Higher Concentrate Graphite Grades Achieved

Our 2022 Next Investors Small Cap Pick of the Year, Sarytogan Graphite (ASX: SGA) has:

• The highest grade graphite resource on the ASX.
• Second largest graphite resource on the ASX in terms of contained graphite.

The key catalyst SGA is working toward is proving its giant graphite resource can be processed into the 99.95% purity levels required for use in battery anodes.

SGA has already produced graphite with purity levels of 99.87% - now it's working toward cracking that all important 99.95% number.

Today, SGA produced graphite concentrates with grades of ~85.1% which is an improvement on the previous results from October 2022 when the company hit grades of ~81.3%.

Importantly, the concentrates came from lower grade materials - In 2022 SGA was using samples with head grades of 41.8%, this time SGA used samples with head grades of ~32.5%.

Our key takeaway:

• SGA is continuously improving on its processing flow sheet, producing higher grade concentrates from lower grade samples.

The samples produced will then get sent to labs for downstream purification including, spheroidization and battery testing - key work processes to prove SGA’s graphite is suitable for use in battery grade anodes.

Here is where today’s news sits in SGA’s processing flow sheet:

Ultimately, the goal is to be able to produce graphite that is suitable for use in battery anodes which can fetch much higher prices than graphite concentrates alone.

The price being received for SGA’s product is important because it will form the basis for the company’s Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS).

SGA’s PFS is currently ongoing and expected to be delivered sometime in 2024.

If SGA can demonstrate a reliable process to get 99.95% purity graphite, it will then have:

• The second largest graphite resource in terms of contained graphite
• The highest grade resource on the ASX,
• Graphite that can be sold into the high value battery anode markets.

What’s next for SGA:

The key catalyst we are looking out for is the ongoing metwork 🔄

SGA continues to work with its processing partners to achieve the required Uncoated Spherical Graphite (USpG) specifications of 99.95% purity in spherical graphite balls of 5-20 microns in size.

SGA has already achieved 99.87% but is chasing that all-important 99.95%+ purity level.

Achieving these specifications will be key to accessing the battery anode market with a high priced spherical graphite product.

We think that this will be the major catalyst for SGA and the final step validating SGA’s giant resource as suitable for use in the lithium ion battery industry.