The Australian government has awarded International Graphite a AUD4.7M (US$3.1M) grant for the development of the integrated Springdale - Collie graphite project.

The grant was attained through Australia's Critical Minerals Development Program and funds are expected to be available from the 1^st of June 2023. International Graphite plans on using the grant to advance feasibility studies for the Springdale graphite mine, advance a battery anode material manufacturing plant at Collie and start construction of a planned graphite manufacturing plant at Collie.

International Graphite signed a sales agreement with Comet Resources in October 2021, creating a mine-to-market integrated operation focused on producing micronised - battery anode material. According to the agreement, International Graphite acquired the Springdale graphite project from Comet Resources for A$8M (US$5.2M) and Springdale will supply graphite concentrate to International Graphite's Collie plant for processing and refining. Before 2015, small tonnages of graphite were mined in Western Australia, but not at a commercial scale. In November 2022, the successful trial production of micronised and spheriodised graphite at Collie’s pilot plant marked a significant development in Australia’s graphite and battery industry.

Overall, the Australian government has approved close to AUD50M (US$32.6M) in critical minerals projects with intentions to create diverse supply chains, domestic downstream processing facilities and meet net-zero commitments by 2050. The funded projects will not only cover critical minerals for electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries but will also include advanced manufacturing for aerospace, medical, energy and defence applications.