First Graphene Ltd, a leading global producer of advanced graphene products, has signed a major new agreement with newGen for the supply of three tonnes of its PureGRAPH® products. These will be used by newGen for the manufacture of wear linings used in bucket wheels, pipe spools and conveyor applications in the mining industry.

Blending PureGRAPH® graphene in powder form with existing elastomers provides considerable mechanical improvements to the material, including enhanced tensile and tear strength, plus far greater abrasion resistance. This extends the life of wear liners, significantly reducing downtime and cost for mining and quarrying operators.

The new order was contingent on the award of NICNAS certification (the Australian National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme) for First Graphene, which follows the company’s similar accreditation in Europe under REACH.

Craig McGuckin, Managing Director for First Graphene Ltd, explains, “This is another important contract for the company as we commercialise the use of graphene in a growing number of industry sectors, from elastomers to concrete. In particular, it highlights the importance for customers of working with the only global supplier with an integrated supply chain, from wholly owned mine through to high volume graphene production capability.”

First Graphene sees the worldwide mining and quarrying sectors as important areas of future growth. The company is working with a number of partners to develop new polyurethane elastomers and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) derivatives, to retain and improve mechanical properties while also providing new characteristics such as fire retardancy. It is expected that continuing work with suppliers to the mining industry will result in many more applications being adopted into the near term.