Leading Edge Materials Corp. has confirmed a purification route at its Woxna Graphite Mine that achieves 99.96% loss on ignition (LOI), targeting premium battery and industrial applications. The testwork demonstrated that a simple, industrially practical two-stage alkaline process, without an energy-intensive pre-heating step, can produce high-purity graphite. This development supports the technical viability of restarting the Woxna operation in Sweden to meet growing European demand for responsibly sourced supply.

The flotation testwork produced a high-grade concentrate with 94% carbon purity, retaining more than half of all particles as large flakes. This result is significant for premium graphite applications and serves as a key indicator of commercial potential. The testwork was conducted on historical stockpiled material showing signs of oxidation, which is known to reduce flotation performance; fresh ore is expected to perform better.

Milling and Flotation Results

Woxna ore was processed using VeRoLiberator® milling equipment to assess whether the method could liberate graphite while preserving intact large flakes. Specialist contractor ProGraphite conducted the testing programme. Milling tests using VeRo technology achieved high levels of graphite liberation in a single pass, using significantly less energy than conventional methods and operating dry.

ProGraphite’s flotation testing began with a flash flotation approach that produced a concentrate with an LOI of 94%. Performance was below expectations based on historical data, attributed to the ore not being freshly mined and the VeRo settings prioritizing flake size retention over maximum liberation. Nonetheless, the test demonstrated that a relatively coarse, large-flake concentrate can be produced, achieving a flake content of over 50% at an LOI of 94%.

Purification Testwork

ProGraphite conducted purification trials on the flotation concentrate to evaluate different methods, including alkaline purification using HCl or H₂SO₄, and hydrofluoric acid (HF) purification. The initial alkaline purification campaign established that HCl alone yields only moderate purity in a single stage, achieving LOI values of 97.65%.

The best overall results were achieved through a two-stage process combining a sodium hydroxide bake with subsequent HCl leaching. The highest LOI value of the test series was 99.99%. Without the energy-intensive preheating step, an LOI of 99.96% was achieved, which the company identified as interesting for an industrial process.

Market Outlook and Strategic Position

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence forecasts global demand for natural flake graphite to more than double within a decade, rising from approximately 1.2 million tonnes in 2025 to nearly 3 million tonnes by 2035. Benchmark projects a persistent supply shortfall in the -100 mesh, 94–95% carbon segment, the preferred feedstock for battery applications, with the deficit beginning now and growing to almost 1 million tonnes by 2040.

Woxna is one of Europe’s few fully permitted and production-ready natural flake graphite operations. It is strategically positioned to meet growing regional demand for responsibly sourced, low-carbon graphite, offering European battery and industrial customers a sovereign alternative to Chinese supply. The company intends to assess whether an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) is warranted as work progresses.