Grafite e grafene i materiali del futuro ? (1 Viewer)

[PIZZODIGINO]

April 5, 2017 – Northern Graphite Corporation (“Northern” or the “Company”) (NGC:TSX-V, NGPHF:OTCQX) is pleased to announce that it has hired Mr. Placido Campos as Senior Process Consultant. Mr. Campos is a Professional Engineer with 32 years of experience in graphite production and processing. He held a number of senior positions in his 13 years with Nacional de Grafite, the largest graphite producer outside of China, most recently as General Manager, Operations. Mr. Campos was also formerly Graphite Beneficiation Manager with Syrah Resources where he was responsible for the metallurgical process and production.

Mr. Campos will focus on reviewing metallurgical test results and the processing plant flow sheet with the objective of identifying opportunities to optimize its performance and to reduce capital and operating costs. These changes will be integrated into a planned update of the Company’s Full Feasibility Study.

Gregory Bowes, Chief Executive Officer, commented that; “Bulk sample and pilot plant results indicate we can achieve a very high recovery of large flakes and high purity levels but there is no substitute for experience in scaling up to commercial production. There are few consultants outside of China with the “hands on” graphite processing experience of Mr. Campos and we look forward to his contribution toward ensuring that we have the best process plant equipment and design, and achieve our goal of producing the highest quality products at the lowest cost.“

 

[PIZZODIGINO]

Zenyatta Ventures Ltd; University of Sussex Successfully Enhances Performance of Rubber Composites using Zenyatta Graphene Derived from Albany Graphite



Thunder Bay, ON

6 April 2017



Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. (“Zenyatta” or “Company”) (TSXV: ZEN) is pleased to announce successful initial test results from research carried out by Dr. Alan Dalton at the University of Sussex, UK (“Sussex”) using graphene converted from the Company’s high-purity graphite. Sussex tested the use of Zenyatta graphene in rubber composite and emulsion applications.

Rubber Composite Applications
Sussex easily exfoliated Zenyatta graphite via sonication to produce graphene which was then homogenously dispersed into a rubber composite. A several fold improvement in the electrical and thermal properties of the rubber composite along with increased strength and elasticity was realized by adding as little as 0.5% Zenyatta graphene. Sussex researchers have turned to nano-materials like graphene to develop high performance rubber composite sensors. The resulting material demonstrated impressive performance as sensors which can detect motions as subtle as those associated with breathing and pulse.

Dr. Alan Dalton, Professor of Experimental Physics at Sussex noted, “The exfoliation of Zenyatta graphite was very clean with the production of mostly monolayer and bilayer graphene.” Dr. Dalton further stated, “Our initial results using Zenyatta graphene in rubber composites show exceptional motion sensitivity to mechanical stress which is critical for sensor applications. We will be investigating the use of these composites in several other applications in conjunction with the appropriate industrial partners.”

Rubber composites with multiple properties have potential sensor applications in wearable sports clothing and medical devices as health monitors.

Dr. Bharat Chahar, VP Market Development for Zenyatta noted, “This further confirms the distinct and desirable properties of Albany graphite for conversion to graphene which was previously recognized by scientists in Israel, Japan and Canada. Dr. Chahar added that “We continue to find that the unique properties of our graphite enable easier production of consistently high quality and easily dispersible graphene which is opening doors for new and important applications, especially composites. Zenyatta recently achieved similar successful results using our graphene in concrete composites with Dr. Oren Regev at Ben-Gurion University.”

The Company continues to provide high-purity graphite samples to potential end-users to allow them to assess the consistent quality of our material in their current graphene product developments.

Emulsion Applications
Scientists at Sussex have also developed techniques to produce solid-stabilized water-in-oil suspensions known as emulsions. Exfoliated graphite or graphene can be used as the stabilizing solid for these emulsions. These emulsions can then be used in new applications where the control of electrical and thermal properties is critical for performance. Examples of such applications include inkjet printing, thin wires, stress sensors and supercapacitors.

Sussex has developed a method to produce the graphene directly in the emulsion, but the homogeneity and yield of the Zenyatta produced graphene determined the success and usefulness of the suspension. In the past, the low yields and lack of homogenous graphene from other sources resulted in insufficient concentration of graphene and required further processing with a centrifuge. Recent results with Zenyatta’s Albany graphite demonstrated superior homogenous graphene production with high yields thus allowing production of conductive liquid suspensions directly. These emulsions show excellent conductivity controls at graphene concentrations of approximately 1% or less.

Sussex is a world-leading research university near Brighton, United Kingdom. The high quality research-led university delivers internationally recognized, high-quality research. Zenyatta and Sussex are now working to scale-up testing while developing plans to prove out the viability of applications.

Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. is developing the Albany Graphite Deposit situated in northeastern Ontario, Canada. The deposit is a unique type of igneous-hosted, fluid-derived graphite mineralization contained in two large breccia pipes. The Company is seeking end users for their graphite and graphene and is working with several collaborative partners including the development of a graphene enhanced concrete. Other potential markets for graphite include Li-ion batteries, fuel cells and powder metallurgy. The outlook for the global graphite market is very promising with demand growing rapidly from new applications. It is now considered one of the more strategic elements by many leading industrial nations, particularly for its growing importance in high technology manufacturing and in the emerging “green” industries such as electric vehicle components.

 

[PIZZODIGINO]

Leading Edge Materials Provides Update on High Purity Battery Graphite Qualification
Published by Craig P at 6th April 2017
Categories

• Latest

Tags

Vancouver, Canada – Leading Edge Materials Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials”) or (the Company”) (TSXV:LEM) (OTCQB: LEMIF) is pleased to announce the latest results from process optimization and qualification test work to produce high value products using graphite from the Company’s Woxna mine and processing facility in Sweden.

Electrochemical, material property and purity results achieved in this recent qualification test work significantly exceeded those previously accomplished. The Woxna high purity spherical graphite product is now of a quality to warrant progression to 18650 lithium ion battery cell manufacture, followed by standard tests including High Precision Coulometry (HPC) to measure anode and cathode performance and stability under “real-world” conditions.

Highlights of the latest test work include:

• Tap Density of 0.95 g/cc (target is greater than or equal to 0.95 g/cc)
• Sample purity of 99.9988%C (only 12ppm impurities)
• Reversible capacity of 370-371 mAh/g

Blair Way, President and CEO, stated “We are very pleased with the high purity achieved by thermal purification of the Woxna concentrate at an active commercial site in the United States. These recent tests demonstrate that Woxna high purity spheroidal graphite has the electrochemical properties potentially suitable for use in automotive lithium ion batteries. Our Woxna concentrate stockpile can provide very large volumes of graphite concentrate for ongoing qualification and when appropriate scaled-up pilot plant test work.”

A commercial graphite flotation concentrate from the Woxna mine in Sweden was shipped to an independent laboratory for ongoing high purity spheroidal flowsheet development. Samples progress through a methodical campaign of tests followed by analysis to identify key characteristics such as graphitic carbon content, tap density, BET surface area, particle size distribution, reversible capacity and cell life cycle testing (HPC). The company will provide further updates as test work progresses

 

[PIZZODIGINO]

Published: Friday, 07 April 2017 12:21

Energizer Resources Inc. (“Energizer” or the “Company”) announced today that effective April 19, 2017 the Company will change its corporate name to NextSource Materials Inc. as part of its rebranding initiative and anticipates its shares will commence trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the U.S. OTC Market Group (OTCQB) under the new name and ticker symbols upon the opening of the markets on Monday, April 24, 2017.

As the Company is expected to shortly complete the Detailed Engineering Study on its Molo Graphite Project, the new brand identity signifies an important shift in the evolution of the Company from an exploration-stage company into a mine-development company.

New Trading Symbol on TSX: NEXT

The name change was approved by stockholders at the annual general meeting of the stockholders of the Company held on December 19, 2016 and has been conditionally approved by the TSX.

The Company anticipates its common shares, which are currently trading on the TSX under the symbol “EGZ”, will commence trading under the new ticker symbol “NEXT” upon the opening of the market on Monday April 24, 2017. The CUSIP number assigned to the Company’s shares following the name change is 65342W109 (ISIN: US65342W1099).

New Trading Symbol on OTCQB

The Company anticipates its common shares, which are currently trading on the OTCQB under the symbol “ENZR”, will commence trading on the OTCQB under a new ticker symbol upon the opening of the market on or around the same date that the common shares commence trading on the TSX. The Company has applied for a new trading symbol and will notify U.S. stockholders in the coming days what the replacement trading symbol will be and the confirmed date that the common shares will commence trading.

New Website

As part of the rebrand, the newly designed corporate website will launch on April 24, 2017 to coincide with the commencement of the Company’s common shares trading under the new ticker symbol “NEXT” on the TSX. The new domain name will be nextsourcematerials.com.

No Action Required by Stockholders

No further action is required by stockholders with respect to the name change. Outstanding stock certificates will not be affected by the name change and will not need to be exchanged. Certain changes in the CUSIP number may cause a temporary interruption in electronic trading in the United States and/or with the Depository Trust Company. The Company encourages any concerns in this regard to be directed to the stockholder’s respective broker or agent.

More Than Just Graphite

The Company’s decision to change its corporate name to NextSource Materials Inc. (“NextSource”) is firstly, to better reflect the evolution of the Company from an exploration-stage company into a mine-development company. Secondly, it is to better reflect the Company’s 100%-ownership of completely separate and stand-alone graphite and vanadium deposits, both of which the Company considers as strategic “energy minerals” for batteries for the electric vehicle and large-scale energy storage markets.

The global quest to efficiently harness renewable energy into a battery has been described as the “holy grail” of energy storage and the growth opportunities for efficient energy storage systems are substantial. The Company has always believed in the market demand for both graphite and vanadium, as these “energy” minerals are key materials in battery chemistries for large-scale energy storage systems. This was evident in 2010 when the Company put the development activities of its Green Giant Vanadium Project on hold to focus its efforts exclusively on advancing the Molo Graphite Project based on the high-growth demand forecasts for flake graphite and on the lower capital and operating costs required to bring a flake graphite mine into production as compared to a vanadium mine.

Although the development of the Molo Graphite Project into a mine will remain the primary focus of the Company, it continues to believe strongly in the market potential of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRB), a leading technology for large-scale megawatt energy storage systems. In particular, we believe in the off-take potential for a high-purity vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) concentrate from our Green Giant Vanadium Project, which is a key precursor material to produce the electrolyte that powers a VRB battery. Serendipitously, the two main material inputs in a VRB are vanadium and flake graphite.

As such, the new name NextSource Materials exemplifies the Company’s ambitious goal of providing the next source of strategic battery materials that will change the world.

Detailed Engineering Study

The Company will be providing an update shortly on the completion of the Detailed Engineering Study for the Molo Graphite Project, which was initiated in January 2017 on the basis of the positive results of the Front End Engineering and Design Study, which itself was completed in November 2016.

 

[PIZZODIGINO]

Northern Graphite Upgrades Concentrate Purity

Ottawa, Ontario – April 19, 2017: Northern Graphite Corporation (TSXV:NGC, OTXQX:NGPHF) (“Northern” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the results of additional metallurgical test work designed to optimize the purity of concentrates that will be produced from the Bissett Creek deposit. Testing was carried out by SGS Lakefield (“SGS”) and evaluated new approaches to graphite processing that have been developed since the Company completed its Full Feasibility Study.

SGS evaluated the effect on the flake size distribution and carbon content of graphite concentrates from using a stirred media mill instead of, or as a compliment to, the polishing mill. The stirred media mill successfully increased the overall purity of an earlier pilot plant concentrate from 93.4 to 97.9 per cent graphitic carbon (“Cg”). The increase was mainly attributable to the smaller size fractions which averaged over 97 per cent Cg. High purity levels of 97 to 98 per cent had already been confirmed in the important +32 mesh (XXL) and +50 mesh (XL) size fractions through locked cycle tests. Graphite concentrates are typically sold with 80% meeting the required size standard. Smaller sizes can make up the balance as long as the purity level is maintained which will be the case with Northern’s concentrates.

Gregory Bowes, CEO commented that: “Bissett Creek concentrates are already high quality and the increased purity of the finer materials will further enhance their price and marketability. Only 10 per cent of the Company’s production will be -150 mesh, which we believe is the lowest in the industry, and it can easily be absorbed into larger size concentrates. Almost every graphite mine has a fines problem as they must be sold into low growth, low value, competitive markets but this will not be an issue for Northern.“

Purification
The amount and nature of impurities in graphite concentrates affects their value, marketability and ability to be upgraded for use in higher value applications. Ore from the Bissett Creek deposit fractures easily, releasing the flakes, which are generally not interleaved with impurities. As a result, Bissett Creek ore does not require fine grinding or multiple stages of polishing and cleaning to achieve required purity levels. These steps increase costs and reduce the yield of large flakes. Concentrates also do not have a high iron or carbonate content, which would make them unsuitable for the refractory market, or large quartz grains which would make them unsuitable for other markets and which creates challenges in upgrading them for high purity markets. Independent testing by NGS Naturgraphit GmbH did not detect any limitations on potential uses for Bissett Creek concentrates (see March 2, 2015 Press Release).

The largest and most important high purity market is spherical graphite (“SPG”), the anode material used in lithium ion batteries. The main impurity in the Northern’s concentrates is biotite which can easily be removed using a cost competitive, environmentally sustainable, proprietary process. The Company is currently testing its process on SPG from a number of other deposits and intends to conduct a pilot plant test to confirm the ability to scale the process to higher volumes and to refine capital and operating costs.

 

[PIZZODIGINO]

Zenyatta Successfully Completes Flotation Pilot Testing Portion of Metallurgical Work on Albany Graphite Deposit



Thunder Bay, ON



25 April 2017



Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. (“Zenyatta” or “Company”) (TSXV: ZEN) today is pleased to announce that the completed flotation pilot testing portion of the ongoing metallurgical work has yielded successful results. The metallurgical testing is part of the pre-feasibility work for the Albany Graphite Deposit located in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. Purification test-work is currently underway using concentrate derived from the pilot flotation plant and this will culminate in a pilot purification plant. Once the final metallurgical testing is complete, the process flow sheets and associated engineering data will then be fed into the engineering part of the on-going pre-feasibility study.

Mr. James Jordan, P.Eng., Project Manager for Zenyatta stated, “We are very pleased with the results to date as they not only surpassed flotation performance achieved in the previous pilot but also exceeded the optimized bench scale tests. At a target grade of 85% graphite, flotation recovery is projected to be approximately 90%. The graphite concentrate will be fed to the purification process to yield approximately 99.9% carbon purity. Due to the unique igneous origin of the Albany graphite mineralization, there are no other truly equivalent deposits on which we can model our process. We are therefore continually learning more about its distinctive response to various flotation parameters and especially to the circuit arrangement.”

The metallurgical work is being carried out at SGS Canada Inc. (“SGS”) in Lakefield, Ontario under the guidance of Mr. Jordan. The completed flotation pilot testing work was performed on two composites from the East Pipe and the West Pipe of the Albany graphite deposit. Significantly, results show consistent improvement in metallurgical performance with similar concentrate grades and recoveries obtained from both the East and West Pipe graphite zone material. The upcoming pilot purification plant will also produce additional high-purity graphite marketing material for testing by global corporations and academic institutions for Li-ion battery, fuel cell and graphene applications.

This metallurgical pilot program will be on-going for the next several months and completed in the first half of 2017. The engineering and environmental assessment parts of the pre-feasibility study are anticipated to commence in the 3rd quarter of 2017. The proposed work will include drilling geotechnical holes for the pit design and hydrogeology holes for ground water testing and monitoring.

Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. is developing the Albany Graphite Deposit situated in northeastern Ontario, Canada. The deposit is a unique type of igneous-hosted, fluid-derived graphite mineralization contained in two large breccia pipes. The Company is seeking end users for their graphite and graphene and is working with several collaborative partners including the development of a graphene enhanced concrete. Other potential markets for graphite include Li-ion batteries, fuel cells and powder metallurgy. The application for graphitic material is constantly evolving due to its unique chemical, electrical and thermal properties. It maintains its stability and strength under temperatures in excess of 3,000°C and is very resistant to chemical corrosion. It is also one of the lightest of all reinforcing elements and has high natural lubricating abilities. The outlook for the global graphite market is very promising with demand growing rapidly from new applications. It is now considered one of the more strategic elements by many leading industrial nations, particularly for its growing importance in high technology manufacturing and in the emerging “green” industries such as electric vehicle components.

The Albany graphite deposit is situated 30 km north of the Trans-Canada Highway, power line and natural gas pipeline near the communities of Constance Lake First Nation and Hearst. A rail line is located 70 km away with an all-weather road approximately 10 km from the graphite deposit. The world trend is to develop products for technological applications that need extraordinary performance using ultra-high purity graphite powder at an affordable cost. Albany graphite can be upgraded with very good crystallinity without the use of aggressive acids (hydrofluoric) or high temperature thermal treatment therefore having an environmental advantage over other types of upgraded high-purity graphite material.

Mr. Aubrey Eveleigh, P.Geo., Zenyatta’s President and CEO, is the “Qualified Person” for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed, prepared and supervised the preparation of the technical information contained in this news release. SGS performed analyses of all purified Albany graphite samples by direct ash analysis using a platinum crucible, according to a validated method that also accurately quantifies key trace level impurities by subsequent ICP analysis.

 

[PIZZODIGINO]

April 19, 2017


Vancouver, B.C. New York, NY – Graphene Energy Storage Devices Corp. (GESD), 40% owned

by Lomiko Technologies, a 100% owned subsidiary of Lomiko Metals Inc. (“Lomiko”) (TSX-V:

LMR, OTC: LMRMF, FSE: DH8B), is pleased to announce the successful completion of a


development project undertaken jointly with the Research Foundation of Stony Brook University

(SBU) has been completed with a new patent filing by Stony Brook University.

The SBU team lead by Dr. Samuilov discovered a novel method for assembly of high-voltage

Supercapacitor units. GESD and SBU recently filed a U.S. provisional patent application to protect

the technology. The SBU team assembled and tested a 10 V Supercapacitor energy storage unit,

thus proving feasibility of the high-voltage design. This development opens avenue for new lowcost

energy storage products. Currently, GESD is working on scale-up of the technology and an

in-field evaluation of the energy storage unit.

The Largest Manufacturers of Supercapacitors are Maxell Technologies, Elna America, AVX

Corporation, Panasonic Electronic Components, Taiyo Yuden, NessCap Co Ltd., Nichison, United

Chemi-con, Cornell Dublier Electronics, Cooper Bussman, Kemet, Rubycon and there are over 300

varieties of Supercapacitors in a growing market for these devices.

Fig.1 Future Market for Supercapacitors from SNE Research

Supercapacitors are promising energy storage devices. Due to their fast charge-discharge

characteristics, low equivalent series resistance, long cycle life, wide operating temperatures,

supercapacitors are finding application in transportation, industrial and grid energy storage.

There is rapidly growing demand for capacitive energy storage systems with high power and

energy densities. However, individual supercapacitor units have very low stand-off voltage, < 3

V. In order to increase the operation voltage to a practical level, > 3 V, the EDLCs are connected

in series stacks. The EDLCs need to be interconnected and balanced with an electronic circuit,

which results in a bulky and expensive energy storage system.

The GESD-SBU team demonstrated design and implementation of a sealed high-voltage EDLCs

energy storage unit. The unit is internally balanced, there is no need for an external circuit. The

electrode is very cost-effective nano-carbon composite either of a commercial carbon or of

graphene platelets with carbon nanotubes. The nano-carbon electrode materials were used for

deposition and assembly of a working prototype of an internally balanced high-voltage energy

storage unit. The bench-top prototype unit, tested up to 10 V, exhibited good discharge

characteristics and charge retention. This development enables new compact energy storage

solutions for grid and vehicular applications.

 

[PIZZODIGINO]

Leading Edge Materials Intersects 10.5m @ 1.62% Lithium Oxide at Bergby Lithium Project, Sweden
Published by Craig P at 25th April 2017
Categories

• Latest

Tags

Vancouver, Canada – Leading Edge Materials Corp. (“Leading Edge Materials”) or (“the Company”) (TSXV:LEM) (OTCQB: LEMIF) is pleased to announce high grade lithium results from the first five diamond drill holes at the Company’s 100% owned Bergby lithium project in Sweden. Bergby was a new discovery by Leading Edge Materials in 2016, and this is the first drilling program completed at the property.

Key Results:

• BBY17005 intersected 10.45m @ 1.62% Li2O (lithium oxide) from 2.2m depth
• BBY17004 intersected 1.90m @ 2.35% Li2O from 10.2m depth
• BBY17003 intersected 8.20m @ 1.54% Li2O from 2.85m depth
• BBY17002 intersected 3.95m @ 1.48% Li2O from 0.00m depth
• BBY17001 intersected 1.45m @ 0.61% Li2O from 4.85m depth

Blair Way, President and CEO, stated “This first program of drilling at Bergby has intersected high lithium grades at a very shallow depth, and places Bergby as a leading lithium project in the Nordic region. Bergby was discovered by the Leading Edge Materials team early in 2016, and to have achieved both high grades and a high hit rate of potentially mineralized pegmatite under thin glacial soil cover is a credit to their work. We look forward to sharing the additional drill results and the plans for follow up of this exciting prospect.”

Bergby lies in central Sweden, 25km north of the town of Gävle, secured by three exploration licenses that cover a total of 1,903 Ha. The site is close to infrastructure, with major roads, rail and power supply passing immediately adjacent to the claim boundaries.

This first Bergby drilling program is now complete, with 18 short holes for a total of 533m drilled across a 650m long trend (see Table 1 and Figure 1 for drill collars locations and orientations). The pegmatite with potential for lithium mineralization was intersected in 17 of the 18 holes drilled and is now known to have a strike length of at least 500m. Holes reported within this release lie within a 50m x 50m area near an area of lithium mineralized pegmatite in outcrop, with mineralization drilled to date lying very close to surface. Intersections included elevated levels of tantalum (see Table 2 for all mineralized intersections).

The true thickness of the mineralized interval is interpreted to be approximately 90% of the sampled thickness. Holes were targeted to test the extent of the lithium mineralized pegmatite beneath shallow glacial soil cover. Further drill results will be released as they become available.

Europe is playing a leading role in the transition to low-carbon energy generation from renewable sources, and the efficient storage of that energy. Electric mobility (EV’s, HEV, PHEV’s) and stationary electricity storage are dependent on high purity graphite, lithium and cobalt, where Leading Edge Materials is an active European player. Lithium has a strong and expanding market, due to the essential role it plays in lithium-based batteries for the automotive, consumer product and stationary electrify storage industries. The high electrochemical potential of lithium results in the high power to weight ratio that is essential for efficient mobile batteries.

 

[PIZZODIGINO]

Analyst says the time is now for Energizer Graphite

Lara Smith | March 20, 2017 | 1 Comment

Energizer Resources Inc. (TSX:EGZ | OTCQB:ENZR) (“Energizer”) is about to complete a detailed engineering study on its 100%-owned Molo Graphite Project in Madagascar. Following the study, the company will enter phase 1 of real production. The construction of the mine, is earmarked for completion by year-end and will run at 15,000 tpa and later be scaled-up to track the demand curve. The mine is capable of running for over ninety years and the company’s bankable feasibility study (BFS) envisages that this capacity could be scaled up to 50,000 tpa. We have commented on numerous occasions regarding graphite’s near-absurd upward momentum in the coming years, which prompted Energizer’s decision in 2012 to temporarily halt progressing its nearby vanadium deposit in order to prioritise development of one of the world’s leading graphite deposits.

The procurement of equipment for construction is now imminent, and in preparation, the company has hired renowned former Managing Director of DRA Africa (DRA), Johann de Bruin, as consultant to the project. DRA is the largest and most successful African-based engineering firms specialising in mine construction. You don’t get to having 3,000 global employees and twenty offices for nothing, and de Bruin’s involvement is a strong confidence marker indeed. During his tenure at DRA, Mr. de Bruin was instrumental in growing the mining project portfolio to include design and construction of 35 platinum concentrators, 42 coal processing plants and 12 metallurgical plants across multiple commodities, collectively valued at over $5 billion

}
Additionally, the company’s VP of operations, Robin Borley, who will work alongside de Bruin, has also done time at DRA, and their combined skillsets provide Energizer with, quite frankly, ridiculous levels of expertise in bringing the complex island project to maximum fruition.

Molo contains one of the largest primary sources of crystalline flake graphite in the world. What gives this particular deposit a competitive edge is that the material in Madagascar is immediately at surface, meaning little-to-no stripping requirements, and much easier access to the site than would normally be expected.

The Molo flake graphite deposit is located in a savannah region that is sparsely populated, which makes it ideal for low cost, open pit mining as no special relocation or protection measures (lengthy and costly endeavours) are required. As a result of this favourable location, the demo-plant will cost only $7m. Furthermore, the site enjoys convenient access to two port cities, Toliara, the regional capital, and Fort Dauphin, that will be utilised for shipping the finished product.

The 2015 Feasibility Study considers a mine that will produce an average of 856,701tpa of ore, which will be processed to produce approximately 53,017tpa of graphite concentrate over a mine-life of 26 years. Production is likely to commence in 2018 given the ever-so-slight delay in completing the engineering study, but at such a late stage, and with progress looking good, Energizer have a clear shot at emerging successful with a long-term project.

Perhaps most importantly, the Molo site is to be found in an area of dry grassland, entirely away from people and wildlife, meaning that very little resistance should be encountered in establishing a producing facility in the pro-mining nation. Investors looking to participate in a graphite play (who isn’t?) would do very well to send some cash to Madagascar; this year will almost certainly be the final year of construction-only business for Energizer, and with conveyor-belts-a-rolling from next year, it won’t be a bargain to get involved for very much longer.

 

[PIZZODIGINO]

PER CHI SEGUE DIRECTA PLUS:

Oggi ha pubblicato i dati del 2016; una delusione totale; il fatturato è stato di soli 750.000 sterline, la metà dell'anno prima e l'Outlook sul 2017 è pure negativo; il titolo ha reagito con un -22%, portando la quotazione a 0,70 £, al di sotto delle 0,75 dell'IPO.
Insomma il grafrene non sembra essere così redditizio come sembrava e tantomeno essere il materiale delle meraviglie.
Credo che ci vorranno ancora almeno due anni perché il grafene cominci a rendere.