Lomiko Announces Excellent Results from La Loutre Graphite Testing with CRITM Grant and Corporate Update.
Lomiko Metals Inc. (TSX.V: LMR) (“Lomiko Metals” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has completed more research and development within the mandate of the CRITM grant and Phase 1 of the material characterization, micronization, spheriodization, coating, thermal purification and half-coin cell battery testing of its La Loutre graphite material, conducted by the National Research Council of Canada (“NRC”). The Phase 1 NRC testing was conducted on 0.6kg of flake graphite over 8 months, using a larger sample than the Polaris Study to confirm once again that the La Loutre material can meet battery requirements.
This study was first announced on July 27th, 2023, with the work being carried out at the NRC’s facilities in Boucherville, Quebec. In Phase 1 of the study, the NRC completed half-cell coin battery testing, confirming good material electrochemical performance metrics compared to industry standards and surpassing the results previously announced in the Polaris Study (see press release January 10th, 2024), which had a similar mandate. The objective of this NRC study is more comprehensive and involves research for a longer duration on the entire flotation sample; phase 2 of the study will build 5-layer batteries and test them for 500 cycles over 9 months.
Belinda Labatte, CEO and Interim Chair of the Board stated:
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Lomiko has now re-confirmed the suitability for the La Loutre graphite for battery anode material at the NRC lab with a comprehensive mandate that will now continue into Phase 2.
“In this phase, using thermal purification methods and a larger sample size, the electrochemical performance results surpassed the study results from the Polaris tests announced on April 1, 2024. Lomiko has now demonstrated that the La Loutre natural flake graphite performs well using all three standard purification methods: thermal, prepared and tested by the NRC, and alkaline and acid-based (prepared by ProGraphite and Corem), as tested by Polaris LLC.”
The spheronized sample was tested at the NRC with thermal purification processes: High Temperature (HT) purification in a small scall HT furnace. The sample was heated up to 2700 °C in argon gas for 5-10 minutes, followed by a natural cooling of the furnace for several hours, kept under Argon gas. The HT purification by the NRC was able to bring almost all elements below the 10 ppm target. Titanium stayed above the 10 ppm mark and could be ascribed partly to its high boiling point (3287 °C), which hasn’t been known to be the element of concern. The main positive points are that both Fe (iron) and Si (silicon) levels decreased 10,000 fold from % (percentages) to ppm (percent per million) level and are generally the main contaminants to address.
Table 1: La Loutre SPG contaminants composition before and after thermal purification
| Element | Before ppm | After ppm | Element | Before ppm | After ppm | Element | Before ppm | After ppm |
| Ag | <0,3 | <0,2 | Fe | 5000 | 1,6 | S | 3000 | 5,7 |
| Al | 4000 | 3,8 | Ga | <1 | <0,4 | Sb | <0,3 | <0,2 |
| As | <0,3 | <0,2 | Ge | <0,7 | <0,2 | Sc | 1,60 | <0,2 |
| Au | <22 | <43 | Hf | <0,5 | 2,2 | Se | <0,9 | <0,8 |
| B | 1,5 | 3,3 | Hg | <2,4 | <1,2 | Si | 13000 | 5,7 |
| Ba | <7,5 | <2,3 | I | <27 | <320 | Sn | <2,1 | <3,3 |
| Be | 0,06 | <0,02 | K | 2000 | <3,6 | Sr | <2,5 | <0,3 |
| Bi | <0,1 | <0,1 | La | <6,5 | <54 | Te | <0,3 | <0,2 |
| Br | <0,4 | <0,9 | Li | 7,6 | <0,5 | Th | <0,4 | <0,8 |
| C | matrix | matrix | Mg | 5000 | <1,6 | Ti | 260,00 | 33 |
| Ca | 2000 | 9,7 | Mn | 29,00 | <0,1 | Tl | <0,2 | <0,2 |
| Cd | <0,9 | <0,6 | Mo | 9,6 | 11 | U | <0,4 | <0,3 |
| Ce | <2,4 | <6,4 | Na | 240 | 0,7 | V | 11,00 | 0,8 |
| Cl | 32,00 | 4,7 | Nb | <0,04 | <0,05 | W | <0,7 | 1,5 |
| Co | 1,80 | <0,08 | Ni | 8,10 | 0,5 | Y | <1,4 | <0,6 |
| Cr | <14 | <4,8 | P | 15,00 | <0,04 | Zn | 11,00 | <2,4 |
| Cs | <0,8 | <12 | Pb | 2,1 | <0,4 | Zr | 13 | 15 |
| Cu | 9,10 | <0,7 | Pt | <0,3 | <0,3 |
Highlights of the NRC half-cell test results
The reversible capacity of Lomiko’s Lac La Loutre spherical natural graphite averages 367 mAh/g in the NRC Study, which is the higher end of the specification for such anode material. Typically, most products are ranging between 350 and 365 mAh/g.
The short-term stability and reproducibility of the obtained material are very good, showing no decay of the capacity in 5 cycles. Also, a high coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99,9% after 5 cycles is observed, and very small standard deviation values for all parameters.
Conclusion and next steps
This concludes the preliminary testing of Lomiko’s natural flake graphite and Phase 1, and demonstrates that it is worthwhile to scale up and test this anode material in Li-Ion battery prototypes and continue with Phase 2.
Phase 2: The next steps regarding the CRITM and the NRC/Corem study will include processing of the bulk sample, producing flotation concentrate, then transforming the flotation concentrate with micronization, spheriodization, purification, and coating of 2.5kg of the cSPG that would be used to build 5-layer batteries to be tested over the 500 cycles of charge and discharge. The Company will provide progress updates on these studies.
Corporate update
Management will be participating in the following events.
May 12 to 15: CIM Vancouver.
COO Gordana Slepcev will be participating in a panel discussion on the ‘Role of the mining industry towards biodiversity preservation and natural capital’ on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
May 20 to 23: SME’s 9th CTMF Conference: Seeking Certainty in an Uncertain World
CEO Belinda Labatte will be participating in a panel discussion on Energizing Growth: Unleashing Human and Capital Potential in Battery/ Critical Minerals Ventures
May 30: Elevate Entre-Nous Events at the Rideau Club in partnership with the WCPD Foundation.
CEO Belinda Labatte will be participating in a panel discussion featuring the topic: “Women and Mining: Breaking Barriers & Prioritizing Our Clean Energy Future.”
Qualified Persons – La Loutre Graphite
Mr. Oliver Peters, a Principal Metallurgist with Metpro Management Inc., is a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101. Mr. Peters is satisfied that the analytical and testing procedures used are standard industry operating procedures and methodologies, and he has reviewed, approved, and verified the technical information disclosed in this news release, including sampling, analytical, and test data underlying the technical information.
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Lomiko Announces Excellent Results from La Loutre Graphite Testing with CRITM Grant and Corporate Update. source
