10 June
2024
Beowulf Mining Plc
("Beowulf" or the
"Company")
Graphite Anode Materials Plant
update
Beowulf (AIM:
BEM; Spotlight: BEO), and its wholly owned Finnish subsidiary
Grafintec Oy ("Grafintec"), are pleased to provide an update on
test-work for the Graphite Anode Materials Plant
("GAMP").
Highlights
·
Battery grade graphite produced from ongoing
graphite anode materials test-work
·
GAMP process flow-sheet under development by
Grafintec and Dorfner Anzaplan GmbH ("Anzaplan")
·
Optimisation work results in significant reduction
in reagent and energy consumption
·
Test-work results will serve as input parameters
for the ongoing Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") and Environmental
Impact Assessment ("EIA") for the GAMP
Ed
Bowie, Chief Executive Officer of Beowulf,
commented:
"Test-work is advancing at pace with results exceeding our
expectations. We have produced an extremely high-grade anode
material and, at the same time, managed to reduce the consumption
of both energy and reagents in the process. These results bode very
well for the forthcoming PFS and EIA."
Rasmus Blomqvist, Managing Director of Grafintec,
commented:
"I
am very pleased with the results from the latest test-work. The
tests have demonstrated a robust process which can produce a
graphite anode product with a purity of 99.99%, exceeding the
typical industry requirements of 99.95%, at the same time as
significantly reducing the process consumables. The optimised
process will result in lower operating costs and produce less
waste, and will therefore have a positive impact on the ongoing PFS
and EIA.
"With a number of ongoing work-streams we look forward to
updating the market in the coming months."
GAMP Testwork Update
Grafintec has completed a series of
bench-scale tests on graphite concentrate to produce graphite anode
material suitable for application in Lithium-Ion Batteries ("LIB").
The aim of the tests has been to optimise the GAMP process
flow-sheet developed together with Grafintec's engineering partner
Anzaplan.
GAMP Process
The GAMP Process is a three-step
process where imported Mined Graphite Concentrate will be used to
produce Coated Spherical Graphite ("CSPG") (See Figure 1). The
process involves the following main steps:
·
Spheronisation - the spheronisation process
produces rounded graphite particles using a combined mechanical
spheronisation and classification unit.
·
Purification - the purification process uses a
hydrometallurgical process flow-sheet developed by Grafintec in
partnership with Anzaplan to produce high purity spheronised
graphite ("SG") product.
·
Coating - the purified SG is blended with
petroleum needle coke and heated in a furnace to form a thin layer
of carbon material around the purified SG forming CSPG.
The CSPG is then sold to Anode-
and/or Battery manufacturers.
Figure 1: GAMP
Process
Focus of test-work
The focus of this phase of test-work
included the following:
·
Spheronisation: to produce a high-yield of SG with
high tap density.
·
Purification: to produce a battery-grade product
with a minimum 99.95 per cent. graphitic carbon ("Cg")
content.
·
Optimisation: to reduce reagent and energy
consumption in the purification process and thus reduce the
operating costs and the potential environmental impact of the
process.
·
Scalability: to develop a robust process that can
be replicated for up-scaled test-work, provide input parameters for
the PFS and EIA and ultimately to be developed on an industrial
scale.
Spheronisation test
results
The targets for the spheronisation
tests were to produce two products, a medium SG product of 18
microns ("SG18") with a minimum yield of 50 weight ("wt.") per
cent. and a fine SG product of 8 microns ("SG8") with a minimum
yield of 10 wt. per cent. The SG18 fraction is the more important
product and is typical for use in batteries for Electric Vehicles,
whereas the SG8 product is more typically used for Hybrid Vehicle
and Consumer Electronics battery applications.
Tap density is related to the shape
and roundness of the particles and is a key parameter for the
performance of graphite material in battery applications. The
test-work successfully produced SG18 with a tap density of 0.95
grammes per centimetre cubed ("g/cm3") (target >0.95
g/cm3) and SG8 of 0.84 g/cm3 (target >0.83
g/cm3).
The yield of the process reflects
the percentage of product produced from feed material and is
therefore a measure of the overall efficiency. While the yield of
the SG18 was 48.3 wt. per cent and slightly below the target of 50
wt. per cent., the target for the SG8 (10 wt. per cent) was
exceeded with a yield of 12.7 wt. per cent. Therefore, the combined
yield for the two products of 61 wt. per cent exceeded the combined
target of 60 wt. per cent.
The SG18 product was used as feed
for the subsequent purification test-work.
Purification test results
The purification process aims to
increase the Cg content of the SG from approximately 95 per cent Cg
to a minimum of 99.95 per cent Cg which is the typical industry
requirement for battery-grade graphite. The bench-scale tests
successfully produced a purified SG product of 99.99 per cent Cg
well exceeding the battery-grade target.
Optimisation work on the process
also reduced the reagent and energy consumption significantly,
compared to previous test-work undertaken by Grafintec and
Anzaplan, which will have a positive impact on the operating costs,
production of waste material and therefore potential environment
impacts of the process. The main chemicals sodium hydroxide and
sulphuric acid used in the process were reduced by 25 per cent. and
82.5 per cent. respectively. In addition, the sodium hydroxide
baking temperature was reduced by 33.3 per cent. from previous
test-work. The combined impact of the reduced temperature and
reagents results in an estimated 45 per cent. reduction in
operating costs.
Ongoing Work and Next Steps
Grafintec and Anzaplan are currently
producing additional purified SG based on the optimised process for
Coating to produce CSPG. The Coating process is the final stage in
the production of graphite anode materials and is carried out to
further improve the electro-chemical and physical performance of
the anode material.
A variety of workstreams are also
ongoing to test the recyclability of the reagents used in the
process to further decrease the overall reagent consumption and
thus improve project returns.
The results from completed and
ongoing workstreams are important input parameters for the ongoing
PFS and EIA workstreams.
Enquiries:
Beowulf Mining plc
Ed Bowie, Chief Executive
Officer
ed.bowie@beowulfmining.com
SP
Angel
(Nominated Adviser & Joint
Broker)
Ewan Leggat / Stuart Gledhill / Adam
Cowl
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470
Alternative Resource Capital
(Joint Broker)
Alex
Wood
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 9004
BlytheRay
Tim Blythe / Megan Ray
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7138 3204
Cautionary Statement
Statements and assumptions made in
this document with respect to the Company's current plans,
estimates, strategies and beliefs, and other statements that are
not historical facts, are forward-looking statements about the
future performance of Beowulf. Forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to, those using words such as "may", "might",
"seeks", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "believes",
"projects", "plans", strategy", "forecast" and similar expressions.
These statements reflect management's expectations and assumptions
in light of currently available information. They are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to ,
(i) changes in the economic, regulatory and political environments
in the countries where Beowulf operates; (ii) changes relating to
the geological information available in respect of the various
projects undertaken; (iii) Beowulf's continued ability to secure
enough financing to carry on its operations as a going concern;
(iv) the success of its potential joint ventures and alliances, if
any; (v) metal prices, particularly as regards iron ore. In the
light of the many risks and uncertainties surrounding any mineral
project at an early stage of its development, the actual results
could differ materially from those presented and forecast in this
document. Beowulf assumes no unconditional obligation to
immediately update any such statements and/or forecast.