REG - Alba Mineral Resrcs. - GreenRoc Update

Alba Mineral ResourcesAnnouncement

31/01/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 5029B  Alba Mineral Resources PLC  31 January 2024

Alba Mineral Resources Plc / EPIC: ALBA / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining

 

31 January 2024

Alba Mineral Resources Plc

("Alba" or the "Company") 

 

GreenRoc Update

Successful Battery Test Work & Processing Plant Feasibility Study Update

 

Alba Mineral Resources Plc (AIM: ALBA) notes the RNS today by its portfolio
company, GreenRoc Mining Plc ("GreenRoc"), regarding the successful results of
electrochemical battery test work using graphite from its Amitsoq Graphite
Project ("Amitsoq" or the "Project") in southern Greenland, along with an
update on its Processing Plant Feasibility Study following a visit to
processing plant manufacturers in China last week.

 

The GreenRoc announcement is set out below without material changes.

 

 

GreenRoc Mining plc

("GreenRoc" or the "Company")

 

Successful Battery Test Work using Amitsoq Anode Material &

Update on Processing Plant Feasibility Study

 

GreenRoc Mining plc (AIM: GROC), a company focused on the development of
critical mineral projects in Greenland, is pleased to announce the successful
results of electrochemical battery test work using graphite from its Amitsoq
Graphite Project ("Amitsoq" or the "Project") in southern Greenland, along
with an update on its Processing Plant Feasibility Study following a visit to
processing plant manufacturers in China last week.

 

Overview

·      An anode electrode was prepared at a specialised battery research
facility in Europe using Amitsoq uncoated purified spherical graphite and then
assembled with other components in a test battery cell.

·      A series of charging and discharging cycles were performed. The
Amitsoq graphite anode performed well against all studied parameters, was very
stable and had no signs of damage or loss of capacity after several cycles of
both short and intensive charging.

·      This was the first battery test work of Amitsoq graphite. The
positive results are important because not all natural graphite is suitable
for use as active anode material in battery cells.

·      As part of GreenRoc's ongoing Feasibility Study into the
construction of an active anode processing plant, GreenRoc representatives
recently visited several of China's leading manufacturers of spheronisation
equipment and graphite processing plants.

 

Details

 

Battery Test Work

To qualify as potential feedstock for the production of active anode material
for lithium-ion ("Li") batteries, graphite concentrate must have its
performance tested in a battery setup. In autumn 2023, GreenRoc contracted
ProGraphite GmbH in Germany to order and oversee an electrochemical test work
programme at a well-established battery research centre on graphite extracted
in 2022 from the Lower Graphite Layer orebody at Amitsoq.

 

Amitsoq graphite concentrate was processed into spherical graphite with D50 of
16 µm (average particle size of 16 micrometre) and purified to >99.95%
graphite.  This material was combined with other components to form a final
slurry, which was coated onto a copper foil to form the anode.  This anode
was then inserted within a newly assembled single, disc-shaped Lithium-based
battery cell with a diameter of 10.95 mm.  The battery cell was then
subjected to a series of charging and discharging cycles.

 

The results of the programme reported a first discharge specific capacity
after battery formation and condition of 369 mAh/g. This is close to the
theoretical maximum achievable value of 372mAh/g, which is considered a good
result. In subsequent cycles, the charging capacities achieved were also
considered good for uncoated spherical graphite.

 

In tests with a long charging time (3-10 hours), the discharge performance was
very good with near 100% Coulombic Efficiency (99.81% +/- 0.06% to 100.09% +/-
0.2%).

 

At a high number of charge/discharge cycles (40-44), the battery maintained a
high capacity (363 mAh/g), which suggests good durability, and, after a high
charging rate/short charging time (6 minutes) cycle, the performance was still
good, showing that no damage occurred to the material at such elevated
charging rates.

 

Finally, differential capacity measurements showed staged intercalation of
Li-ions both during charging and during discharging, which in turn
demonstrates good crystallinity of the Amitsoq graphite anode material. This
is also a positive, since long cycle life correlates with stable graphite
crystallite size.

Please refer to the Glossary below for an explanation of certain technical
terms used in this section.

 

Active Anode Material Processing Plant

GreenRoc aims to become a vertically integrated producer of active anode
material ("AAM", also known as coated spherical purified graphite or "cSPG")
using graphite concentrate from its Amitsoq project in Greenland.

 

In September 2023, the Company commenced a Feasibility Study into establishing
a processing plant supported by a ca. £260,000 grant from the UK's Automotive
Transformation Fund. It is planned that the Feasibility Study will be
delivered by end of Q2, 2024.

 

The Company is pleased to report that the first and second work phases of the
Feasibility Study, namely collecting market and technical data and material
for the study, are now complete.  As part of that work, GreenRoc
representatives, together with a metallurgist from SLR Consulting Ltd, an
adviser on the Feasibility Study, last week visited three leading
manufacturers of processing equipment in the Zhejiang and Shandong provinces
in China. These manufacturers are able to provide both complete and modular
graphite processing lines and have extensive experience of delivering
equipment to graphite processing plants in China, a country which today
manufactures more than 90% of the world's AAM.

 

While in China, GreenRoc's representatives also visited an operating graphite
processing plant, including chemical purification lines, to view processing
equipment in operation.

 

The next stages of the Feasibility Study include the design of both a pilot
and a full-scale processing plant, estimation of production rates, energy
requirements and consumables, a full discounted cash flow model for the
full-scale processing plant and integrating a risk model.

 

GreenRoc's CEO, Stefan Bernstein, commented:

"The outcome of this battery test programme is hugely pleasing. This is the
first time that graphite material from our Amitsoq Project has been tested for
its performance within an assembled lithium ion battery cell. These results
demonstrate that uncoated purified spherical graphite from Amitsoq performs
very well as the active anode material in a battery cell, which is excellent
news given that not all natural graphite material is suitable for use in the
manufacture of batteries.

 

"Our Feasibility Study into the establishment of an active anode material
processing plant is also progressing well and is on schedule. We now have
comprehensive reports on the graphite anode market, on specifications for
graphite anodes, and on the various options for processing techniques and
equipment. During our visit to China, we saw at first hand the
state-of-the-art processing equipment which today, in Chinese processing
lines, is delivering active anode material to all of the world's battery
producers.

 

"We now have a much clearer understanding of the steps towards establishing an
AAM processing plant in our part of the world and look forward to completing
the Feasibility Study in the next few months. This will be a key step towards
GreenRoc becoming one of the first producers of active anode material for EV
batteries in a Western economy."

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK
Market Abuse Regulation and the Directors of the Company are responsible for
the release of this announcement.

 

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or
anticipated future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in
nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such
as general economic, market and business conditions, competition for qualified
staff, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation,
uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans,
uncertainties resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction,
uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties regarding
the timing and granting of prospecting rights, uncertainties regarding the
timing and granting of regulatory and other third party consents and
approvals, uncertainties regarding the Company's or any third party's ability
to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected
events.

 

Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a
result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other
factors.

 

Glossary

Battery formation and condition: During the first charging/discharging cycles,
a solid electrolyte layer is formed at the surface of the graphite anode
particles. This is an integral process for the creation of lithium-ion battery
for the performance in terms of cycle life limitations, the capacity for
reversibility and safety.

Charging and discharging cycles: A discharge/charge cycle is commonly
understood as the full discharge of a charged battery with a subsequent full
recharge.

Coulombic Efficiency: Also known as "Current Efficiency", this describes the
efficiency by which electrons are transferred in batteries. Coulombic
Efficiency is the ratio of the total charge extracted from the battery to the
total charge put into the battery over a full cycle.

Differential capacity: This tracks a battery's capacity change on charge and
discharge as a function of voltage. Peaks in capacity during charge/discharge
are indications of graphite crystallinity (phase transitions).

Discharge performance: This indicates how efficiently the graphite anode
releases the lithium ions.

 

**ENDS** 

 

 

For further information, please visit www.albamineralresources.com
(http://www.albamineralresources.com/)  or contact:  

Alba Mineral Resources Plc  

George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman
+44 20 3950 0725 

 SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nomad)   

Andrew Emmott 
                        +44 20 3368 3555 

CMC Markets plc (Broker)  

Thomas Smith / Douglas Crippen
   +44 20 3003 8632 

 

Alba's Projects and Investments

 Mining Projects Operated by Alba   Location   Ownership
 Clogau (gold)                      Wales      100%
 Dolgellau Gold Exploration (gold)  Wales      100%
 Gwynfynydd (gold)                  Wales      100%
 Investments Held by Alba           Location   Ownership
 GreenRoc Mining Plc (mining)       Greenland  37.49%
 Horse Hill (oil)                   England    11.765%

 

 

 

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