Sarytogan Graphite powers into Kazakhstan copper drilling program
- Craig Nolan
- Sep 17
- 3 min read
Sarytogan Graphite (ASX: SGA) has plunged into a new chapter of exploration, with a 1800-metre KGK drilling program powering ahead at its Baynazar copper project in Kazakhstan.
The drill program plans to sample the bedrock below the quaternary, or geological cover, which has been formed by sediments and materials deposited over the past 2.6 million years, and will punch through the existing weathered rock sitting above the bedrock.
Management wants to refine the Ilkin anomaly, identified from trench sampling about three months ago. The original reported sample of 140m at 0.09 per cent copper has now been extended to a 270m stretch grading 0.13 per cent copper, including higher-grade copper sections of 92m going 0.2 per cent and 30m running at 0.31 per cent.
The extension came via a 2m deep trench excavated across a 270m line, exposing completely weathered diorite, oriented north-northeast to south-southwest parallel to historical shallow trenches and adjacent to an historical drill hole. The mineralisation remains open in both directions.
An airborne magnetic survey kicked up a further anomaly, prompting management to move with the burst speed of the nation’s snow leopard to nab an additional tenement covering the western extension of the anomaly. Sarytogan has secured the new ground for six years.
KGK drilling is a Soviet-developed technique for sampling bedrock in areas with thick overlying cover. It’s designed to penetrate cover to reach fresh bedrock for geological sampling. It helps geologists assess the underlying geology and identify anomalies without needing to run costly initial diamond core drilling.
Sarytogan’s latest program is designed to establish bedrock copper anomalies for future testing with a deeper diamond drill program. Its exploration efforts have identified its Ilkin, Aminbay and Sanabi prospects as worthy of follow-up.
The Ilkin prospect at Baynazar has now progressed to the exciting drilling stage. The KGK drilling is a lower cost method designed to penetrate through shallow cover to tag the bedrock and refine the target for future deeper diamond drilling.
Sarytogan Graphite Managing Director Sean Gregory
Gregory said a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the company’s flagship Sarytogan graphite project will be awarded shortly, boosted by a recent private placement. Management expects the DFS to be completed by mid-2026.
Sarytogan revealed last month that it has clinched a serious backer onto its register, securing a $3.6 million private placement from Kazakh high-net-worth investor Dias Sarsenov. The company anticipates the placement will be completed in October, which will see Sarsenov emerge with a near 20 per cent holding in the company’s stock.
By locking in local backing for the project, Sarytogan has raised its profile in-country while also bringing heavyweight transport and planning expertise into the fold.
Sarsenov’s family is a majority shareholder of Eastcomtrans LLP, the largest owner and operator of rail rolling stock in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. In a sector where the cost of moving material to market can make or break a project’s economics, linking up with a high-profile logistics player makes a world of sense.
Sarytogan’s graphite deposit is already viewed as a groundbreaking critical minerals discovery, with a 229-million-tonne resource at 28.9 per cent total graphitic carbon (TGC) and an 8.6-million-tonne ore reserve at 30 per cent TGC.
It has the European Union as a potential offtake partner, given its geographic proximity to Kazakhstan, and the expected surge in the continent’s demand for high-purity graphite for batteries.
Eyebrows were raised recently when Sarytogan demonstrated material from the deposit could produce concentrates above 90 per cent carbon and even hit “five nines” purity - 99.9992% - without chemical pre-treatment.
Kazakhstan, a former Soviet nation, is an established mining jurisdiction known for porphyry copper deposits. Four of the five lowest-cost operations are based there and benefit from reduced costs for power, diesel and skilled labour.
With rigs now turning in the world’s largest landlocked country, Sarytogan is betting big on its copper project delivering the hits that could redefine its valuation in a market keen to uncover future supplies of the red metal and stamp it as a serious dual-commodity player.
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