Graphite processing gets WA government backing

Micronised graphite producer International Graphite has won $2 million in support from the Western Australian state government for its planned plant at Collie in the state’s south-west.

Executive Chairman Phil Hearse said the agreement was key to establishing a new industry for WA and creating new jobs.

Hearse said: “Graphite is critical for global decarbonisation and we are proud to be partnering with the WA Government in Collie to establish a new sovereign supply for Australia and a new global source for international battery manufacturers as they source raw materials needed to achieve the exceptional forecast growth in battery demand.”

International Graphite has recently commissioned its pilot micronising and spheroidising plant at the former coal mining city of Collie.

The financial assistance is earmarked for the development of a 1,000 tonne per year commercial graphite micronising facility and ongoing research and development at the Company’s planned battery anode material plant in Collie.

The assistance came from the Western Australian Government’s Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation.

The agreement formalises the Collie Futures Industry Development Fund grant, announced in 2021, and will be used to progress the Collie micronising facility.

The Company plans to buy ‘production qualification scale’ equipment which will demonstrate the Company’s ability to produce micronised graphite product and provide the quality control necessary to secure customer sales agreements.

The Company then plans to buy commercial scale equipment and complete front end engineering and design for the Collie micronising facility by the end of 2023.

In the future, International Graphite’s planned downstream graphite operations aim to process graphite concentrates from the company’s Springdale Graphite Project near Hopetoun in Western Australia.

Picture: International Graphite