- 01Demo plant made battery-grade PSG at 99.97% purity.
- 02HF-free process validated; Siviour trials and customer samples planned this quarter.
Renascor Resources (ASX: RNU) has produced battery-grade purified spherical graphite (PSG) at its new demonstration plant in South Australia, achieving purity of 99.97% carbon.
The PSG was produced during batch trials using third-party graphite to establish benchmarks for plant performance, with each trial conducted over approximately five days and samples collected at each stage of the hydrofluoric acid (HF)-free integrated purification flowsheet for assessment.
The result showed the process could achieve battery-grade purity at demonstration scale, building on the high purities previously achieved in laboratory test work.
Further batch trials have been planned for this quarter using graphite from the Siviour project on the Eyre Peninsula to optimise operating parameters and produce customer samples ahead of larger-scale multi-tonne testing.
The work will support customer engagement activities including ongoing discussions with prospective offtake and strategic partners as Renascor advances its integrated Australian mine-to-PSG project.
Integrated Processing Facility
Built with support from a $5 million grant under the Australian government's International Partnerships in Critical Minerals program, Renascor’s new large-scale integrated processing facility is designed to continuously process graphite and produce tonne-scale quantities of battery-grade material.
It aims to validate the company’s HF-free purification process at demonstration scale and generate the operating data, cost validation, and qualification material required to support commercial-scale downstream development.
Renascor believes the process could provide a commercially competitive alternative to conventional purification methods through lower reagent consumption, reagent recycling, and reduced environmental handling requirements.
A recent purification cost study estimated HF-free operating costs of approximately US$459 per tonne, supporting the potential for Renascor’s process to offer a competitive ex-China source of battery-grade PSG.
Renascor has a conditionally approved $185m loan under the federal government’s Critical Minerals Facility, and is continuing discussions with Australian and international agencies regarding potential funding support for the integrated mine-to-PSG project.
Important Scale Validation
Managing director David Christensen said production of the battery-grade PSG was an important validation of the scale-up of the company’s technology.
“We have moved beyond laboratory-scale testing and have now confirmed that our HF-free purification process works at demonstration scale, achieving 99.97% carbon purity through the plant’s integrated purification circuit and that is a signficant milestone,” he said.
“Together our processing, engineering, and construction teams and equipment suppliers have designed, built, and brought into operation a demonstration plant that is now producing battery-grade graphite—this is a substantial achievement and a credit to the expertise and commitment of everyone involved.
“We are now building on this result as we continue with processing runs to optimise plant performance and produce samples for prospective offtake partners, which will help prepare us for multi-tonne operating campaigns as we advance towards commercial production.”
Get the wire before the market opens.
The ASX small-cap stories that matter, filed before 9am AEST. Curated by the Small Caps desk.