Ms. Belinda Labatte reports

LOMIKO ANNOUNCES GRANT FROM THE CONSORTIUM DE RECHERCHE ET D'INNOVATION EN TRANSFORMATION METALLIQUE (CRITM) AND NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (NRC IRAP)

Further to its press release dated June 16, 2023, Lomiko Metals Inc. has secured up to $500,000 in funding from federal and provincial agencies to continue advancing prefeasibility-level battery trials with its La Loutre natural flake graphite concentrate.

Lomiko has succeeded in obtaining a grant from the Consortium de recherche et d'innovation en transformation metallique (CRITM) to complete studies for spherical graphite in battery applications. The company also secured funding support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) and funding from CRITM through the Quebec Plan for the Development of Critical and Strategic Minerals from Ministere des Ressources naturelles et des Forets (MRNF). The aim is to continue advancing prefeasibility-level battery trials with La Loutre natural flake graphite concentrate. The work will be carried out over the next 24 months by experts from the National Research Council of Canada's Automotive and Surface Transportation Research Centre at its Boucherville facility in Quebec.

Belinda Labatte, chief executive officer and director, stated: "We are pleased to be working with CRITIM, NRC IRAP and the MRNF on these studies, which show the continued interest in our natural flake graphite project and its overall potential benefit to Quebec and Canada as a critical mineral that can benefit the energy transition. We are actively participating in Quebec's critical mineral strategy and increasing the collective knowledge base of our La Loutre project, and our mission is to create a climate success story with first nations and local communities. We are pleased to be working with our Quebec partners on this initiative."

By extracting and transforming these rich graphite resources, Lomiko can help meet the growing demand for graphite from electric car battery manufacturers. As the need for a transition to electric vehicles intensifies, Lomiko anticipates that its La Loutre project will be part of a comprehensive solution for energy self-sufficiency and large-scale reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Project description

This project will involve the research and development of a technological prototype for graphite processing, comprising several stages, including micronization, spheronization, purification and coating. The main deliverables of this process, particularly after electrochemical characterization of the transformed graphite material, are anode composition and defined charge/discharge capacities.

An 800-kilogram bulk sample is to be extracted from the La Loutre graphite deposit and shipped to a third party laboratory (Corem, Quebec). After crushing, the ore is processed in a pilot flotation plant to produce graphite flotation concentrate. The flotation concentrate is dried and classified into size fractions. The minus-100-mesh product will be micronized to a D50 of 15 to 20 microns and spheroidized (Corem and NRCAN in Quebec). This size reduction and shaping is a requirement for natural graphite to be used as a battery anode material. The micronization process has the added benefit of reducing the amount of impurities that are associated with graphite. The spheronized product will undergo thermal and chemical purification to remove most remaining sulphite and non-sulphur impurities to improve the quality of the graphite to obtain a concentrate of at least 99.95 per cent C(g). The coating of SPG (spherical graphite) material is carried out to produce coated purified spherical graphite (CSPG). Finally, the CSPG will be subjected to a battery evaluation to establish the electrochemical performance of the La Loutre material.

The steps of the CSPG replicate the sequence of the business process on a smaller scale. The data collected during processing will be used to develop the integrated process design criteria, which form the basis for large-scale plant engineering.

Although each of the individual technologies has been used in various applications for years, configuring them into an integrated process is a new approach, given that China currently produces almost 100 per cent of the spherical purified graphite needed for electric vehicle battery applications.

It should be noted that the prefeasibility metallurgical test work achieved excellent results and demonstrated that an optimized flotation plant flow sheet can achieve 94.7-per-cent graphite recovery and average 98.7-per-cent graphitic carbon purity at the La Loutre natural flake graphite project. Lomiko's La Loutre project is a source of high-quality natural flake graphite located in Southern Quebec.

About Lomiko Metals Inc.

The company holds mineral interests in its La Loutre graphite development in Southern Quebec. The La Loutre project site is within the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg (KZA) First Nation's territory. The KZA First Nation is part of the Algonquin Nation, and the KZA traditional territory is situated within the Outaouais and Laurentides regions. Located 180 kilometres northwest of Montreal, the property consists of one large, continuous block with 76 mineral claims totalling 4,528 hectares (45.3 square km).

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