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Gregory said a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the company’s flagship Sarytogan graphite project will be awarded shortly, boosted by a recent private placement. Management expects the DFS to be completed by mid-2026.
Sarytogan revealed last month that it has clinched a serious backer onto its register, securing a $3.6 million private placement from Kazakh high-net-worth investor Dias Sarsenov. The company anticipates the placement will be completed in October, which will see Sarsenov emerge with a near 20 per cent holding in the company’s stock.
By locking in local backing for the project, Sarytogan has raised its profile in-country while also bringing heavyweight transport and planning expertise into the fold.
Sarsenov’s family is a majority shareholder of Eastcomtrans LLP, the largest owner and operator of rail rolling stock in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. In a sector where the cost of moving material to market can make or break a project’s economics, linking up with a high-profile logistics player makes a world of sense.
Sarytogan’s graphite deposit is already viewed as a groundbreaking critical minerals discovery, with a 229-million-tonne resource at 28.9 per cent total graphitic carbon (TGC) and an 8.6-million-tonne ore reserve at 30 per cent TGC.
It has the European Union as a potential offtake partner, given its geographic proximity to Kazakhstan, and the expected surge in the continent’s demand for high-purity graphite for batteries.
Eyebrows were raised recently when Sarytogan demonstrated material from the deposit could produce concentrates above 90 per cent carbon and even hit “five nines” purity - 99.9992% - without chemical pre-treatment.
Kazakhstan, a former Soviet nation, is an established mining jurisdiction known for porphyry copper deposits. Four of the five lowest-cost operations are based there and benefit from reduced costs for power, diesel and skilled labour.
With rigs now turning in the world’s largest landlocked country, Sarytogan is betting big on its copper project delivering the hits that could redefine its valuation in a market keen to uncover future supplies of the red metal and stamp it as a serious dual-commodity player.
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