Lithium Energy Limited (ASX:LEL) has commenced a comprehensive metallurgical testwork programme in China on approximately 1t of representative core samples of graphite recovered from the recently completed infill drilling programme at the Burke Graphite Project located in Queensland, Australia,
The Beijing General Research Institute for Mining and Metallurgy Technology Group (BGRIMM) in China is a ‘Tier 1’ extensive experience in developing processing solutions for graphite.
BGRIMM has been engaged to undertake an extensive metallurgical testwork programme on the Burke graphite, including:
- Assessing and optimizing flotation conditions;
- Conducting open circuit flowsheet development testwork to optimize the concentrator flowsheet; and
- research and design institute in mining and metallurgy, providing technical and engineering services in mineral resource development and the utilization of advanced material technologies, and has Conducting closed loop circuit testwork to optimize flowsheet recovery.
“Following the highly successful infill drilling at Burke, which reported multiple significant intersections of +20% TGC (Graphite), this metallurgical testwork programme is a very important step in the development pathway of the Burke Project,” Executive Chairman, William Johnson, said.
“The company is very pleased to be working with the highly regarded BGRIMM Laboratory in Beijing and we are looking forward to taking the results of this programme into our planned engineering studies for mine, processing and purified spherical graphite manufacturing.”
The recently completed infill drilling programme on the Burke Tenement included diamond core (metallurgical and geotechnical) holes to provide representative graphite samples for a comprehensive metallurgical, Purified Spherical Graphite (PSG) and Anode testwork and development programme.
The planned upgrade in the resource classification of the Burke Deposit and the metallurgical and PSG optimization testwork will support a proposed Engineering Study to assess the viability of establishing a PSG Anode manufacturing facility, using the Burke graphite as feedstock material.
Approximately 1t of representative graphite samples have been delivered to BGRIMM in China where an extensive metallurgical testwork programme will assess all aspects of the Burke graphite to ensure that an optimize flake concentrator flowsheet is developed. The metallurgical testwork results will provide key inputs to the planned Engineering Study, including defining the process design criteria and process plant flowsheet configuration.
BGRIMM will also utilize their in-house Pilot Plant to produce bulk flake concentrate. This Burke graphite flake concentrate will form the feedstock material for a planned Anode development testwork programme to define and optimize the metallurgical and process conditions to produce Purified Spherical Graphite (PSG) suitable for use in Lithium-ion battery anodes.
A Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Burke Tenement previously defined a maiden Inferred Mineral Resource (Burke Deposit) of:
• 6.3Mt @16.0% TGC (with a TGC cut-off grade of 5%) for 1Mt of contained graphite;
• Within the mineralization envelope there is included higher grade material of 2.3Mt @20.6% TGC (with a TGC cut-off grade of 18%) for 464,000t of contained graphite which will be investigated further.
For further information please visit: https://lithiumenergy.com.au/
