Great Lakes Graphite Inc. announced today the exceptional results from its ongoing graphite mineral beneficiation program being conducted at Process Research ORTECH facilities in Mississauga, Ontario. The primary focus of the program is to determine the highest purity levels that can be achieved using the flake material from the Lochaber Graphite Project and to identify the processes and methods that are required to achieve those standards. Results have now demonstrated that purity levels of up to 99% can be achieved using only a simple flotation process. These tests were performed on fine material (-140 mesh) from the Lochaber Graphite Project, which is typically of lower purity and lower value. The material used for this test reported a head grade of 20.2%.
The purity testing was conducted using a normal flotation procedure only. No leaching or chemicals were required to achieve these results. Recently GLK announced the discovery of hydrothermal vein type graphite (news release dated March 31, 2015). It was determined that the hydrothermal graphite was reporting with the fine flake material. Due to this discovery, GLK performed further grinding and flotation work to identify whether the fine material could be upgraded. Results of this testing concluded that with minimal grinding and a two-stage flotation; consistent results over 95% and ultimately 99% was achieved.
Reaching this objective with a simple, low-cost flotation procedure will enable the company to maximize the value of the smaller flake in the deposit by using it to produce higher, value-added carbon products.
The Company will now conduct a further series of tests that use a caustic leach process, which will determine the ability to upgrade the material further to the extremely high purity levels required for high-tech applications.
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