Townsville plant to advance Graphinex battery anode drive

Esmeralda graphite project developer Graphinex is joining Townsville's budding battery sector with plans to build a demonstration facility near Vecco Group's electrolyte plant. Expected to be commissioned in 2025, the facility will take graphite ore from Esmeralda and process it through to coated active anode material (AAM). Graphinex is developing the Ingham Rd battery anode plant in partnership with Idemitsu Australia and Vecco Group, and has attracted State Government backing via the Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund. Graphinex managing director Art Malone (pictured left) said Esmeralda, south of Croydon, had the potential to be Australia’s largest graphite resource. On top of that, tests being performed at the University of Queensland showed it was producing a high-performance battery anode, he said. "We have a world-class project, from the graphite at Esmeralda through to the 100 lithium-ion batteries we have developed at UQ," he said. The demonstration plant will provide real-time data for a bankable feasibility study on a commercial battery anode facility, accelerating the delivery of this study by more than 12 months. With the capacity to process and test 240 tonnes of graphite concentrate each year, it will cut the lengthy delays of sending minerals overseas for testing. It will also allow the company to compete pre-qualification with international battery manufacturers for its final offtake. Related: Vecco mining plans win coordinated project status Mr Malone said Graphinex was collaborating with Vecco Group on various high-performance battery chemistries. Chemistries showing strong results included the use of Vecco Group’s high purity alumina (HPA) and Graphinex’s purified spherical graphite (PSG), he said. "Another is Graphinex’s PSG when coated with pitch, showing strong discharge capacity with no degradation," he said. Related: Idemitsu throws its weight behind Graphinex Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick said that despite possessing the world’s seventh-largest natural graphite reserve, Australia had no commercial graphite production. “This project will expand Queensland’s critical minerals capabilities and will propel us towards our ‘pit to product’ ambitions," he said. “With demand for raw graphite from the world’s battery industry forecasted to grow from 850,000 tonnes in 2020 to 4 million tonnes in 2030, this is a great opportunity." Townsville has also been earmarked as the location for a battery anode material (BAM) manufacturing plant using graphite sourced from the Mount Dromedary, Burke and Corella graphite deposits in North-West Queensland. Lithium Energy and Novonix are merging their adjoining Cloncurry district graphite assets into a new venture – Axon Graphite - a dedicated mine-to-BAM company. You may also like: https://industryqld.com.au/metal-bank-zooms-in-on-millennium-graphite-potential/

Townsville plant to advance Graphinex battery anode drive

Industry Queensland

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