ASX-listed Sovereign Metals has reported that testwork completed on graphite from its Kasiya rutile/graphite project, in Malawi, has confirmed that the project’s graphite has the key characteristics required for use in refractory applications.

The company says comprehensive testwork programmes were completed by ProGraphite and Dorfner Anzaplan in Germany and demonstrated that Kasiya graphite concentrate contains very low sulphur levels and the absence of other impurities of concern, providing a competitive advantage over other current and potential sources of graphite supply.

“The refractories market is the second largest end-user of natural graphite and requires larger, coarser graphite flakes with specific chemical and physical properties.

“We know that almost 70% of Kasiya’s graphite meets the size requirements for refractory applications. Today’s results confirm that our graphite product also meets or exceeds the key chemical and physical properties required to sell into the refractory market.

“Combining these results with the excellent results for anode materials testing highlights the premium quality of Kasiya graphite concentrate and provides a very strong foundation for sales and marketing discussions,” says MD and CEO Frank Eagar.

Sovereign says it has now completed testwork programmes to confirm the suitability of graphite from Kasiya as a product for the two largest end-use markets for natural flake graphite – refractory applications and anode material for use in lithium-ion batteries.

Together, these two sectors account for over three-quarters of global natural graphite demand, Sovereign says.

Graphite products for refractory applications typically require larger flake sizes than the smaller graphite flake products used to produce battery anode materials.

Larger flake size graphite products tend to attract significantly higher prices than smaller flake products.

Sovereign points out that, in the fourth quarter of 2024, Syrah Resources – the world’s largest, publicly listed natural graphite producer outside of China – reported a price for smaller flake graphite concentrate to be used for battery anode production of $564/t based on third-party sales.

In December, large flake graphite used in the refractory sector achieved prices of up to $1 193/t – based on data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

The incremental cost of producing a tonne of graphite from Kasiya under Sovereign’s recently announced optimised prefeasibility study is $241/t.

The global refractory market is an estimated €20-billion worldwide industry and is the largest traditional market for natural flake graphite. Natural flake graphite is added to refractories to improve performance.

Refractories are used to line furnaces and vessels to support high-temperature processing across a wide range of industries, including iron and steel production, non-ferrous metals, cement and lime, glass, and chemicals.

Sovereign points out that, according to the global leader in refractories, RHI Magnesita, steel production is the major consumer of refractories, accounting for 60% of global demand. Each tonne of steel requires about 10 kg to 15 kg of refractories.

Other key companies in the refractories market include Vesuvius plc, Krosakai Harima Corporation, Puyang Refractories Group, Chosun Refractories Co, Imerys, Shinagwa Refractories, Saint-Gobain, Morgans Advanced Materials and Calderys.

The successful assessment of Kasiya coarse flake for refractory applications will be used for customer engagement and offtake discussions, says Sovereign.