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$98 million graphite processing facility planned for Rockingham

Aiza Mabayag Sep 30, 2020

2 min read

Rockingham is set to house a multi-million-dollar downstream processing facility supporting Western Australia’s growing battery minerals industry, with the signing of an agreement between DevelopmentWA and EcoGraf.

EcoGraf has signed an option to lease on two lots in the Rockingham Strategic Industrial Area (SIA), with plans to develop a graphite processing facility in two stages. The development, occupying 6.7 hectares, is expected to commence construction in mid-2021 and create up to 200 construction jobs and 75 ongoing operational jobs once complete.

WA-based EcoGraf owns a patented state-of-the-art, eco-friendly graphite purification process, catering to strong demand in global markets for environmentally responsible battery-grade spherical graphite.

Production capacity for Stage 1 of the proposed Rockingham facility is 5,000 tons of battery-grade spherical graphite per annum, increasing to 20,000 tons per annum with the completion of Stage 2.

Rockingham SIA was chosen as the site of the proposed facility due to its existing infrastructure, access to global markets, and recent lithium developments and related activity in the Rockingham-Kwinana region.

The agreement with EcoGraf comes just weeks after Premier Mark McGowan opened the new Alloy Road within the Rockingham estate, which unlocked up to 73.5ha of new strategic industrial land.

“This is an exciting facility that will create jobs in Rockingham and surrounding suburbs. The allocation of this prime industrial land to EcoGraf supports the State Government’s Future Battery Industry Strategy, which aims to grow this emerging sector in WA and transform it into a significant source of economic development, diversification, jobs and skills,” Minister Mark said.

“Importantly, this proposed multi-million-dollar investment comes just two months after the opening of Alloy Road unlocked new strategic industrial land. This is another demonstration of the great work done by the Industrial Lands Authority facilitate to industry growth and investment in WA,” he said.

“Congratulations to all the staff and stakeholders at EcoGraf on this great announcement. This is another example of the continuing success of the McGowan Government’s Future Battery Industry Strategy,” Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston said.

Ministed Bill continued that the demand for battery minerals in electric vehicles and battery storage systems has created an exciting opportunity for Western Australia, which has the fourth largest reserves of graphite in the world

Source: Government of Western Australia