Conducted by the University of Adelaide, the testwork suggested that graphene can be directly and rapidly liberated from unprocessed Nunasvaara graphite ore in a one-step process with no intermediate stages/products.
The company is planning to upscale testwork and measure graphene yield and characteristics in a potential production scenario as well as Test graphite recovery and purity arising from graphene production stream.
Additionally, the company will calculate initial capex and potential production costs to incorporate into current Nunasvaara graphite scoping study and conclude with dual graphene/graphite focus.
Talga managing director Mark Thompson said that the company is encouraged by the initial test results which establish a firm, science-based foundation to drive the development of Nunasvaara to include graphene.
"Talga’s direct-from-ore capability is a breakthrough that allows us to avoid these degradational techniques yet easily produces a very high quality graphene with low defects, in potentially large quantities," Thompson added.
"The results to date flag the possibility that the process may not be duplicable by others, as the raw ore-to-graphene method is enabled by potentially unique characteristics of the Nunasvaara deposit which Talga owns 100%."
Upon developing trial batch plant, Talga will move to permitting for bulk sampling program on path to trial production.
