Name of the Project
Vidalia further expansion project.

Location
Louisiana, in the US.

Project Owner/s
Syrah Resources.

Project Description
A definitive feasibility study has confirmed that the expansion of Vidalia’s capacity to 45 000 t/y of active anode material (AAM) is technically viable and financially robust, with processed graphite estimated at 74 600 t/y.

The AAM facility will have the flexibility to produce an additional AAM product with differentiated electrochemical performance parameters, adding to the product the company will produce from the 11 250 t/y AAM Vidalia facility under construction, or the Vidalia initial expansion project.

Potential Job Creation
Syrah resources reported in January 2024 that the operations team is fully staffed, with more than 100 people engaged in the commissioning process, and ready to ramp up production at Vidalia.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an estimated pretax net present value, at 10% discount rate, of between $208-million and $794-million, and an internal rate of return of between 13.9% and 22.9%, with a payback of four to six years from the start of operations.

Capital Expenditure
Total cost has been increased to $209-million, an increase of about 5% when compared with the previous total installed capital guidance of $198-million, and about 19% more than the cost estimate in the final investment decision.

Syrah explained in January 2024 that the escalation was the result of unplanned indirect costs on equipment acquisitions and additional commissioning costs.

Syrah partly funded the Vidalia expansion project with a $102-million loan from the US Department of Energy and has applied for an additional $350-million to support the further expansion of the plant. 

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The heating cycle for the first furnace line at Vidalia started in early January 2024 and the first carbonisation of pitch-coated spherical graphite will be completed to produce first finished AAM product from the facility “imminently”, Syrah has said.

There have been some delays at the project, following commissioning setbacks and having to contend with the longest hard freeze conditions in Louisiana in 30 years in January.

Production from Vidalia in February will make Syrah the first commercial-scale, vertically integrated natural graphite AAM supplier outside China.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Syrah Resources, tel +61 3 9670 7264 or email enquiries@syrahresources.com.au.