Peninsula Mines Ltd’s (ASX:PSM) integrated graphite strategy in South Korea has been boosted by thick, high-grade channel sampling results of up to 6.66 metres at 17.2% total graphitic carbon (TGC) at the Gapyeong project.
Initial channel sampling at the project 50 kilometres northeast of Seoul was carried out along manually-dug trenches across the graphitic unit at about 100-metre trench spacing.
The company has also reached an agreement with a local landholder to access the project for drilling and this is expected to begin as soon as possible.
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Managing director Jon Dugdale said: “These very encouraging channel sampling results have confirmed the substantial thickness and high-grade of the Gapyeong graphitic unit.
“The next step is to drill test the Gapyeong graphite deposit and confirm the potential to define a large, high-grade, flake graphite resource.
“At the same time, we will complete spherical graphite test-work to confirm downstream processing potential to produce this key component of the lithium-ion battery, in Korea.”
Individual samples were taken at 0.4 to 1.25-metre intervals and analysed for graphitic carbon and other elements at Nagrom laboratories in Western Australia.
The 6.6-metre result was within a 13.1-metre intersection from 1.16 metres at 12.3% TGC.
Another strong result was 12.5 metres from 0 metres at 10.6% TGC, including 2.6 metres at 14.5% TGC.
Gapyeong project channel and other rock chip sample locations, graphitic units and EM anomalies.
The encouraging channel sampling results have confirmed that the high-grade graphitic unit at Gapyeong is around 10 metres thick (true width) and averages 10% to 17.2% TGC, including up to 22.1%.
Further channel sampling will be planned for areas of sub-crop to further test the 1-kilometre strike of the intensely conductive EM anomaly/graphitic unit.
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Peninsula will now estimate an exploration target for the Gapyeong graphitic unit, incorporating the channel sampling, other rock chip sampling results and modelling of electromagnetic (EM) imagery.
Gapyeong is the largest and most intense EM anomaly that the company has generated in Korea.
Landholder negotiations
As well as reaching an access agreement with one landholder, the company is in advanced negotiations with a second landholder to allow initial drilling.
Drilling will begin as soon as access is established with the objective of confirming the exploration target prior to resource definition drilling to define a maiden mineral resource.
Ongoing test work
Peninsula previously achieved a high-grade, flake-graphite concentrate result of 95.4% TGC from initial batch grinding and flotation testing of a >80 kilogram, 17.7% TGC, composite sample from the deposit.
Independent Metallurgical Operations have been commissioned to process the bulk composite to produce a >5kg, high-grade (94% - 95% TGC), -150µm/+30µm, flake-graphite concentrate sample for spherical graphite testing in Germany.
The spherical graphite test-work will include micronisation, spheronisation and purification with the objective of generating a >99.95% TGC purity, uncoated, spherical graphite product suitable for lithium-ion battery anode production in Korea.