logo-loader

Peninsula Mines extends high-grade graphite drilling target at South Korean project

Published: 04:24 21 Jan 2019 GMT

Graphite sample from Gapyeong project
Graphite from Peninsula’s Gapyeong project in South Korea, 50 kilometres from Seoul

Peninsula Mines Ltd’s (ASX:PSM) additional strong graphite channel sampling intersections have extended the high-grade drilling target at Gapyeong Graphite Project in South Korea.

The high-grade sample results of up to 7.21 metres at 10.6% total graphitic carbon (TGC) have seen the target grow to 400 metres strike length and it remains open to the south.

This 10.6% result was within a 9.69-metre intersection which graded 9.7% TGC while other strong results were 3.97 metres at 9.8% and 5.62 metres at 6.0% from another channel.

READ: Peninsula Mines appoints new managing director with Korean experience

These results follow encouraging drilling results including 10.63 metres (7.4 metres true width) at 11.6% TGC from 61.9 metres including 8.63 metres (6.0 metres true width) at 12.1%.

Peninsula’s managing director Richard Henning said: “We continue to be encouraged by the high-grade intercepts from the Gapyeong graphitic unit and will now do further metallurgical testing prior to further resource drilling.

“The objective is to define a maiden flake-graphite mineral resource in South Korea.

“It should be noted that due to the winter season in Korea, ground conditions are such that further groundwork is unlikely until spring.”

Peninsula has also received additional analyses from a recent diamond hole with a new intersection of 4.15 metres at 5.1% TGC in addition to the previous intercept of 6.55 metres at 7.9%, including 2.47 metres at 11.9%.

The latest trench results indicate that the grade of the Gapyeong graphitic unit may be higher to the south of the current drilling.

Large flakes identified

Petrographic work on the Gapyeong drill-core has identified large flakes with interstitial and associated sulphides.

The presence of strong sulphide mineralisation was not evident in previous channel sampling and was most likely oxidised and leached at surface.

Metallurgical tests

Further metallurgical testing has been initiated on fresh-rock drilling samples to confirm that TGC concentrate in excess of 95% can be generated from the sulphide-bearing graphitic material.

Previous testing on surface trenching samples produced a high-purity metallurgical concentrate of 95.4% TGC.

Subject to achieving the requisite concentrate grade, the company will look to generate a 5-kilogram graphite concentrate sample for spherical graphite test work.

READ: Peninsula Mines signs graphite MOU with Korean lithium-ion battery anode supplier

The objective would be to reach a 99.95% TGC purity spherical graphite product to meet the specifications of South Korean lithium-ion battery anode manufacturers.

Peninsula recently signed an MOU with South Korean high-technology manufacturing company Tera Technos Co Ltd that specialises in the production of high-performance carbon composite ‘SiOx’ anode materials, a modified and enhanced version of spherical graphite.

Photomicrograph of the carbon composite anode materials produced by Tera Technos.

The MOU includes an initial testing program by Tera Technos to complete spheroidisation and electrochemical test work on graphite concentrate samples from the Gapyeong project.

Xantippe Resources "moving forward" with Argentina lithium project

Christopher Ecclestone, Hallgarten & Company mining strategist, speaks to Proactive about Xantippe Resources Ltd (ASX:XTC, OTC:XTCPF), a company active in South America's "lithium triangle."  Xantippe's focus is currently on exploring its Catamarca project in northern...

on 9/11/22