Metals Australia’s Lac Carheil Resource Hits 50 Mt at 10.2% TGC with Plant Designs Near Completion

Lac Carheil Graphite Project Expansion

Metals Australia Limited (ASX – MLS) has delivered a landmark update for its flagship Lac Carheil graphite project in Quebec, Canada, reporting a more than threefold increase in its Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) to 50 million tonnes at 10.2% total graphitic carbon (TGC). This substantial upgrade, announced in the December 2025 quarter, positions the project as a significant player in the critical minerals sector, particularly for battery-grade graphite supply to North America’s burgeoning lithium-ion electric vehicle market.

The expanded resource includes 24.8 Mt at 11.3% TGC in the Indicated category and 25.2 Mt at 9.1% TGC Inferred, underpinning a robust foundation for the company’s ongoing development studies. Notably, this resource increase is based on drilling over just 2.3 km of the 36 km of identified graphite trends, suggesting considerable upside potential remains unexplored.

Advancing Engineering and Economic Studies

Engineering progress has been swift, with near-final designs completed for a 100,000 tonnes per annum flake graphite concentrate plant. The plant design benefits from improved graphite recovery rates of 96.7%, allowing a slightly smaller processing facility than initially scoped without sacrificing output. Concurrently, metallurgical test work has confirmed the suitability of Lac Carheil graphite for battery anode material (BAM) applications, with the downstream Battery Anode Material refinery’s engineering design entering final review stages.

Pricing studies underpinning the pre-feasibility study (PFS) have established average flake graphite concentrate prices of approximately $1,445 USD per tonne and coated spherical purified graphite (CSPG) prices between $9,879 and $10,470 USD per tonne for sales exceeding 50,000 tonnes annually. These price points are competitive within the Quebec jurisdiction and slightly below those used by peer projects, reflecting a prudent approach to market assumptions.

Strategic Positioning and Government Support

The Lac Carheil project aligns closely with Quebec’s ambition to become a global hub for critical and strategic minerals, supported by Canadian federal initiatives. The company has engaged extensively with stakeholders and the investment community, with sessions held in Quebec and Ontario and more planned. Importantly, Metals Australia is positioned to benefit from mineral exploration tax credits in Canada, potentially recovering up to 45% of eligible exploration and study expenditures, which enhances project economics and funding flexibility.

Australian Projects Show Promise

Back home, Metals Australia’s drilling program at the Manindi Vanadium-Titanium-Magnetite (VTM) project in Western Australia has been highly successful, confirming thick, continuous mineralised intervals over a strike length exceeding 1,000 metres. The mineralisation remains open along strike and at depth, with assay results pending. Concurrently, the Warrego Copper-Gold-Bismuth project in the Northern Territory has yielded highly anomalous copper zones consistent with mineralised haloes, indicating potential for deeper mineralisation akin to nearby major deposits.

Financial Position and Outlook

Metals Australia ended the quarter with a cash balance of $5.59 million after spending $1.285 million on exploration and project studies. Operating activities generated a modest positive cash flow, supported by interest income and Canadian tax recoveries. The company is focused on finalising remaining studies and publishing pre-feasibility and scoping study reports in the first half of 2026, with assay results from Australian projects expected shortly.