THUNDER BAY – Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. (“Zenyatta” or “Company”) (TSXV: ZEN) has announced the signing of a contribution agreement with the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC‐IRAP). Zenyatta will receive technical advisory services and a financial contribution of up to $350,000 from NRC‐IRAP to support Zenyatta’s metallurgical program designed to provide data for the start of a pre‐feasibility phase on its Albany graphite project as announced in the Company’s September 26, 2016 news release.
Aubrey Eveleigh, President and CEO stated “We are very pleased to receive continued recognition and support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program. This support by NRC‐IRAP complements our various collaborative partnerships and allows us to produce larger market samples of high‐purity graphite which will permit continued graphite and graphene application development. The Albany project has the potential to produce an ultra‐high purity graphite product that could lead to high‐tech, value‐added business opportunities to emerge in Canada. On behalf of our shareholders, I would like to thank the Canadian Government for this important support in developing a one of a kind graphite product targeting the clean tech sector.”
Zenyatta’s strategy is to continue development of the Albany Graphite deposit under a pre‐feasibility and at the same time develop commercial applications with several collaborative partners. This includes the development of graphene infused concrete as described in our news release on September 8, 2016 as well as continued work on Li‐on batteries, fuel cells and powder metallurgy through other global collaborations.
Mr. Aubrey Eveleigh, P.Geo., Zenyatta’s President and CEO, is the “Qualified Person” for the purposes of National Instrument 43‐101 and has reviewed, prepared and supervised the preparation of the technical information contained in this news release.
About Zenyatta
Zenyatta Ventures Ltd is developing the Albany Graphite Deposit situated in northeastern Ontario. The graphite deposit is a unique type of igneous‐hosted, fluid‐derived graphite mineralization which is contained within two large breccia pipes. The Company has completed a July 9, 2015 Preliminary Economic Assessment which indicates an open pit mine life of 22 years (excludes underground and open at depth) producing 30,000 tonnes purified graphite per annum. The Company is seeking end users for their graphite and is working with several collaborative partners including the development a new concrete admixture with improved mechanical properties by adding Albany derived graphene. Other potential markets for graphite include Li‐ion batteries, fuel cells and powder metallurgy. The application for graphitic material is constantly evolving due to its unique chemical, electrical and thermal properties. It maintains its stability and strength under temperatures in excess of 3,000°C and is very resistant to chemical corrosion. It is also one of the lightest of all reinforcing elements and has high natural lubricating abilities. The outlook for the global graphite market is very promising with demand growing rapidly from new applications. It is now considered one of the more strategic elements by many leading industrial nations, particularly for its growing importance in high technology manufacturing and in the emerging “green” industries such as electric vehicle components.
The Albany graphite deposit is situated 30 km north of the Trans‐Canada Highway, power line and natural gas pipeline near the communities of Constance Lake First Nation and Hearst. A rail line is located 70 km away with an all‐weather road approximately 10 km from the graphite deposit. The world trend is to develop products for technological applications that need extraordinary performance using ultra‐high purity graphite powder at an affordable cost. Albany graphite can be upgraded with very good crystallinity without the use of aggressive acids (hydrofluoric) or high temperature thermal treatment therefore it has an environmental advantage over other types of upgraded high‐purity graphite material.
