iTech Minerals confirms potential to produce high-quality graphite concentrate at Campoona, SA

Barely a week after confirming a fourth rare earths prospect at Eyre Peninsula project in SA, iTech Minerals (ASX: ITM) today revealed some encouraging findings at the smallcap explorer’s Campoona Graphite Project also in SA.

Since 13 April, the share price has jumped from around $0.40 to $0.61 yesterday.

This morning’s revelations of an average purity over 94% total graphitic carbon - with recovery of around 84% at the Campoona Project - helped to push the share price 1.56% higher at the close today.

Graphite concentrate

The Campoona Graphite Project contains a JORC 2012 graphite mineral resource of 8.55m tonnes at 9% total graphitic carbon, a granted mining lease and approved multipurpose licences for processing infrastructure and groundwater extraction.

These dynamics have encouraged iTech to develop a graphite concentrate, for use as a PSG feedstock, with a cost-effective and conventional flow sheet design that does not rely on chemical or thermal purification.

Test work was undertaken on a bulk sample of 600 kilograms (kg) of run-of-mine (ROM) graphite ore collected from reverse circulation and diamond drilling at the Campoona Central Deposit.

The drill holes were located within areas representative of low strip ratio mineralisation of prime economic interest.

Suitable for lithium battery sector

Managing director Mike Schwarz believes today results confirm the potential for Campoona to produce a high-quality graphite concentrate suitable for the bourgeoning lithium-ion battery sector.

“On-going test work will aim to establish an environmentally friendly spherical graphite production process which can be used to add significant value to the Campoona graphite concentrate.”

Next steps

The company has completed the first two steps of its seven-stage test program and is currently underway on producing a 50 kg flake graphite bulk sample.

Screening for alternative (non-HF) chemical purification routes is expected to follow.

Once complete, the chemical purification and spherical graphite sample production stages will commence.

Results are expected in late August 2022.

iTech Minerals share price.