Volt Resources Limited: Expansion Potential for Zavalievsky Graphite Supported By Graphite Mineralisation Estimate

Highlights

-                      Zavalievsky Graphite (“ZG”) foreign and historical graphite mineralisation estimate of 22.913Mt at a grade of 6.8% carbon0F[i].

-                      Multi decade mine life based on current production capacity of graphite mine and processing plant.

-                      The foreign and historical estimate is a subset of the overall ZG graphite deposit.

-                      Production improvements and expansion will position ZG to be a significant supplier of graphite for battery anode material (“BAM”).

-                      Supports Volt’s plans to create a European based supply chain for BAM and other high value graphite products.

Graphite producer and battery anode material developer Volt Resources Limited (ASX: VRC) (“Volt” or “the Company”) is pleased to provide the foreign and historical graphite mineralisation estimate for part of the Zavalievsky Graphite deposit. The foreign and historical estimate of tonnage of graphite mineralisation (above 2% carbon) at the Zavalievsky Graphite Project for the south-eastern area of the Zavalievsky site totals 22.913M tonnes at a grade of 6.8% carbon. The information has been compiled, reviewed and reported by Wardell Armstrong International. The graphite mineralisation estimate supports Volt’s plans to expand graphite production in Europe and develop downstream processing facilities for battery anode material (“BAM”) and other high value graphite products.

Volt’s Managing Director, Trevor Matthews, commented “The ZG business has significant graphite mineralisation estimates at good grades. With further resource definition and metallurgical work, based on the deposit size Volt believes the mineralised estimate can be significantly increased and will be reported in accordance with the JORC code.

Combined with its superior geographical location in Eastern Europe and long operating history, ZG places Volt years ahead of its peer graphite companies without the usual development risks associated with a greenfield project.

Volt has the clear opportunity to become a key market participant in Europe through increasing graphite supply and developing battery anode material production to supply the growing European market and with excellent access to other markets in the USA and the Middle East.”

The Zavalievsky Graphite business has the following significant advantages for Volt:

-                      Located in Eastern Europe, the Zavalievsky Graphite business is in close proximity to key markets with significant developments in Lithium-ion Battery (“LIB”) facilities planned to service the European based car makers and renewable energy sector.

-                      Plans to produce BAM using existing graphite production to become a fully integrated supplier to LIB cell makers based in Europe.

-                      Makes graphite products across the range and has the potential to significantly increase its high value large flake production.

-                      Produces a high value purified 99.5% TGC product.

-                      Long life multi-decade producing mine that has further exploration upside.

-                      Existing customer base and graphite product supply chains.

-                      Excellent transport infrastructure covering road, rail, river and sea freight combined with reliable grid power, ample potable ground water supply and good communications.

-                      An experienced workforce which can assist with training, commissioning and ramp-up for the Bunyu development.

-                      Potential to generate material cashflow which could make Volt internally funded for corporate costs and working capital into the future.

-                      A 79% interest in 636 hectares of freehold land, with the mine, processing plant and other buildings and facilities located on that land.

Foreign and Historical Mineralisation Estimate

Table 1 Foreign and historical estimate of tonnage of graphite mineralisation (above 2% carbon) at the Zavalievsky Graphite Project reported in accordance with Russian GKZ standard as of 2020 (dated 01.01.2021)

Note: * In accordance with the Ukrainian (Russian) classification, the “ores” are divided into on-balance (economic) and off-balance (potentially economic but are currently unprofitable to extract).

Cautionary Statement: the estimates of mineralisation in respect to the Zavalievsky Graphite Project reported in this announcement are “foreign and historical estimates” for the purposes of the ASX Listing Rules, and accordingly:

-        The estimates are not reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012).

-        A Competent Person has not done sufficient work to classify the foreign and historical estimates as current Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves in accordance with the JORC Code.

-        It is uncertain that, following evaluation and/or further exploration work, that the above foreign and historical estimates will be able to be reported as Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves in accordance with the JORC Code.

Full disclosures required by ASX Listing Rule 5.12 are contained in Appendix 1 to this announcement.

Figure 1 

Plan of drillholes, drillhole sections, interpreted graphitic mineralisation and existing open pit in the south-eastern section of the Zavalievsky deposit

Figure 2   Cross-sections of interpreted graphite mineralisation (see Figure 1 for section locations)

Summary of JORC 2012 Table 1 (Section 5.8.1 compliance)

Foreign and historical estimates – clarifying statements as required by ASX listing rule 5.12

Volt Resources confirms the first-time reporting of the mineralisation estimate for the Zavalievsky Graphite Project as at 1 January 2021. The estimates of mineralisation have not been reported in accordance with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, 2012 (JORC Code) and the Australian Securities Exchange Listing Rules.  The estimates of mineralisation are reported in accordance with the rules for reporting a foreign and historical estimate (ASX listing rules 5.12).  Under ASX listing rule 5.12 (LR 5.12), an entity reporting a foreign and/or historical estimate of mineralisation in relation to a material mining project must include all of the information shown in LR 5.12 (see Appendix 1).  A summary of JORC Table 1, which is included in Appendix 3, is provided below for compliance and in-line with requirements of ASX LR 5.8.1.

Volt appointed Wardell Armstrong International (WAI) to provide ongoing technical (geology, mining, environment) assistance for exploration and resource delineation at the Zavalievsky Graphite Project.  WAI has completed a review of the Zavalievsky Graphite Project for Volt, which included compiling and summarising data from available reports.  The information in the sections below have all been obtained from the reports as named.

Geology and Mineralisation Interpretation

The Zavalievsky Graphite Project is located on the flanks of the large Khashchevato - Zavalevskoy synclinal folded structure.  The graphite mineralisation is confined to the Precambrian basement and is overlain by sedimentary cover of 10 to 45m thickness.  Seven steeply dipping to vertical, graphite mineralised domains were interpreted using a nominal 2% total carbon grade.  The interpreted mineralisation has an along-strike length of 2,120m, a width of 630m and extends to a depth of 215m.

Drilling Techniques

Drilling was undertaken from 1955 to 1982 using ZIF-650M diamond drilling rigs with hard-alloy and diamond bits. The depth of the holes ranged from 36m to 481m.  Due to the steep dip of the mineralised domains (-80° to vertical), inclined exploration drillholes were drilled with an initial drilling angle of 70° to 75°.  121 diamond holes have been drilled for 18,185.50m in the south-eastern area of the Zavalievsky Graphite Project (on 15 sections) and were used to define the foreign and historical. Drillholes are generally spaced at 25 to 50m on sections that are 100 to 200m apart.

Sampling Techniques

Diamond core samples have been typically collected in intervals of 3m where possible, with a minimum sample length of 0.30m and a maximum sample length of 4.60m.  The drill core was cut in half along its length to produce half core for sample preparation (crushing/pulverising) to produce a final sub-sample for laboratory analysis.

Sampling Analyses

Details of the analysis techniques have not been provided in the available documentation.  The foreign and historical mineralisation estimate is reported as “Caverage%”.  To the best of WAI’s knowledge this is the total graphitic carbon content in the mineralisation.

Estimation Methodology

The foreign and historical mineralisation quantity was estimated using a polygonal method.  Geological interpretations were prepared on 15 cross sections and seven graphite mineralised domains were interpreted using a nominal 2% total carbon grade.  Half the distance between the sections and average true thickness was used to determine volumes of mineralisation.  Tonnage estimates are adjusted annually to exclude mined material.  Drill data was composited to 10 m intervals to align with production bench heights.  The section spacing ranges from 100 to 200 m and the maximum extrapolation is recorded as half the section spacing (i.e. 100m).

Cut-off Grade

The foreign and historical estimate for the graphite mineralisation at the Zavalievsky deposit has been reported above a cut-off grade of 2% Caverage%”. 

Mineral Resource Classification

Mineral Resources classified in accordance with the JORC Code have not been defined.

Mining Factors

The foreign and historical estimate was prepared with open pit mining as the most likely and appropriate method of extracting the mineralisation given the existing open pit mine.  The Competent Person considers open pit mining shall continue as the most likely and appropriate mining method for potential extraction of the graphite mineralisation.

Metallurgical Factors

The available documentation reports that the mineralisation types are all characterised by crystals (flakes) of graphite of an elongated smoothed hexagonal shape, ranging in size from 0.011 mm to 3 mm. In all samples, the >0.25 mm fraction predominates (74% for fresh rock over 90% for the weathered and partially weathered material). The content of volatiles (2 to 4%) is explained by the fact that the graphite is present in undisturbed aggregates and contains undisclosed micro-inclusions, as well as by the absorption of fluorine during chemical decomposition.

-ENDS-

Authorised for release by the board of Volt Resources Ltd

For further information please contact:

Trevor Matthews

Managing Director

Tel: +61 8 9486 7788

Follow us on Twitter @ASXVolt

About Volt Resources Limited

Volt Resources Limited (“Volt”) is a graphite producer/developer and gold exploration company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange under the ASX code VRC. Volt has a 70% controlling interest in the Zavalievsky Graphite business in Ukraine. Zavalievsky is in close proximity to key markets with significant developments in LIB facilities planned to service the European based car makers and renewable energy sector. Zavalievsky benefits from an existing customer base and graphite product supply chains based on excellent transport infrastructure covering road, rail, river and sea freight combined with reliable grid power, ample potable ground water supply and good communications. Zavalievsky has current plans to install a processing plant and equipment in order to commence production of spheronised purified graphite (SPG) for the European LIB market within the next 12 months1F[1]. 

Volt is also progressing the development of its large wholly-owned Bunyu Graphite Project in Tanzania, as well as gold exploration in Guinea leveraging the Company’s existing extensive networks in Africa.

The Bunyu Graphite Project is ideally located near to critical infrastructure with sealed roads running through the project area and ready access to the deep-water port of Mtwara 140km from the Project. In 2018, Volt reported the completion of the Feasibility Study (“FS”) into the Stage 1 development of the Bunyu Graphite Project. The Stage 1 development is based on a mining and processing plant annual throughput rate of 400,000 tonnes of ore to produce on average 23,700tpa of graphite products2F[2]. A key objective of the Stage 1 development is to establish infrastructure and market position in support of the development of the significantly larger Stage 2 expansion project at Bunyu.

The Guinea Gold Projects comprise 6 permits in Guinea, West Africa having a total area of 348km. The Projects are located in the prolific Siguiri Basin which forms part of the richly mineralised West African Birimian Gold Belt.

Competent Person’s Declaration

The information in the Zavalievsky Graphite Project statement which relates to exploration results is based upon details compiled from the available documentation by Mr Mark Kenwright, who is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.  Mr Mark Kenwright is an employee of Wardell Armstrong International and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and the deposit under consideration, and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC Code).  Mr Mark Kenwright confirms that the information included in this announcement in respect of the mineralisation at the Zavalievsky Graphite Project is an accurate representation of the available data and studies.

[1] Refer to Volt’s ASX announcements titled “Volt to Acquire European Graphite Business following Completion of Due Diligence” dated 14 May 2021 and “Completion of the ZG Group Transaction Following Execution of New Convertible Securities Facility” dated 26 July 2021.

[2] Refer to Volt’s ASX announcement titled “Positive Stage 1 Feasibility Study Bunyu Graphite Project” dated 31 July 2018. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in this document and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates continue to apply and have not materially changed.

[i] Cautionary Statement: the estimates of mineralisation in respect to the Zavalievsky Graphite Project reported in this announcement are “foreign and historical estimates” for the purposes of the ASX Listing Rules, and accordingly:

- The estimates are not reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012).

- A Competent Person has not done sufficient work to classify the foreign and historical estimates as current Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves in accordance with the JORC Code.

- It is uncertain that, following evaluation and/or further exploration work, that the above foreign and historical estimates will be able to be reported as Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves in accordance with the JORC Code.