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By Doug Bright
Sarytogan Graphite has awarded the engineering contracts for the definitive feasibility study (DFS) at its massive namesake graphite project in Kazakhstan to global heavyweights Wood and WSP, locking in a clear runway to mid-2026 completion and construction in 2027.
Wood will handle processing and infrastructure, leveraging its Perth-based minerals hub and 20-year Kazakhstan presence via Wood KSS, which fields 450 professionals across Atyrau, Tengiz, Aktau and Almaty.
Sarytogan Graphite’s massive graphite project is situated in central east Kazakhstan and was first explored in the 1980s before the company’s 100% owned subsidiary Ushtogan LLP resumed exploration in 2018.
WSP, a TSX-listed giant with 73,000 staff in 50 countries, will update the mineral resource and ore reserve.
The moves follow the August 2024 pre-feasibility study (PFS) that stamped Sarytogan as a low-cost, high-margin graphite play.
The 229Mt at 28.9% total graphitic carbon (TGC) deposit, one of the world’s largest and highest-grade graphite deposits, delivers concentrate at US$240 per tonne, landing it squarely in the global bottom quartile, while its crazy 60-year mine life consumes just 4% of the known resource, screaming expandability and a generational life.
The August PFS shows the operation’s staged development starts with 50ktpa beneficiation in Stage 1a for US$62M capex, 61% EBITDA margin and 35% IRR leading to the full build which adds thermal purification, spheronisation and coating for about 66ktpa total product, for 66% margins and pre-tax NPV of US$514M.
The company’s products span microcrystalline, ultra-high-purity fines (at 99.999% C) and EV-grade spherical graphite, with testwork confirming strong battery performance.
Kazakhstan’s pro-mining regime includes 20% corporate tax, 3.5% royalties and low power costs in the global bottom quartile, coupled with rail infrastructure just 10kms away and a 500kV substation next to the company’s downstream processing site.
Geopolitical tailwinds for the project are strong with its EU Strategic Project status awarded in June, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) US$5M stake and the 30-nation Minerals Security Partnership.
China’s export curbs and the US’ 160% tariffs on Chinese anode material spotlight non-Chinese sourced natural graphite like Sarytogan’s.
Funding for the project is secured via EBRD debt and a pending A$3.6M placement to Kazakh investor Dias Sarsenov.
The EBRD debt facility is a US$5 million cornerstone debt package from the EBRD, designed to fund critical front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the beneficiation plant at the Sarytogan project, with drawdowns already underway as of September 2025, de-risking the path to the DFS in mid-2026.
That debt is separate from EBRD’s earlier A$5 million equity investment in August 2024, which secured its 17.36% stake.
The DFS confirmatory work will involve trial mining, infill drilling and bulk flotation tests which will proceed in parallel with other works.
The award of the key contracts now provides a clear pathway for Sarytogan towards its DFS completion by mid-2026 and construction launch in 2027.
With its huge tonnage and almost unrivalled grades, Sarytogan’s challenge now is getting into production and when it does, it will likely have a multi-generational cash producing machine.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
