REG - Neometals Ltd - Outstanding Nickel Sulphate Purity for Primobius

NeometalsAnnouncement

08/11/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 7652S  Neometals Ltd  08 November 2023

This announcement contains inside information

 

8 November 2023

 

Neometals Ltd

("Neometals" or "the Company")

 

Outstanding Nickel Sulphate Purity for Primobius

Highlights

·      Primobius' German lithium-ion battery ("LIB") recycling
demonstration trial generates battery-grade nickel sulphate exceeding Chinese
cathode producer specifications from recycling batteries;

·      Nickel sulphate is the largest volume material produced from
recycling NMC LIB's (the predominant EV chemistry in Europe) and the largest
co-product revenue stream; and

·      The nickel sulphate results support the marketability of the
scalable Primobius plant packages to be built by partner and leading plant
builder, SMS group GmbH and supplied under technology licencing agreements.

 

Innovative battery materials recycler, Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT & AIM: NMT)
("Neometals" or "the Company"), is pleased to announce the successful
production of battery-grade nickel sulphate by its LIB recycling incorporated
joint venture, Primobius GmbH ("Primobius"). Primobius is the 50:50
incorporated joint venture established by Neometals and SMS group to co-fund
commercialisation of the patented LIB recycling technology ("LIB Recycling
Technology"), originally developed by Neometals.

The LIB Recycling Technology is based on a two-stage process to recover
lithium, nickel and cobalt (amongst others) before refining into battery
materials that can be reused to produce new LIB's. Nickel is the largest
volume battery material produced in the Primobius process, the second most
valuable product and major contributor to ensuring the lithium co-product
operating costs are in the lowest quartile.

 

Fig 1 - Nominal Output and Relative Value from a Primobius' 21,000tpa plant

 

Product test-work

 

LIB's from the German EV auto industry were processed at Primobius'
Hilchenbach recycling facility in Germany. Discharged and disassembled LIB
modules were processed in the shredding 'Spoke' generating an intermediate
product ("Black Mass") which was then refined in the demonstration-scale
hydrometallurgical refining 'Hub' to recover the cathode materials into
high-purity solutions via solvent extraction and precipitation (See Figure 2).
The Black Mass is a mixture of the graphite anode and cathode active materials
including lithium, nickel and cobalt.

 

 

Fig 2 - LiB Recycling Process Flowsheet

The polished Hub nickel solution (feed) was evaporated (mother liquor) and
crystallised off-site with a leading European equipment vendor. The nickel
sulphate crystals were then washed and assayed by an independent third-party
laboratory. The results confirmed the ability of the LIB Recycling Technology
to produce battery-grade nickel sulphate (see Table 1) and validated the
battery-grade product previously produced by Neometals in its 2019 pilot
trials in Canada.

 

Next Steps

Primobius' production at scale of battery-grade nickel sulphate follows recent
positive lithium recovery results 1  (#_ftn1) and leaves cobalt sulphate as
the final key product to be tested. Cobalt solutions have been dispatched and
the test work is expected to be completed in the current quarter.

 

The nickel sulphate results support the marketability of the scaleable
Primobius plant packages to be built by our partner, and leading plant
builder, SMS group GmbH and supplied under technology licencing agreements.
Customers will be able to responsibly recycle their own LiB's, satisfying
their regulatory and/or supply chain requirements, producing critical battery
materials at potentially the lowest quartile operating cost and doing so with
an industry leading carbon footprint.

 

Table 1 - Assay results for nickel solutions and crystals vs Primobius
specifications

 

 

Authorised on behalf of Neometals by Christopher Reed, Managing Director.

 

For more information, please contact:

 

 Neometals Ltd
 Chris Reed, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer       +61 8 9322 1182
 Jeremy McManus, General Manager - IP & IR                     +61 8 9322 1182

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 Gordon Poole
 Emily Hall
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About Neometals

Neometals has developed and is commercialising three environmentally-friendly
processing technologies that produce critical and strategic battery materials
at lowest quartile costs with minimal carbon footprint.

Through strong industry partnerships, Neometals is demonstrating the economic
and environmental benefits of sustainably producing lithium, nickel, cobalt
and vanadium from lithium-ion battery recycling and steel waste recovery. This
reduces the reliance on traditional mine-based supply chains and creating more
resilient, circular supply to support the energy transition.

The Company's three core business units are exploiting the technologies under
principal, joint venture and licensing business models:

 

·      Lithium-ion Battery ("LiB") Recycling (50% technology) -
Commercialisation via Primobius GmbH JV (NMT 50% equity). All plants built by
Primobius' co-owner (SMS group 50% equity), a 150-year-old German plant
builder. Providing recycling service as principal in Germany and commenced
plant supply and licensing activities as technology partner to Mercedes-Benz.
Primobius targeting first commercial 21,000 tpa plant offer to Canadian
company Stelco in the DecQ 2023;

·      Lithium Chemicals (70% technology) - Commercialising patented
ELi™ electrolysis process, co-owned 30% by Mineral Resources Ltd, to produce
battery quality lithium hydroxide from brine and/or hard-rock feedstocks at
lowest quartile operating costs. Co-funding Pilot Plant trials in 2023 with
planned Demonstration Plant trials and evaluation studies in 2024 for
potential 25,000tpa LiOH operation in Portugal under a 50:50 JV with related
entity to Bondalti, Portugal's largest chemical company; and

·      Vanadium Recovery (100% technology) - aiming to produce
high-purity vanadium pentoxide from processing of steelmaking by-product
("Slag") at lowest-quartile operating cost. Targeting partnerships with steel
makers and participants in the vanadium chemical value chain under a low risk
/ low capex technology licensing business model.

 

For further information visit www.neometals.com.au
(http://www.neometals.com.au/)

 

 

 1  (#_ftnref1) See Neometals' ASX release dated 4(th) October 2023 titled
"Outstanding Lithium Recovery Results for Primobius"

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