Name of the Project
Battery anode material (BAM) refinery.

Location
The refinery is proposed for the Jean-Noël-Tessier industrial park, north of Baie-Comeau, in Quebec, Canada.

Project Owner/s
Metals Australia, through its Canadian subsidiary Northern Resources Inc, is advancing the Lac Carheil graphite project in Quebec.

Project Description
The preliminary economic assessment (PEA) is based on a 25-year project life and a modularised processing approach. 

The project involves the development of a downstream BAM refinery to convert high-purity natural flake graphite concentrate from Metals Australia’s Lac Carheil project into coated spherical purified graphite (CSPG) for lithium-ion battery anodes. 

The refinery forms part of the company’s broader plan to develop an integrated graphite business comprising the upstream Lac Carheil mine and flake graphite concentrate plant and the downstream BAM refinery. 

The upstream flake graphite concentrate plant is being designed to process about 860 000 t/y of graphitic ore at an average run-of-mine (RoM) grade of 11.5% total graphitic carbon (TGC). The aim is to produce 100 000 t/y of graphite concentrate products grading an average 95.4% TGC. 

The process plant design includes an RoM stockpile, covered crushed-ore stockpile, feed and conveyor systems, grinding and flotation stages, tailings thickeners, product screening, packaging and offloading facilities. The downstream BAM refinery is planned as a modular operation comprising three identical modules, every one designed to process 25 000 dry tonnes a year of natural flake graphite concentrate. The modular design approach allows for future phased expansion.

At full production, the refinery will have a nominal design capacity of 75 000 dry tonnes a year of concentrate. The process will include micronisation, spheroidisation, purification and coating to produce CSPG. Each module is expected to produce 17 023 dry tonnes a year of CSPG comprising 12 843 t/y of CSPG 18 and 4 180 t/y of CSPG 10. With all three modules operating, the refinery is expected to produce 51 069 dry tonnes a year of CSPG comprising 38 529 t/y of CSPG 18 and 12 540 t/y of CSPG 10.

The BAM facility has an estimated overall yield of 68%.

Potential Job Creation
The refinery is expected to employ 227 people.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The PEA estimates a pretax net present value (NPV) using an 8% discount rate of $2.05-billion, or A$2.93-billion. The after-tax NPV is estimated at $1.39-billion, or A$1.98-billion. The project’s internal rate of return is estimated at 25.6%, with a payback period of 4.5 years.

Capital Expenditure
Capital expenditure for the three production modules, land and contingency is estimated at $883.8-million, or A$1.26-billion. This includes contingency of $178.9-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The refinery is expected to start operating in 2030.

Latest Developments
The project is progressing towards a final feasibility study.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Lycopodium Minerals Canada (process and engineering design for the flake graphite concentrate plant and overall study manager and economic modeller for the PFS); DRA Americas (openpit mine design work); Norda Stelo (environmental review, regulatory and geochemistry assessments); Dorfner Anzaplan and its associates (metallurgical testwork for the conversion of flake graphite concentrate into BAM products); SGS Quebec City (feasibility-level metallurgical test programme); Fastmarkets (base-case pricing used in the downstream PEA); and Lone Star Technical Minerals (product market and pricing assessment).

Contact Details for Project Information
Metals Australia, tel +61 8 9481 7833 or email info@metalsaustralia.com.au.