Critical minerals developer Renascor Resources has completed construction of its purified spherical graphite (PSG) demonstration facility in Adelaide, South Australia, advancing its integrated battery anode material strategy.

The company said on Monday all major process equipment had been installed and interconnected, allowing the project to transition from pre-commissioning activities to full plant commissioning, which is expected to begin later this month.

The demonstration plant forms part of Renascor’s vertically integrated battery anode material development plans and will process graphite sourced from the company’s Siviour graphite project in South Australia. Once operational, the facility will demonstrate Renascor’s hydrofluoric acid-free purification process, which the company believes could offer an alternative to conventional purification methods widely used in China’s graphite supply chain.

“Achieving construction completion is an important milestone in the development of our integrated Battery Anode Material project. The demonstration facility will enable process validation, customer qualification and further derisking as we advance toward a final investment decision for our downstream PSG facility,” said MD David Christensen.

“With construction complete, our focus now shifts to commissioning, operational validation and optimisation as we prepare for commercial-scale production.”

The project was supported by a $5-million grant from the Australian government under its International Partnerships in Critical Minerals Programme.

The demonstration facility will convert graphite concentrate from the Siviour deposit into PSG through a continuous production process, allowing the company to test and optimise its purification technology before developing a full-scale commercial PSG facility.

During construction, key milestones included completion of hydrotesting across piping circuits, installation of the water treatment system, energisation of the main electrical systems and completion of mechanical and piping works.

Renascor said the project has maintained a zero lost-time injury record through construction and into the commissioning phase.

Near-term activities include completing water commissioning, starting full plant commissioning, conducting staged operating runs to generate product for validation and advancing customer qualification and funding activities for the integrated battery anode material project.