Talga oversizes graphite target in Sweden amid strong demand for electric vehicles
Global demand for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries is growing rapidly, and with Europe being the fastest growing region for manufacturing Li-on batteries, it makes sense that Talga (ASX: TLG) increases the tonnage potential of its Swedish natural graphite. deposits.
This graphite will be the raw material for its Talnode range of battery anode products and its Talphene range of graphene additives.
Global battery manufacturing capacity in 2030 is expected to exceed 3.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year, requiring more than 4,600,000 tonnes per year of graphite anode.
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence predicts that by 2040 total global demand for Li-ion battery anodes will exceed 8,400,000 tonnes per year, with Europe alone needing more than 750,000 tpa of new anode supply in graphite by 2030.
“The building blocks of more sustainable transportation and a cleaner environment include battery materials and components, such as Talga’s green graphite anodes,” said CEO Mark Thompson.
“Recent customer feedback leads us to better define the true extent of our high-quality graphite resources in Sweden and explore the potential for increased scale for global battery markets.
“By establishing this important vertically integrated natural graphite anode business in Europe, we can clean up existing supply chains and be a positive high-tech addition to the regional economy. “
Expansion of the Vittangi exploration target
Given the positive economics of the Vittangi Anode project, the DFS is based solely on the 2.3 million tonne ore reserve at Nunasvaara South – and only a fraction of the graphite mapped has been tested by drilling to date – the company wishes to fully define the extent of its graphite deposits. and better align future development with increased global demand for battery anodes.
Thus, the JORC exploration target estimate for the Vittangi graphite project has been updated to 170-200 million tonnes at 20-30% graphite – from 26-46 million tonnes at 20- 30%.
The majority of this estimate is proximal along the strike and dip of Talga’s existing Vittangi JORC (2012) graphite resource of 19.5 million tonnes at 24.0% – which the company says demonstrates potential significant additional expansion of its inventory of anode source materials.
Planned drilling and exploration programs
An extensive diamond core drilling program is scheduled to begin at Vittangi on July 29 with 69 holes totaling ~ 8,000m – with assay results expected in the fourth quarter.
And a detailed airborne electromagnetic survey (‘SKYTEM’) is scheduled to start at Vittangi before the end of July, to better define and integrate graphite units and depth extensions for drilling.
The SKYTEM survey will also cover Talga’s Aitik East project where outcrops of copper-gold-silver-molybdenum and lithium minerals have already been identified – and warrant further investigation.
Explore the Jalkunen project
Further drilling is planned on the remainder of the Vittangi exploration target in stages over the next 12 to 18 months.
Drilling to extend the current resource base of the Jalkunen graphite project is scheduled to begin during the northern winter of January to March 2022, and will be followed by a planned scoping study and license application from subsequent operation.
