A new consortium has announced it will buy a mill that will produce anode-ready spherical graphite (SPG) for lithium batteries in the US.
The group has announced it will buy a micronising and spheronising mill to produce the material, which is critical for lithium-ion battery anode materials.
Australia-based Metals of Africa joins Canadian graphite firms Elcora Advanced Materials, Northern Graphite Corporation and Nouveau Monde Mining Enterprises along with Coulometrics, the US partner to whose battery production and testing facility the mill will be added.
“The spheronising equipment will be used to evaluate and optimize the yield of SPG from various graphite mine concentrates and to develop next-generation and high-yield spheronisation technology to meet the demanding cost targets for automotive lithium battery applications,” the consortium said.
Dr Edward Buiel is leading the development and testing process for the mill.
“This will rapidly advance our SPG development efforts and we believe it is the first real effort by junior graphite companies to address the needs of the LIB industry,” he said.
“It also demonstrates the commitment of those involved to develop next-generation, high-performance anode materials for LIBs, which will provide a significant cost advantage and a greatly reduced environmental impact.”
Metals of Africa mines some of its graphite at Balama in Mozambique, which is considered to have the world’s largest high-grade graphite resource.
There are also an estimated 61 tonnes at Montepuez, in northern Mozambique.
