International Graphite Secures Landholding to Expand Collie Micronising Facility
International Graphite (ASX: IG6) has achieved another milestone in its global “mine-to-market” strategy, with the signing of key contracts supporting the development of its graphite micronising facility at Collie in Western Australia.
The company has completed an agreement with the WA government’s central land and development agency to acquire 6,000 square metres of land across three lots opposite the company’s existing research and development facility in the Collie Light Industrial Area, to help progress expansion plans at the plant.
At the same time, International Graphite has lodged a development application with the local council and submitted an application to leading utility Western Power to secure sufficient electricity supply for both the initial and expanded production capacity of the micronising plant.
Integral to Strategy
The Collie facility is an integral component of International Graphite’s strategy—which also involves graphite mining at the Springdale project in WA’s far south and expanding internationally, particularly in the European and US markets—to meet growing demand and geopolitical needs.
“Land of this quality is rare as industrial and residential development in the south-west region of WA continues to boom—the addition of our infrastructure will create a property value well in excess of its sunk cost,” chief executive officer Andrew Worland said.
“Achieving these milestones marks further significant progress in International Graphite’s strategy to be a leading western industrial graphite specialist provider.”
The company’s aggressive global expansion plans have already seen it
receive $3 million in support from US investor Pioneer Resource Partners to help support feasibility study work at Springdale and further progress the company’s graphite processing operations at Collie.
Design Plans Ongoing
International Graphite and local contractors ProsserBuilt expect to finalise design of the plant – which will produce up to 7,500 tonnes of micronised product per annum – sometime during the development approval period.
“The Collie micronising facility will bring Australian graphite products to market at a time of significant supply side uncertainty,” Mr Worland added.
“We have received strong interest from Australian consumers and manufacturers keen to secure local supply and avoid extended delays in sourcing graphite from overseas, with several companies currently testing our products for suitability in their manufacturing processes.”