International Graphite is ramping up drilling at its Springdale project in WA off the back of escalating global graphite demand.

A 7,100m RC and PQ/HQ diamond drilling program has been commissioned to prove up additional mineral resources and increase confidence in existing mineral resources – with the aim of significantly expanding Springdale’s resources.

It’s the first work campaign by International Graphite (ASX:IG6) since the company listed in April, and will build on work previously undertaken by Comet Resources (ASX:CRL).

Upgrading from inferred to indicated

The project has a current JORC Compliant Inferred MRE of 15.6Mt at 6% Total Graphite Content (TGC) including a high-grade component of 2.6Mt at 17.5% TGC.

“This is the first drilling program we have initiated at Springdale and is part of our campaign to actively explore for new graphite targets and to expand the existing resource and upgrade confidence from inferred to indicated status,” executive chairman Phil Hearse says.

“We will also be using diamond drilling that will generate samples for further metallurgical testwork and downstream battery anode testing.

“This is a significant step in our plans to develop Springdale as a source of high-quality graphite feedstock for our proposed Collie downstream processing operation and key to our future production of battery anode materials to meet the escalating demand in global battery markets.”

An Exploration Target of 18Mt to 54Mt, at 4% to 18% TGC has been estimated for the project – not including the current MRE.

International Graphite
Pic: Projected graphite demand vs supply to 2040. Source: Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Q4 2021 Forecast.

Prime position near Ravensthorpe 

The project is a shallow graphite deposit which the company says has “excellent metallurgical characteristics for battery anode material.”

It’s also well positioned near the emerging mining hub of Ravensthorpe, 25kms from the Ravensthorpe nickel mine and 45kms from the Galaxy lithium mine.

Subject to definition of JORC reserves, the plan is to develop an operation at Springdale that will produce graphite concentrates as primary feedstock for the company’s planned downstream processing facilities at Collie.

 

 

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with International Graphite Limited, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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