Staff Reporter
16 October 2024 07:28
Battery materials company International Graphite has announced ‘outstanding results’ from bench scale micronising, spheroidising and purification testwork on graphite concentrates from the company’s Springdale Graphite Project in Western Australia.
The testing, conducted by industry specialists ProGraphite GmbH, used 23kg of 95.3 percent loss on ignition (LOI) grade Springdale graphite concentrates to produce purified spheroidised graphite product.
Micronising and spheroidising (milling) testwork investigated several process circuit options resulting in two spheroidised graphite products – SpG18 and SpG11 – and a yield of up to 76 percent at a product size of D50 18µm (micron) and D50 11µm.
The properties of both the SpG18 and SpG11 products exceeded the quality and physical specifications typically required for active anode materials, according to the company.
International Graphite Managing Director and CEO Andrew Worland said: “The purification results have also reinforced original findings that Springdale graphite can achieve the purity standards industry typically requires for the production of active anode materials.
“The unique operating expertise and intellectual property we are gaining from our R&D processing facilities in Collie is making an invaluable contribution to the development of our downstream flowsheet.
“This, coupled with further testwork, will significantly advance our battery anode feasibility studies.”
The purified SpG sample material will be used in future coating testwork and to advance process flowsheet development and equipment selection for the production of active anode material for batteries.
International Graphite Technical Director David Pass said: “This testing was designed to optimise the milling processes with the goal of improving product output.
“The results are highly encouraging and show there is significant potential to increase yield well beyond the projections in our original scoping study.”
Further reading:
International Graphite to fire up battery graphite pilot line
Picture: International Graphite/ SpG18 graphite sample