Kibaran finds eco-friendly process at Epanko

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Graphite developer Kibaran Resources has produced battery-grade graphite at its Epanko project, in Tanzania, using a graphite purification method that is considered environment-friendly.

The ASX-listed company told shareholders this week that the new process used simple acids that were readily available in Tanzania, and did not use hydrofluoric acid, which was currently used by all producers of battery spherical graphite.

MD Andrew Spinks said on Tuesday that the eco-friendly production process supported the high environmental standards that the company had set for the Epanko project, and met the International Finance Corporation principals and the World Bank Group standards.

“The new process would assist the company to secure a large portion of the battery graphite market,” Spinks said, adding that the breakthrough in the processing came amid a strengthening in the outlook for natural flake graphite and battery spherical graphite prices.

“It is very clear that growth for battery spherical graphite is increasing at a grater rate than expected. The company’s feasibility study for production of battery-grade graphite will be revised, given the increased demand,” Spinks added.

The feasibility study for the production of battery spherical graphite is separate to the recently reported 60 000 t/y bankable feasibility study at Epanko, which Spinks said had been the catalyst for the start of the debt financing process to develop the mine to produce natural flake graphite products for the traditional graphite markets.

The spherical graphite feasibility study was targeted for completion in the fourth quarter of this year, and was expected to add significant value to the Epanko project, given that no value was currently attributed to the sale of battery spherical graphite within the flake graphite feasibility study.

The June study estimated that the project would require a capital investment of $88.9-million tonnes, and would have a net present value of $211-million and an internal rate of return of 38.9%, delivering yearly earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $44.5-million.