VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 22, 2021 /CNW/ - South Star Battery
Metals Corp. ("South Star" or the "Company")
(TSXV: STS) (OTCQB: STSBF), along with its technological partner in
the United States ("US
Lab"1), are pleased to announce the latest life cycle
testing results for the first 75 cycles (charging &
discharging) in CR2016 LiB coin cells constructed with anode
material (coated spherical purified graphite) produced from the
Santa Cruz Graphite Project. Several battery cells were constructed
as part of the ongoing optimization and testing program, and all
the cells continue to have an extremely flat discharge pattern
without noticeable degradation over the current testing
period.
One cycle consists of 10 hours of charge and 10 hours of
discharge, therefore 75 cycles equals approximately 1,500 hours
total. South Star's testing program continues and will include
a minimum of 100 cycles for each of the LiB cells. Upcoming work
also includes downstream processing flowsheet optimizations and
validation. (Refer to August
30th, 2021 press release for results from initial
35 cycles.)
In addition, South Star has successfully completed 4-Point
resistivity testing (4T) for use in Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide
(EMD) for evaluating conductivity enhancement material used in
cathodes of primary alkaline batteries. The Santa Cruz material tested was made of the
purified graphite rejects from the spheronization process and
confirmed that purified flake graphite from the Santa Cruz project is significantly more
conductive than industry-leading material currently in use. With
the alkaline battery market producing over 12 billion batteries
annually and a global market value in excess of US$7.5B in 2020, this application could
potentially develop into a key market for South Star.
"We continue to announce robust battery testing results while
advancing towards production in 2022," commented Richard Pearce, President and CEO of South Star.
"The cycle testing with anodes produced using Santa Cruz graphite in CR2016 LiB batteries
continues to be very stable with little degradation throughout 75
cycles and maintaining reversible capacity on the order of 345 –
346 mAh/g through cycle 75. This equates to a degradation through
75 cycles of approximately 2 percent, which is an excellent outcome
for our program.
The high-quality conductivity enhancement material for alkaline
batteries markets is also very exciting. In essence, our purified
graphite is extremely conductive allowing alkaline battery
manufacturers to potentially reduce the required amount of graphite
used as conductivity enhancement material in the cathode and
instead increase the energy density to make a longer-lasting
alkaline cell. The market is large and growing, and our material
has proven to be very high-quality. It also requires approximately
8 to 9 months to qualify this material, which is significantly
faster than in the EV markets while offering robust margins similar
to the EV space. We continue to evaluate several potential markets
to sell 100% of our production and develop a diversified portfolio
of high value-add materials with good margins."
Santa Cruz Product Information Bulletins (PIBs) with technical
information for the portfolio of products, safety data sheets
(SDSs) and marketing materials have been prepared and are being
distributed to our existing partners and potential clients. Samples
of value-add products including micronized & purified graphite,
expanded & expandable graphite, as well are as coated and
uncoated SPG will also be produced and available for
testing.
Key Management and Board Changes
South Star is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms.
Samantha Shorter to the role of CFO
in place of Mr. Bennett Liu, who has
resigned to pursue other opportunities. Ms. Shorter is a senior
finance and accounting professional with 15 years of experience in
the mineral exploration sector and has served as CFO of various
junior mining companies. She has extensive international experience
with development projects as well as operating assets. Ms. Shorter
was also previously employed as an audit manager at a major
Canadian accounting firm specializing in the mining industry and
has extensive experience providing financial reporting and
corporate services to companies in the mining and mineral
exploration industries. Ms. Shorter is a CPA, CA and CIA and holds
a Bachelor of Commerce degree with Honours from the University of British Columbia.
South Star is also pleased to announce the appointment of Ms.
Priscila Costa Lima to the Board of
Directors in place of Mr. Felipe
Alves, who has elected to step down to pursue other
interests. Ms. Costa Lima is senior finance and accounting
professional with 20 years of experience in corporate finance,
reporting & audit, and equity & debt financing in the
mining and entertainment sectors. Currently she serves as the CFO
of BRON Media Corp., and prior to that, she was the Finance
Director for Force Four Entertainment (an eOne Entertainment
company). Before making the move to the entertainment industry, she
worked in the mining / resource sector where she served as the CFO
of Marlin Gold Mining Ltd. from 2010 to 2014. Ms. Costa Lima is a
Brazilian citizen based in Vancouver,
BC. She is a CPA, CMA and holds a BBA in Finance with a
joint Major in Economics from Simon Fraser
University.
Richard Pearce commented, "On
behalf of the Board of Directors and Management, we are pleased to
welcome Sam and Priscila to the team and look forward to working
with them as we advance to construction, Phase 1 production and
subsequent scaling of the operations to a world-class graphite
asset. We are excited to add their experience and expertise
to our growing team, and they will be key collaborators as we move
forward with our plans. We would like to also to thank Felipe
and Bennett for their contributions and tireless work ethics over
the years. We wish them much success in their new endeavours."
Lithium-Ion Battery Life Cycle Test Results
Purified graphite was successfully micronized using advanced
pilot scale mechanical milling system outfitted with two air
classification circuits. Once the target sizing geometries were
achieved, uncoated SPG was produced by rolling and rounding the
micronized graphite into elliptical spheres in a specialized
mill. The elliptical shapes are a preferred morphology for
higher packing density active loadings in battery electrodes. They
are also preferred due to better rate capacities, safer and
generally longer-life LiBs. Uncoated SPG was coated with a
nanolayer of soft carbon and heat treated under a blanket of inert
gas. The hardened coating provides a layer of protection from
exfoliation and general degradation during the normal expansion and
contraction cycles associated with charging and discharging. The
coating also reduces ongoing reactions of electrolytes with the
graphitic carbon, which results in a reduced battery life
(See June 29th, 2021
press release for more details).
Next, a copper foil was coated with the anode slurry using the
drawdown technique, and the electrode was dried under vacuum and
weighed. Finally, the anode was welded to the bottom can of a
stainless-steel standard CR2016 coin cell. Three identical coin
cells were produced, and testing includes the following: reversible
capacity, irreversible capacity, irreversible capacity loss and
long-term cycling stability as a function of the elapsed number of
charge/discharge cycles.
As shown in Figure 1, other notable positive properties of
Santa Cruz anode material are that
their reversible capacities are at approximately 345 mAh/g thru 75
cycles, which is a degradation of 2 percent. Assuming the current
degradation rate continues, Santa
Cruz graphite could potentially exceed 500 cycles prior to
performance cut-off and potentially provide an interesting
alternative to synthetic graphite, which has significantly higher
costs, higher environmental footprint and is a product derived from
petroleum.
Figure 2 presents the results for Cell 3 through cycles 25, 50
and 75 and confirm that the cells maintain excellent
electrochemical performance throughout the current testing
attesting to the robust nature of the Santa Cruz natural crystalline flake
characteristics as anode material for lithium-ion batteries.
Conductivity Enhancement Material for Alkaline Battery
Cathodes Test Results
South Star successfully completed 4-Point resistivity testing
for Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD) for evaluating
conductivity enhancement material used in cathodes for primary
alkaline batteries. The Santa Cruz
material tested was made of the purified graphite rejects from the
spheronization process with a D50 equal to 7 microns. Compression
molded cathode rings made from EMD using Santa Cruz graphite were produced using
varying loadings into the EMD. The resistivity was tested using an
industry standard 4-point (4T) test where resistivity is determined
by Kelvin Bridge and is measured in
Ω inch or mΩ·cm. Various pressures were tested to determine the
resulting resistivity. The results are presented in Figure 3 and
confirm that conductivity enhancement material made from
Santa Cruz purified graphite
outperformed industry standard expanded graphite and synthetic
graphite products. Potentially, purified rejects from the
spheronization process could provide lower cost and higher quality
alternatives to current industry standard products.
About South Star Battery Metals Corp.
South Star Battery Metals Corp. is Canadian battery metals
project developer focused on the selective acquisition and
development of near-term production projects in the Americas. South
Star's Santa Cruz Graphite Project, located in Southern Bahia,
Brazil is the first of a series of
industrial and battery metals projects that will be put into
production. Brazil is the
second-largest graphite-producing region in the world with more
than 80 years of continuous mining. Santa
Cruz has at-surface mineralization in friable materials, and
successful large-scale pilot-plant testing (>30t) has been
completed. The results of the testing show that approximately 65%
of Cg concentrate is +80 mesh with good recoveries and 95-99% Cg.
With excellent infrastructure and logistics, South Star is carrying
its development plan towards Phase 1 production projected in Q4
2022, pending financing. South Star trades on the TSX Venture
Exchange under the symbol STS, and on the OTCQB under the symbol
STSBF.
South Star is committed to a corporate culture, project
execution plan and safe operations that embrace the highest
standards of ESG principles based on transparency, stakeholder
engagement, ongoing education and stewardship. To learn more,
please visit the Company website at
http://www.southstarbatterymetals.com.
This news release has been reviewed and approved by Richard
Pearce, P.E., a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101
and President and CEO of South Star Battery Metals.
On behalf of the Board,
Mr. Richard Pearce
Chief Executive Officer
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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this press release.
This news release and the Updated Technical Report contain
references to inferred resources. The Report is preliminary in
nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered
too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations
applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral
reserves.
Forward-Looking Information
The information contained herein contains "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of applicable securities
legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that
is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results,
and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that
express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections,
objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not
statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking
statements".
Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks
and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to
differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements,
including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain
adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks
related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and
regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks
related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks
related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential
for delays in exploration or development activities or the
completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of
profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the
interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity
of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of
production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected
costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility
studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development
or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's
expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and
other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects,
properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's
disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and
uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described
in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against
attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the
Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to
reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could
differ materially from the Company's expectations or
projections.
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SOURCE South Star Mining Corp.