Zenyatta Moving Quietly Forward on Graphite Project
THUNDER BAY – MINING – Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. TSX VENTURE:ZEN have announced the signing of a contribution agreement with the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). The agreement will assist the company in moving forward on its Albany Project. While much of the excitement and focus on the mining world has been on chromite and the Ring of Fire, Zenyatta has continued to quietly move forward with this project.
Zenyatta will receive technical advisory services and a financial contribution of up to $350,000 from NRC-IRAP to help support the on-going metallurgical testing at SGS Canada Inc., of two 5 tonne mini-bulk samples from the East and West graphite pipes of the 100 percent owned Albany (Hydrothermal) deposit located in northeastern Ontario, Canada.
“We are very pleased to receive recognition and support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program,” stated Aubrey Eveleigh, President and CEO.
“The Albany project has the potential to produce an ultra-high purity carbon product that could lead to high-tech, value-added business opportunities to emerge in Canada”, added Eveleigh. “This support by NRC-IRAP complements the various other initiatives the Company has underway in cooperation with academics / researchers at several universities to better understand the technical characteristics of the Albany graphite material. On behalf of our shareholders, I would like to thank NRC-IRAP for this important support in developing a unique graphite product targeting the cleantech sector.”
Zenyatta’s graphite deposit is located 30km north of the Trans-Canada Highway, relatively close to power lines and the 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 4-5 km from the graphite deposit. The deposit is near surface, underneath glacial till overburden and a thin veneer of Paleozoic sedimentary cover rocks.
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 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 3,500°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. Some of these key physical and chemical properties make it critical to modern industry.