Sarytogan Graphite (ASX:SGA) has announced successful pilot-scale milling tests, demonstrating low milling costs for its graphite ore. The company’s Managing Director, Sean Gregory, emphasized the strategic advantage of being able to process the ‘very soft’ graphite ore directly into fine microcrystalline graphite, avoiding the need for expensive regrinding processes. According to Gregory, the pilot test results support potential cost reductions that will be incorporated into the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), highlighting the conservatism of the Prefeasibility Study (PFS).
Approximately 700kg of milled ore will be shipped to Australia for additional bulk flotation concentrate generation, following a smaller-scale 60kg test that yielded 20kg of concentrate. The final concentrate samples, once flotation test work is complete, will initially be used for vendor test work involving thermal purification, size classification, and spheronisation equipment, and then for customer qualification. Sarytogan Graphite also completed a 24-tonne trial mining exercise in September 2024, extracting high-grade graphite ore from the Central Graphite Zone, with assays averaging 33% total graphitic carbon (TGC). The Sarytogan Graphite deposit is located in Central Kazakhstan, near the industrial city of Karaganda.
