ASX-listed graphite producer Evion Group (ASX:EVG) reports it has received ‘outstanding’ results from testing which demonstrate graphite from the company’s Maniry Project in Madagascar is ‘highly-suitable’ for lithium batteries.
Evion Group was also formerly known as BlackEarth Minerals, which traded under the ASX ticker BEM before changing its name in November 2022.
The company says the testwork conducted by German battery mineral consultancy Dorfner ANZAPLAN confirmed the suitability of a hydrofluoric acid-free technology to purify graphite collected from Maniry into a battery-grade product with results up to 99.99% fixed carbon (FC).
The concentrate sample used was obtained from the large-scale pilot program completed at Maniry in 2021.
Evion Managing Director Tom Revy says: “These are exceptionally strong results which are well in excess of the FC grades adopted as a standard benchmark in the lithium battery industry.
“These are exceptionally strong results which are well in excess of the FC grades adopted as a standard benchmark in the lithium battery industry”
The results show Maniry graphite is perfectly suited for use in lithium batteries and can be processed into the required form using an environmentally-friendly process which also requires less energy than more conventional processes.
We will feed these results into the scoping study on the processing plant we are proposing to build in Europe. This plant will supply processed graphite as feedstock to the battery anode makers.”
Evion reports the test results follow its recent announcement of a non-binding offtake agreement with US-based battery anode materials company Urbix Resources, under which Evion would provide 15 million tonnes per annum of product from Maniry to feed Urbix’s early-stage production of anode material for the Electric Vehicle (EV) market.
This agreement would account for around 40% of Maniry’s initial production, leaving sufficient product to also supply the company’s proposed processing plant in Europe.
Evion Group is an ASX-listed graphite producer focused on developing the Maniry Graphite Project located in southern Madagascar. Construction of the project is scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2023, with commissioning expected in 2024. The project has a mine life of 21 years and a reserve of 18 years.
