance of the project as a premium supplier of critical raw materials.”
The next big milestone for Sarytogan is securing the environmental permit for its mining license, which according to management, is well on its way. As land studies for the purification plant push forward, Agydyr is still in the running to win selection, with the final decision expected soon.
And as the pieces of the puzzle start to come together, the company’s recent agreement to receive the $5 million in funding from the EBRD has also edged closer, with approval from Kazakh authorities for the deal due by the end of next month.
Sarytogan’s graphite deposit sits in central Kazakhstan, 190km from the industrial city of Karaganda. The project has a long history dating back to Soviet-era exploration in the 1980s.
Since taking up ownership in 2018, the company’s work has uncovered an impressive resource estimate of 229 million tonnes of graphite at 28.9 per cent total graphitic carbon (TGC) at an impressive purity of 99.9992 per cent – otherwise known as the “five 9s” standard – in the mineralisation. Further metallurgical tests revealed a recovery rate of 81.4 per cent for the concentrate.
Armed with its initial resource estimate and successful test results, management then moved forward to conduct a prefeasibility study (PFS), which was released last month. The study has laid out plans to produce 50,000 tonnes of three unique graphite products each year, with a focus on using smaller, modular processes that can easily be scaled up in the future.
The research also confirmed that by tightly packing the micro-crystalline graphite layers through thermal purification and spheroidisation, the final products will be ideal for use as dry lubricants, cathode conductors and anodes in lithium-ion batteries.
As the eyes of the world continue to keep a close watch on the supply of critical metals needed to feed the insatiable desires of the clean-energy transition, Sarytogan has found itself a new status as a bit of a global poster child. And it has high hopes of providing a sizeable and sustainable source of graphite into the critical metals supply chain.