VANCOUVER, Jan. 18, 2019 /CNW/ - Leading Edge
Materials Corp. ("Leading Edge Materials" or the
"Company") (TSXV: LEM) (Nasdaq First North:
LEMSE) (OTCQB: LEMIF) is pleased to provide a summary of
test work conducted on graphite from the Company's 100% owned Woxna
mine in Sweden during 2018.
With the test program complete, Leading Edge Materials will now
progress to an engineering study supporting the installation of a
Battery Graphite Demonstration Plant at the Woxna site. This
demonstration plant, when installed, will enable process conditions
to be optimized and larger volumes of natural graphite anode
material to be supplied to prospective lithium ion battery
customers.
Woxna is a fully constructed mine, with all processing, waste
management and infrastructure in place. During 2017, Woxna
was granted an extension to its operating license until 2041.
During 2018, Leading Edge Materials completed research and
development test work to enable comparison of graphite process
alternatives and support the design of a Battery Graphite
Demonstration Plant. Following a review of test work
outcomes, the Leading Edge Materials Board of Directors have
approved completion of an engineering study to prepare for
installation of the demonstration plant at the Woxna
facility.
Leading Edge Materials market research amongst lithium ion
battery manufacturers has shown a substantial range of product
purity, particle size distribution and price expectations. As
a result, a high degree of process flexibility will be required to
meet customer demands both now and as the European lithium ion
battery industry matures. The Battery Graphite Demonstration
Plant is being designed to ensure that samples will meet the
specifications of customers in the battery and other specialty
graphite consuming industries.
The engineering study includes engagement with equipment
suppliers to detail cost and ensure scalability of key
equipment. Operating parameters for the demonstration plant
include:
- thermal purification capacity up to 100kg's per day
- spheronising capacity up to 250 kg's per day
- laboratory equipment to facilitate in house analysis of
products
Blair Way, President and CEO,
stated "Our graphite processing research during 2018 has
delivered the dataset needed to progress to the design of the Woxna
Battery Graphite Demonstration Plant. The demonstration plant
will allow us to optimize flowsheets before committing to
mine-scale investments, bring processing expertise in house, and
enable deeper customer engagement through the supply of hundreds of
kilograms of natural graphite anode for in-line testing and
qualification."
R&D Program Results
Ultra High Purity Graphite
Following graphite purification test work completed in early
2017, the Company engaged an independent European laboratory to
complete a comparative thermal purification program on graphite
from Woxna to define optimum time and temperature scenarios.
Test work was designed to achieve ultra high purity with the lowest
possible energy requirements.
The test program demonstrated a close relationship between
furnace temperature, purity, and sample mass, with a lower impact
from heating duration. Table 1 below demonstrates time and
temperature relationships where an upper purity of 99.998%C was
achieved from an original 92%C feed. The process is highly
selective, and at operational scale the exact purity requirements
of individual customers will be achievable at the lowest possible
cost. Cost effective selective purity will enable Leading
Edge Materials to access not only anode customers but other
graphite markets including graphene, insulation and conductive
inks.
Purification of natural graphite to battery anode grade is
traditionally undertaken in China
by chemical leaching. This process emits substantial waste
streams that require treatment or disposal that creates a potential
future legacy for the lithium ion battery industry.
Furthermore, purity above 99.95% carbon is challenging to achieve
with chemical leaching, which limits the capacity of natural
graphite to compete on performance with the synthetic graphite
currently favored by the automotive battery industry. Thermal
purification, as proposed by Leading Edge Materials, utilizing low
cost, low carbon emission hydroelectric power is a sustainable and
cost-effective way to purify natural graphite to levels comparative
with synthetic graphite. Research indicates that ultra-high
purity natural graphite can be a lower cost and lower carbon
footprint substitute for Chinese manufactured synthetic
graphite.
|
Figure 1: %
Graphitic Carbon Content Achieved in 2018 Thermal Test
Program
|
|
|
TEMPERATURE
|
|
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LOWER
|
|
|
|
|
HIGHER
|
TIME
|
SHORTER
|
|
|
|
|
99.950
|
99.994
|
|
|
|
|
|
99.995
|
99.998
|
|
|
98.270
|
98.610
|
99.973
|
99.996
|
99.998
|
|
96.830
|
98.350
|
98.990
|
99.986
|
99.997
|
|
LONGER
|
|
98.330
|
99.470
|
|
|
|
Spheronising
As previously reported (Oct 22,
2018) the Company has undertaken a range of spheronising
test programs during 2018. Four independent service providers
were engaged to undertake tests utilizing spheronising equipment of
three different styles. Test programs were designed to
measure the capacity of each equipment to produce the particle size
distribution profile essential for anode battery materials, and to
achieve the highest possible recovery to anode.
The test work undertaken during 2018 demonstrated the
operational merits of the various equipment, achieved recovery from
43% to 71%, and provided D50 size ranges from 15-25 micron with D10
ranges of 7-12 micron and D90 from 28-35 micron. These ranges
meet specifications provided by potential customers.
Qualified Person
The technical content of this release has been reviewed and
approved by Mr. Blair Way, B.Sc.
(Geology) M.B.A., a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining
and Metallurgy, the Company's President and CEO and a Qualified
Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Leading Edge Materials Corp.
Mr. Blair Way, President and
CEO
About Leading Edge Materials
Leading Edge Materials is a Canadian public company focused on
production of high value critical raw materials for the European
market, with an operating base in the Nordic region, a region well
recognized for its promotion and investment in innovation. LEM's
flagship asset is the Woxna Graphite production facility located in
central Sweden targeting the
supply of specialty materials for lithium ion battery production.
LEM's assets and research focus are towards the raw materials for
Li-ion batteries (graphite, lithium, cobalt); materials for high
thermal efficiency building products (graphite, silica, nepheline);
and materials that improve the efficiency of energy generation
(dysprosium, neodymium, hafnium). Investments are linked to the
global shift to low-carbon energy generation and energy storage.
Leading Edge Materials currently operate in four divisions,
Graphite, Lithium, Rare Earth and Cobalt.
Additional Information
Leading Edge Materials is listed on the TSXV under the symbol
"LEM" and Nasdaq First North Stockholm under the symbol "
LEMSE". Mangold Fondkommission AB is the Company's Certified
Adviser on Nasdaq First North and may be contacted via email
CA@mangold.se or by phone +46 (0) 8 5030 1550.
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SOURCE Leading Edge Materials