Sarytogan looking to bank water allocation for Kazakh graphite project

Sarytogan Graphite has identified a suitable water resource 14 kilometres northwest of the company’s Kazakhstan graphite project, 600 kilometres north of the country’s biggest city.

Hydrogeological studies have identified the resource area in the Sherubainura River aquifer, 14km northwest of the company’s project.

Sarytogan Graphite is on the hunt for good quality water supplies for its Kazakh graphite project and is drilling water bores in the Sherubainura River aquifer.

Eleven exploration water bores were drilled two years ago into alluvial, surficial and fractured rock aquifers along the river’s run within about an 18km radius from the centre of the project area.

WA-based Pennington Scott, working with Kazakh hydrogeologists, completed groundwater modelling and analysis that supported a pre-feasibility study published in August last year. The study shows the project’s water demands vary according to the seasons, up to a maximum of 454 megalitres per year, mostly for mineral processing.

Water demand peaks during the winter when water recovery from the tailings storage facility ceases because the dam freezes over. Demand is lowest in the spring thaw when the tailings melt and release water.

‘Securing the water allocation will be another de-risking step towards realising the value of our extraordinary project.’

Sarytogan Graphite managing director Sean Gregory

The fresh rocks hosting the graphite in the mine open pits are poor sources for suitable groundwater but make-up water for the project is readily available from shallow alluvial groundwater resources along the margins of the Sherubainura River, near the village of Kenshoky, several kilometres north-west of the project.

Sarytogan says that although the saturated aquifer is less than 10m thick, modelling indicates a skimming bore-field of 11 to 14 bores, each pumping at 1.0 to 1.25 litres per second, could sustain a peak project demand of 16L/s for a full year.

The modelling shows such a rate is sustainable between seasonal spring thaw river recharges, without creating a significant and potentially unacceptable drawdown in areas surrounding the field.

The Sherubainura River in Kazakhstan’s Karaganda region is 281km long and sourced from the western slopes of the Kyzyltas range in the central Kazakh uplands. It is fed by rain and snow, seasonal meltwater and groundwater.

The river has an average discharge rate of about 5.04 cubic metres per second at Sherubainura and it is the principal tributary of the Nura River.

Three dams - the Zhartas, the Krasnopolyanskoye and the Sherubaynura have been constructed along the river.

Sarytogan Graphite managing director Sean Gregory said: “Water is a critical resource for any mining project. We are fortunate at Sarytogan to have identified a plentiful fresh water source near the project. Securing the water allocation will be another de-risking step towards realising the value of our extraordinary project.”

The company is drilling two more bores and pump-testing seven of its 11 bores, with a full spectrum of chemical and radiological testwork to be undertaken.

When the work has been completed, the company will be able to prepare its water extraction licence application.

This work, along with power and transport studies, metallurgical testwork and preparation of customer samples, will be used to form the company’s definitive feasibility study.

Sarytogan’s graphite project contains an estimated total mineral resource of 229 million tonnes with a total graphitic content of 28.9 per cent, translating to a total graphite content of 66mt. Its current estimated probable ore reserves amount to 8.6mt at 30 per cent total graphite content.

The company says its ore reserves amount to about 4 per cent of the total resource over a 60-year mine-life, pointing to a potentially multi-generational expansion capacity.

In contrast to most graphite projects in production or development, particularly those in East Africa, Sarytogan’s graphite is notable for its unique micro-crystalline nature.

This quality was identified early in the development of the project when the company’s ore material was found to break down readily to yield a premium micro-crystalline size of less than 15 micron with a very low bond work index.

The index is a key metric in mining and mineral processing and defines the resistance of ore to crushing and grinding. It helps to determine the power required for grinding and appropriate process-feed sizing.

Sarytogan’s ultra-fine graphite flake material can be seen in SEM images of flotation concentrates as highly crystalline, with x-ray diffraction examination showing it to be characterised by exceptionally close interplanar crystal spacing.

The material suits most advanced industrial uses, which usually demand ultra-fine sizing, including almost all battery types.

The majority of these demands can be met directly by Sarytogan’s ultra-fine graphitic products. Other manufacturers would typically incur higher costs due to the need for competing coarse graphitic flake products to be ground to finer specifications, often at higher work indices.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: [e-mail]