Zenyatta has reportedly scaled up testing of metal powder from its Albany graphite mine located in northern Ontario, Canada.
The first part of the metallurgical test work should produce larger market samples of high-purity graphite to test suitability for a range of applications by potential end-user partners, academic institutions and third party testing facilities. The company plans to produce around 50 kilograms of high-purity graphite material using the same caustic bake/leach method, employed previously to produce high-purity market samples. Test work on small market samples completed to date has reportedly confirmed the Albany graphite to have a good crystal structure (hexagonal) with a esirable purity and particle size for various applications such as lithium ion batteries, fuel cells, powder metallurgy and graphene production.
‘Production of high-purity graphite market samples is essential in order to create and develop relationships with end-users during the product qualification and testing process,’ said Aubrey Eveleigh, president and CEO. ‘This phase of the metallurgical program is currently in progress and is anticipated to be completed in the fall of 2016.’
The second part of the metallurgical test work will focus on improving flow sheet parameters and developing a pilot scale simulation of a commercial process designed for the pre-feasibility study.
This story is reprinted from material from Zenyatta, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
