As part of its “mine to market” integration strategy, International Graphite (ASX: IG6) has secured a site near Collie for its battery anode material (BAM) manufacturing plant.
It is to be built in the Coolangatta industrial estate, which lies 5km from the West Australian town of Collie, and metres from a power transmission network.
The company has signed an exclusive non-binding memorandum to negotiate a lease over a 20-hectare site.
Land cleared, roads sealed
Managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Worland said the site deal is a significant milestone, following just one month after the release of the scoping study for the BAM project.
“The land is cleared, well served by sealed roads and civil infrastructure, with ample space to accommodate our initial design and future expansion plans.”
And, with the nearby electricity network, the company will be able to buy its power supply at the lowest possible transmission site, Mr Worland added.
Collie is at the heart of the South West Interconnected System, Western Australia’s primary power system which delivers electricity to Perth, and three regions including Kalgoorlie-Goldfields.
Scope for solar power
In addition to being within metres of poles and wires, International Graphite notes that the 20ha property has sufficient space for it to consider installing solar panels.
The company has a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Zen Energy to assess building its own battery system on site.
In addition, last week the Western Australian government announced it would install waswas described as one of the world’s biggest batteries at Collie to be operational by the end of 2025.
International Graphite is a member of the European Battery Alliance and European Raw Minerals Alliance.
Proving up graphite source
International Graphite is planning a vertically integrated battery operation.
Last month its exploration program at the company’s Springdale graphite project saw a fourth discovery, with the new Mason Bay target — 2km east of the existing Springdale resource — producing strong grades from a previously undrilled area.
From a total of 60 holes, results included 15m at 11.3% total graphitic carbon (TGC), 16m at 11.7% TGC and 6m at 13.3% TGC, all from shallow depths.
The company said that flotation work on samples from Mason Bay showed recoveries exceeding 93%.
