Name of the Project
Siviour graphite project.

Location
Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.

Project Owner/s
Renascor Resources.

Project Description
A definitive feasibility study (DFS) has confirmed Siviour’s potential as a low-cost, long-life graphite project that can achieve consistently attractive profit margins, even in the current lower graphite-price environment.

The project has total mineral resources estimated at 87.4-million tonnes grading 7.5% total graphitic carbon (TGC) for contained graphite of 6.6-million tonnes.

Total mineral reserves are estimated at 45.2-million tonnes grading 7.9% TGC for contained graphite of 3.6-million tonnes.

The DFS considers the viability of producing flake graphite concentrates from the Siviour project through a proposed openpit mine with an adjacent graphite production plant.

The development plan for the DFS is based on a staged construction of two substantially identical processing plants, each with an ore throughput capacity of 825 000 t/y for a combined capacity of 1.65-million tonnes a year.

Production in years 1 to 4 is estimated at 80 000 t/y, increasing to 144 000 t/y in years 5 to 10.

Over the 40-year mine life, the  project is expected to produce 105 000 t/y.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an estimated after-tax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of A$388-million and an internal rate of return of 33%, with a payback of 3.7 years.

Capital Expenditure
Capital expenditure for Phase 1 is estimated at A$114-million and for Phase 2 at A$77-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Commercial-scale milling trials at the Siviour graphite project have delivered increase spherical graphite yields when compared with the project’s battery anode material study.

The trials have delivered spherical graphite yields of more than 65%, compared with the 50% yield adopted in the battery anode material study.

The company has said that these higher yields from the milling process offer the potential for Renascor to produce more purified spherical graphite (PSG) and improve profit margins, as a result of this increased proportion of PSG material being produced per unit of graphite concentrate feed.

“The completion of the downstream equipment trials is another important step in advancing and derisking the Siviour project, with the potential for improved yields offering further upside in our plans to become a global leader in the production of high-quality, sustainable PSG products for lithium-ion battery anode makers worldwide,” Renascor MD David Christensen has said.

Renascor flagged plans in August last year to increase production at its battery anode material operation after striking a strategic cooperation agreement and offtake memorandum of understanding (MoU) with South Korean major POSCO.

With the POSCO MoU, Renascor has now executed and announced offtake MoUs covering up to 60 000/y of PSG, compared with its current Stage 1 PSG production capacity of about 30 000/y.

To fulfil the increased offtake volume requirements, Renascor has started feasibility work to facilitate an increase in Stage 1 PSG production capacity and a Stage 2 expansion.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Royal IHC and Wave International (study manager and supervising engineers); Optiro (mineral resource estimate); Goudie Hall Consulting (metallurgical testwork); Optima Consulting and Contracting (mining and mine design); Royal IHC and Wave International (mineral processing and plant engineering); AMC Consultants (mine); Wave International (plant and tailings); Groundwater Science (hydrogeology); Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (marketing); JBS&G Australia (environmental permitting); George Wilby (logistics); BurnVoirCorporateFinance (financial analysis).

Contact Details for Project Information
Renascor Resources, tel +61 8 8363 6989 or email info@renascor.com.au.