Sovereign Metals Ltd said on Wednesday that its Kasiya graphite concentrate was found to be an ‘excellent’ feedstock for natural granite anode materials involved in battery production.

The mining exploration and development company with assets in Malawi said that a test work programme has demonstrated that Kasiya natural graphite presents a low-cost opportunity to develop lithium-ion battery supply chains outside of China.

Sovereign Metals attributed the anode’s positive material results to the unique geological setting of the Kasiya orebody in comparison to fresh rock hosted graphite deposit. The high purity of the natural flake, near perfect crystallinity and very low levels of sulphur or other impurities all contributed to its test performance.

Managing Director Frank Egar said: ‘These results confirm that Kasiya graphite concentrate will be an excellent anode material feedstock to the battery industry. Not only is the weathered, saprolite-hosted graphite easy to purify to very high-grades, the anode material produced meets the industry specifications. Along with the very low BET specific surface area and high tap densities (both resulting in excellent first cycle efficiencies and initial battery discharge capacities), Kasiya has the potential to become a dominant source of graphite supply ex-China.

‘Combining these excellent results with one of the largest graphite resources globally, industry low operating costs and lowest global warming potential, Kasiya is presenting significant advantages over its graphite peers. We look forward to further test work and market updates as we continue to develop Kasiya as a supplier of premium quality, cost competitive natural graphite concentrate.’

Further optimisation test work will take place at a pilot-scale facility in South Africa.

Shares in Sovereign Metals fell 2.4% to 32.70 pence each in London on Wednesday afternoon.

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