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- EcoGraf (EGR) commences an assessment of expansion options for its 100 per cent owned TanzGraphite flake graphite business
- The review is in response to growing demand for new high quality graphite supplies and an increasingly positive investment environment in Tanzania
- Key priorities include expanding the Epanko graphite project and further developing the Merelani-Arusha graphite project
- The company is also looking to establish a facility in Tanzania to process Epanko and Merelani-Arusha flake graphite into battery graphite feedstock and fines by-products
- Shares in EcoGraf were up 5.06 per cent to $0.42 as of 10:59 am AEST
EcoGraf (EGR) has commenced an assessment of expansion options for its 100 per cent owned TanzGraphite flake graphite business.
The company said the review is in response to growing demand for new high quality graphite supplies and an increasingly positive investment environment in Tanzania.
Key priorities include identifying the preferred expansion pathway for the Epanko graphite project and supporting government plans for development of the Merelani-Arusha Graphite Province through the Merelani-Arusha graphite project.
Currently, EcoGraf is in discussions with a group of financial institutions that have expressed interest in supporting development of Epanko with German development bank KfW IPEX-Bank.
Talks include assisting the company’s plans to produce high purity, EcoGraf HFfree battery anode material for the global lithium-ion battery market.
In response to increasing demand for graphite, EcoGraf is looking to identify the most efficient pathway to scale-up production at Epanko significantly beyond its initial 60,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) capacity to supply the high growth battery graphite market.
A number of specialists are supporting the company’s internal team and GR Engineering in the expansion assessment, which will leverage extensive geological and mineral processing studies completed for the Epanko bankable feasibility program.
The expansion study is expected to be completed during Q3 2022 and will be incorporated into EcoGraf’s flake graphite planning model.
EcoGraf has also submitted an application for a mining licence at Merelani-Arusha following the government’s encouragement for new development in the region.
Merelani-Arusha provides a potential additional flake graphite operation and depending on the outcomes of the expansion options study, the company will commission further studies to support product marketing and debt financing programs for the project.
To optimise supply chain efficiencies, the company is looking to establish a future centralised mechanical shaping facility in Tanzania to process Epanko and Merelani-Arusha flake graphite into battery graphite feedstock and fines by-products.
Shares in EcoGraf were up 5.06 per cent to $0.42 as of 10:59 am AEST.
