24% more yield from graphite? Elite purity?
This is really good. Our 2021 Wise Owl Pick year Evolution Energy Minerals (ASX:EV1) announced this morning that the company had achieved a 64% yield on their spherical graphite product.
That’s a full 24% more than the industry standard yield - meaning more margin for EV1 if/when the company gets into production.
It also means it will take less graphite to produce more battery anode material.
What’s more, the reversible capacity of EV1’s graphite (the measure of specific capacity rating) of 368 mAh/g1 is near the theoretical capacity of 372 mAh/g; and EV1’s graphite’s irreversible capacity loss (essentially demonstrating the retention of specific capacity from charge to charge) is < 7%.
In layman’s terms, this means EV1’s spherical graphite product is getting pretty darn close to the upper limits of what graphite can achieve from a theoretical perspective - i.e the physics of the graphite is almost perfect.
The results of EV1’s testwork to date are impressive to say the least - the company has achieved a purity of 99.9995% - which exceeds the purity requirements of both the battery sector as well as the high value nuclear sector that we alluded to in our latest EV1 note.
After today, we’re of the view that EV1 has some quality graphite on its hands - stuff that can help make some of the highest performance battery anode material in the world (perfect for EVs).
It’s a big win for EV1, and as long term Investors in EV1, we’re glad their downstream strategy is starting to bear fruit.
The upshot? It all comes down to the remaining ~35% of EV1’s Tanzanian graphite products (fines) and EV1 has yet to seal an offtake for this portion of their proposed production:
Key takeaway - we think that the downstream testwork and inverted processing flow sheet the company is working with should help secure a better offtake agreement for the fines product further down the track.
That would be an ideal outcome for us as EV1 Investors.
All of this at a time when graphite prices remain strong - especially in the ultra premium side of the market (EV1 quoted US$18k–22k a tonne for their coated spherical graphite in today’s release).
What’s next for EV1? EV1 flagged today that long-term cycle testwork is ongoing - basically testing to see how the Chilalo fines product holds up over a repeated series of uses in a battery. After that, we’re looking to see EV1 solidify its place in Tanzania's mining industry via a Framework Agreement with the government.
