International Graphite accepts ‘Discovery of the Year’ award for Springdale project

International Graphite’s (ASX: IG6) Springdale project in Western Australia has been named Discovery of the Year in the 20th annual Australian Mining Prospect Awards.

The prestigious award celebrates a greenfields or brownfields site which has been recognised as significant for the broader Australian industry.

A panel of four judges chose Springdale as this year’s winner for its growth from an unknown asset into the second biggest graphite deposit in the country in under 18 months.

The award was presented at a gala dinner in Brisbane, attended by more than 200 mining industry delegates.

Strong teams

Managing director Andrew Worland said the award paid tribute to the company’s strong technical and exploration teams.

“Four graphite discoveries and a [threefold] increase in mineral resources is testament to a well planned and executed drilling program,” he said.

“In a very short period of time, our teams have been able to establish Springdale as a serious development stage property with significant further mineral resource growth potential.”

Graphite micronising plant

The project is expected to become an important source of raw material for a downstream processing facility — including a commercial graphite micronising plant — being developed by the company in nearby Collie.

“Having a complete mine-to-market supply chain in a Tier 1 resource jurisdiction sets us apart [in this industry],” Mr Worland said.

“It will ensure we can create jobs and opportunities in regional communities and retain the value of our natural resources at home in WA.”

Second largest deposit

Springdale is the second largest graphite deposit in Australia and one of the top 15 of its kind outside China.

In September, International Graphite unveiled an updated resource estimate at the project of 49.3 million tonnes at 6.5% total graphitic content (TGC).

More than 27% of the resource is at an indicated level of surety with more drilling planned in the near future.

Long-life mine

Springdale is being developed as a long-life, open cut graphite mine backed by a simple flotation circuit.

It is expected to provide a secure and stable feed of graphite concentrate for the Collie downstream processing operations.

Bulk concentrate testwork is currently underway with a scoping study expected by year end and a full feasibility study to be released next year.