Jane Morgan Management
BlackEarth Minerals NL (ASX: BEM) (“BlackEarth”, or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the receipt of the final testwork report from Dorfner ANZAPLAN (“ANZAPLAN”), a leading independent German full service specialist in testing and engineering, which BEM engaged in May 2019, to undertake an expansive testwork program for evaluating BEM graphite concentrate from the Maniry project in Southern Madagascar with regard to graphite anode suitability.
Highlights
- Independent German full service specialist in testing and engineering services, ANZAPLAN , has successfully completed a graphite anode suitability test program
- BlackEarth Minerals’ 99.97% purity spheroidized carbon suitable for use in anode production for the lithium ion battery market
- Testwork indicates that BEM concentrate produced results similar to a high performance reference graphite material used by ANZAPLAN. BlackEarth is continuing discussions with industry leading manufacturers of lithium ion batteries, with the aim of entering into offtake agreements.
The graphite concentrate evaluation testwork program undertaken by ANZAPLAN considered:
- Chemical and Physical characterisation;
- Micronisation and Spherodization performance and characterisation;
- Purification of the Spherical Graphite produced; and
- Electrochemical characterisation of the Spherical Purified Graphite.
The spherical graphite purification testwork included:
- Conventional acid leach
- Microwave assisted acid digestion
- HF acid “Free” acid digestion
- Thermal purification
In all four different purification methods tested, the spherical graphite was able to be purified to the minimum + 99.95 wt.-% fixed carbon which is required for battery applications. The testwork demonstrated the amenability to readily purify BEM spheroidized materials, in meeting battery grade specifications. It should be noted that the testwork was preliminary in nature and not optimised in terms of reagent consumptions and conditions,
Following successful purification and spheroidization testwork, preliminary electrochemical characterization testwork was undertaken. This involved using BEM material as an anode and testing its effectiveness within a lithium ion battery over time.
BlackEarth Managing Director, Tom Revy,
/Public Release.
