ASX-listed Sarytogan Graphite has pulled a serious backer into its camp, clinching a $3.6 million private placement from Kazakh high-net-worth investor Dias Sarsenov.

The funds will be used to fast-track a definitive feasibility study (DFS) on the company’s graphite project in Kazakhstan and develop a critical minerals supply chain into Europe.

When the placement is completed, Sarsenov will emerge with just shy of a 20 per cent holding in the company’s stock.

Inked at 8 cents a share for 45.2 million shares - at par with the current price – the deal marks a watershed moment for Sarytogan. By locking in local support for its flagship project, the company has raised its profile in-country while also bringing heavyweight transport and planning expertise into the tent.

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, tying up a bulk resource with logistics nous could be highly significant.

As part of the deal, Sarsenov, or his appointed nominee, has been offered a seat on the Sarytogan board, on the condition that he step down if his shareholding ever dips below 15 per cent.

He has already made a 5 per cent deposit of $180,000. Sarytogan expects to receive the balance of the funds before the end of September, after the Kazakh Ministry of Industry of Construction signs off on the investment, in line with the country’s standard tenement approval requirements.

Sarytogan Graphite managing director Sean Gregory said: “Sarytogan is delighted to attract this investment from Kazakh high-net-worth investor Dias Sarsenov. It makes sense that Sarytogan Graphite, which is of great strategic importance to Kazakhstan’s role in the supply of critical raw materials to Europe and beyond, now has major shareholders from Europe and Kazakhstan.”

With his 19.99 per cent stake, Sarsenov has emerged as Sarytogan’s second-largest shareholder. The top three investors now hold more than 50 per cent of the stock, leaving the company’s register in remarkably tight hands.

For Sarytogan, the injection of fresh capital could not come at a better time. The company is accelerating its definitive feasibility study. The key engineering contracts have already been tendered and a mid-2026 completion remains on the radar.

Sarytogan’s graphite deposit is shaping up as a world-class critical minerals play 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.

The project also sits squarely in Europe’s sights. Twelve months ago, it was designated as being of strategic importance under the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act. The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) then invested $5 million into Sarytogan for 17.3 per cent of the company at 16c.

Subsequent to the Sarsenov placement, Sarytogan has offered an opportunity for EBRD to also top up its position to maintain its current position on the register. If the bank takes up the offer, Sarytogan could pull in up to a further $755,000, subject to shareholder and Australian Foreign Investment Review Board approval.

The EU appears to be perfectly positioned as a future offtake partner, given its geographic proximity to Kazakhstan and its burgeoning demand for high purity graphite for batteries.

This interest became even more urgent after 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.

With Sarsenov’s cash, EBRD’s potential top-up and a definitive feasibility study now running on an accelerated timeline, Sarytogan appears to be finding the fuel it needs to propel its Kazakh graphite ambitions firmly onto the European stage.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au