A rebranded ASX-listed junior has taken the first step in establishing what may become a graphite hub in the East African nation of Tanzania.
And, if ultimately successful, the company could become a strategic player in the global critical minerals arena.
During mid-September, Sydney-based InVert Graphite Ltd (ASX: IVG) released the results from the first pass reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at its wholly-owned Kumba target, which sits within its Morogoro tenements just 200 kilometres south west of the Tanzanian port capital of Dar es Salaam.
Comprising 1300 metres across 13 holes, this maiden field work ‒ designed to follow-up on previously reported high-grade trench results reaching 31.4 per cent total graphite carbon (TGC) – included assays of 212m at 13.5 per cent, 84m at 15.2 per cent, 68m at 18.7 per cent and 312m at 8.8 per cent ‒ with additional readings of 29 and 21 per cent returned from a couple of the intercepts.
According to IVG, initial grab sampling at Kumba revealed 19 per cent TGC, along with graphite units, being mapped over a 2km strike length and a shallow (around 30 degrees) dip to the north west.
Previous metallurgical testwork, the company said, achieved a 19.3 per cent head grade, 95.5 per cent recoveries and concentrates of 98.3 per cent, representing the best sample grade results thus far within the project area.
Based on these numbers, the first pass drilling program was designed to reaffirm the previous high-grade trench numbers while confirming the presence of mineralisation to a depth of around 80m.
The shallow 30-degree dip of the mapped graphite units, IVG noted, meant that an initial broad drill spacing could be used with a limited number of holes to provide effective first pass work, as well as allow for an optimised follow-up in subsequent drill programs.
Not surprisingly, the explorer has already made moves to begin diamond drilling in the area.
InVert chief executive Andrew Lawson said the work marked an important next step in unlocking the scale of the graphite system identified at surface and would allow the company to begin testing the depth and continuity of mineralisation along the current 2km strike.
Along with the nearby Kasanga target, Kumba is just part of the Morogoro ground holding, which covers about 386 square km of granted and application-stage exploration ground.
Looked upon as a key element in the global switch to renewable energy, graphite is the largest component (about 95 per cent) of lithium-ion battery anodes, with the average electric vehicle containing around 60 kilograms of anode material.
Importantly, natural graphite has a lower carbon footprint when compared with synthetic products, aligning it with automaker environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets.
As a result, InVert said, global demand was forecast to more than double by 2030 as a structural supply deficiency emerged.
Moreover, western economies are now racing to diversify graphite and other critical supply chains away from China, which currently controls 98 per cent of refined graphite production – an issue being addressed by the Donald Trump-led US Republican administration following its raising of tariffs on Chinese imports of graphite anode material by 93.5 per cent (to 160 per cent) during the middle of this year.
“With drilling underway, we look forward to reporting the first results and continuing to advance both Kumba and Kasanga as part of our broader strategy to establish Morogoro as a significant graphite project,” Lawson said.
Formally Dominion Minerals, IVG completed what it called a corporate transformation and renamed itself as part of its readmission to trading on the Australian bourse.
Aside from its Tanzanian holdings, the company’s White Hills project in South Australia has two exploration licences, which are prospective for rare earth elements.
