GEM - Green Battery Minerals and Volt Carbon Technologies Enter into Preliminary Mineral Processing Agreement
(TheNewswire)
Solventless Technology Expected toDeliver Reduced Environmental Footprint While Retaining ProductQuality and Potentially Lowering Processing Costs
V ancouver , B C – TheNewswire - June 5,2023 - Green Battery Minerals Inc.("GEM") (TSX-V:GEM ) ( FSE:BK2P ) ( WKN:A2QENP ) ( OTC:GBMIF) in conjunction with Volt CarbonTechnologies Inc. (“VCT” or “Volt Carbon”) (TSX-V: VCT, OTCQB:TORVF, BERLIN: WNF) is pleased to announce the signing of apreliminary mineral processing agreement dated as of June 1, 2023 (the“Preliminary Mineral Processing Agreement”).
Background
With reference to GEM’s prior News Release dated May16, 2023, GEM provided Volt Carbon with a single 5 kilogram sample(the “Sample”) of crushed feedstock that was obtained from GEM’s100% owned Berkwood Graphite project in Quebec, Canada. Volt Carbonprocessed the Sample using its proprietary dryseparation process technology as a test. Thetest result yielded 146 grams of graphite flake per kilogram ofcrushed feedstock, reflecting a 14.6% yield of graphite flakes perkilogram of feedstock. The processed material was subsequently sentto a third-party lab (Base Metallurgist Laboratories Ltd. in Kamloops,British Columbia) for independent testing. Base MetallurgistLaboratories Ltd. independently verified that the VoltCarbon-processed Sample yielded a graphite content of 91.55%, withtotal carbon showing at 97%.
VCT’s Proprietary Dry SeparationProcess
Volt Carbon has developed a proprietary dry separationprocess that uses air as its separation medium (the “Process”).The major benefits of the Process compared to traditional processingare that the Process: (i) does not use water, which eliminates asignificant amount of waste traditionally associated with thepurification of graphite due to its solventless and reagentlessnature; (ii) does not produce an effluent; and (iii) the Processresults in the retention of the original quality of the graphiteflakes (large +50 mesh and jumbo +35 mesh sized flakes). Importantly, GEM and Volt Carbon believe that large and jumbo sizedflakes attain premium pricing due to their high-end performance asanode material for lithium-ion batteries (“LIBs”).
Figure 1: Samples of ore, feedstockand air separated graphite
Thomas Yingling, CEO of Green Battery Minerals,commented “We are excited to team up with V-Bond Lee, President ofVolt Carbon. Mr. Lee has successfully developed and commercializednew innovations and technologies for various fortune 500 companies,Mr. Lee has over 35+ years of engineering experience, and holdspatents in both automotive and aerospace industries. We lookforward to working with Mr. Lee.”
Path Forward
Based on the results from the Sample test, GEM and VoltCarbon negotiated and signed the Preliminary Mineral ProcessingAgreement. The Preliminary Mineral Processing Agreement outlines apath forward from initial feasibility studies, to bulk sampling andtesting, and through to mine development and production.
In the feasibility phase, the graphite ore will beextracted from GEM’s Berkwood Graphite project, delivered to VoltCarbon’s test processing facility located in Scarborough, Ontario(“VCT’s Facility”) and then processed by Volt Carbon using theProcess. The objective of the feasibility phase is to collectsufficient data so that Volt Carbon can reasonably estimate the capital expenditures required to manufacture theproprietary portable machinery needed to conduct the bulk-samplingphase. Although the ore processing is expectedto cost an aggregate of $50K/ton, Volt Carbon expects that it will benecessary to raise additional capital to fund the manufacture of theportable machinery.
Assuming the successful manufacture of he portablemachinery required, in the bulk-sampling phase, the graphite ore willbe extracted from GEM’s Berkwood Graphite project, GEM will crushthe graphite ore to 4 inch and deliver the same to VCT’s Facilityfor processing using the Process . It is expected that the flakegraphite extracted from the bulk-samples will be saleable and GEM andVolt Carbon have agreed to share the profits from the sale of the sameon a 50/50 basis .
In the mine production / development phase, thegraphite ore will be extracted from GEM’s Berkwood Graphite project,GEM will crush the graphite ore to -12 mesh and deliver the same toVCT’s Facility for processing using the Process. The profits fromthe sale of the graphite concentrate will be split on a 50/50 basis.
Thomas Yingling, CEO of Green Battery Minerals,commented, “Following our successful tests, we are pleased to nowhave formalized a processing agreement that will provide us withaccess to an exceptional technology that not only delivers higherquality end product, but that does not produce toxic effluent.Furthermore, we have reasons to believe that the new technology hasmajor cost benefits, which we will determine more accurately duringthis next phase. In conversations with major car manufacturers, theend market for most LIBs, it has become clear that the environmentalfootprint is a major deciding factor in supplier selection. Even withthe shortage of graphite, having a process that provides such majorimprovements over traditional processing methods positions us well tobecome an important supplier of battery minerals to the EV industryand beyond.”
“The mineral processing agreement is a great stepforward for Volt Carbon to develop a recurring revenue stream ingraphite purification. Our dry processes will enable sustainablemineral separation processes using no water. Our team is developingthis method to be one of the most ESG friendly ways of mineralseparation. I’m looking forward to seeing the scale up of the dryseparation process with GEM.” – V-Bond Lee, CEO of Volt CarbonTechnologies.
About Volt Carbon
Volt Carbon is a publicly traded carbon sciencecompany, with specific interests in energy storage and green energycreation, with holdings in mining claims in the provinces of Ontario,Quebec and British Columbia in Canada. For the latest information onVolt Carbon’s properties and news please refer to the website www.voltcarbontech.com .
About GEM
Green Battery Minerals is managed by a team with over150 years of collective experience with a proven track record of minediscovery, commissioning and operation. Green Battery Minerals owns100% of the Berkwood graphite deposit in Québec. Green BatteryMinerals’ goal is to define sufficient graphite to ensure Berkwoodgraphite deposit will be resourced to mine high-demand product insufficient quantities to comprise a significant feed the electricvehicle battery market for multiple decades.
QualifiedPerson
Christian Derosier, P.Geo., PhD., is the qualifiedperson (QP) as defined in National Instrument 43-101. Dr. Derosier hasreviewed and approved the technical content of this newsrelease.
(NOTE 1: Source of what is inside a battery: https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/the-key-minerals-in-an-ev-battery/ )
On behalf of the Board of Directorsof Green Battery Minerals Inc,
Thomas Yingling
President, CEO & Director
Contacts:
Tel: (604-343-7740)
info@greenbatteryminerals.comwww.greenbatteryminerals.com
On behalf of the Board of Directorsof Volt Carbon Technologies Inc,
V-Bond Lee, P. Eng.
CEO, President, Chairman of the Board andDirector
Contacts :
Email: info@voltcarbontech.com
Tel: (647-546-7049)
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor itsRegulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policiesof the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacyor accuracy of this release.
FORWARD LOOKINGSTATEMENTS: This pressrelease contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning ofapplicable securities legislation, concerning Volt’s business andaffairs. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can beidentified by the use of words such as ‘‘plans’’,‘‘expects’’ or ‘‘does not expect’’, “intends”‘‘budget’’, ‘‘scheduled’’, ‘‘estimates’’,“forecasts’’, ‘‘intends’’, ‘‘anticipates’’ orvariations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions,events or results ‘‘may’’, ‘‘could’’,‘‘would’’, ‘‘might’’ or ‘‘will be taken’’,‘‘occur’’ or ‘‘be achieved’’.
These forward-looking statements arebased on current expectations and are naturally subject to uncertaintyand changes in circumstances that may cause actual results to differmaterially. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks anduncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performanceor results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications ofwhether or not such results will be achieved. Such statements include the statement withrespect to: (i) GEM’s andVolt Carbon’s belief that large and jumbo sized flakes attainpremium pricing due to their high-end performance as anode materialfor lithium-ion batteries; (ii) the ability of Volt Carbon to collectsufficient data during the feasibility phase to allow Volt Carbon toreasonably estimate thecapital expenditures required to manufacture the proprietary portablemachinery needed to conduct the bulk-sampling phase; (iii) the expectation that the oreprocessing will cost an aggregate of $50K/ton; (iv) the expectationthat Volt Carbon will need to raise additional capital to fund themanufacture of the portable machinery; (v) the expectation that theflake graphite extracted from the bulk-samples will be saleable; (vi)the belief by GEM and Volt Carbon that the sale of the flake graphiteextracted from the bulk-samples will result in profits. A number of factors, including thosediscussed above, could cause actual results to differ materially fromthe results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Any suchforward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entiretyby this cautionary statement.
All of the forward-lookingstatements made in this press release are qualified by thesecautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place unduereliance on such forward-looking statements. Forward-lookinginformation is provided as of the date of this press release, and Voltassumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new eventsor circumstances, except as may be required under applicablesecurities legislation.
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