Full Breakdown
Sarytogan Graphite Unveils $190 Million, 50-Year Kazakhstan Project
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Core Announcement and Project Scope
On October 21, 2026, Sarytogan Graphite released a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the upstream segment of its central-Kazakhstan graphite deposit. The study outlines a 50-year mine life processing 8.5 Mt of high-grade material—less than 4 % of the 225 Mt mineral resource—to produce 50 000 t of concentrate annually. Of this, 20 000 t will serve drilling-fluid, lubricant and friction markets; 10 000 t will target foundry and iron recarburizer users; and the remaining 20 000 t will feed a downstream plant for ultra-high-purity battery-grade graphite.
Financial and Technical Highlights
- Pre-tax net present value (NPV): US $132.7 million (A$189.6 M) at an 8 % discount rate.
- Internal rate of return (IRR): 19.8 %.
- EBITDA margin: 51 % based on an average selling price of US $805 (A$1 148) per tonne.
- Operating cost: US $364 (A$519) per tonne of concentrate.
- Ore reserve: 14.5 Mt at 29.1 % total graphitic carbon (TGC), including 8.9 Mt at 31.8 % TGC.
- Downstream potential (2024 prefeasibility): additional US $194 million (A$277 M) investment could generate a pre-tax NPV of US $367 million (A$524 M). Testwork produced battery-grade coated spherical purified graphite with >99.99 % purity, 97.7 % yield and a tap density of up to 1.26 g/cm³.
Official Statements & Responses
He also noted a lump-sum turn-key construction quote from Chinese firm Yantai Jinpeng, which has built graphite plants in Tanzania and Mozambique.
Strategic Context and External Support
The project’s location positions it between major graphite-demand markets in Europe and China. The European Union designated the venture a “Strategic Project” under its Critical Raw Materials Act in 2025. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development contributed A$1.4 million in a placement last year to advance the initiative. Adjacent to the graphite deposit, Sarytogan is also testing a copper porphyry system at the Baynazar project, where drilling returned a 452-m copper intercept averaging 0.063 % from surface.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The Upstream DFS, informed by high-quality technical studies by international and local engineering experts, advances and de-risks the project development pathway for the Sarytogan Graphite project. The next steps now include a DFS on the downstream project, further environmental and social studies for international banks,ongoing battery and other end -user product testing and offtake discussions.” — Sean Gregory, graphite managing director