THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 10, 2013) - Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. ("Zenyatta" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:ZEN) is pleased to announce results from testing at a prominent Canadian university to define crystallinity and surface area characteristics of Zenyatta's high purity Albany graphite.
Crystallinity - A sample of Zenyatta's graphite was examined with a high resolution scanning electron microscope ('SEM'). The SEM images reveal a highly crystalline structure with surfaces of individual grains of graphite being essentially platy or flat. Photographs can be viewed at the following link SEM images or on the Company's website at www.zenyatta.ca under the heading Graphite/Photo Gallery.
Don Hains, P. Geo. industrial minerals specialist and advisor to Zenyatta stated "SEM Photos show highly crystalline graphite with no contaminants and a very high aspect ratio (length verses thickness). These images closely resemble micrographs of commercial grade synthetic graphite as published by major synthetic graphite producers. The typical particle size from the SGS bench scale processing was in the 7 - 46 micron range."
A high degree of crystallinity results in various positive qualities that graphite is known for such as electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, compressibility, dimension stability, bending strength and lubricity.
Surface Area - The university also provided a BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) analysis of the Company's high-purity graphite. BET testing is widely used in surface science for the calculation of surface areas of solids. The surface area of graphite is an important physical property for electronics, Li-ion batteries, various other batteries, super-capacitors, sensors and catalysts to name just a few applications.
Don Hains, P. Geo. stated, "The BET results indicate very high quality natural graphite matching high purity synthetic graphite in terms of surface area. Also, the average pore diameter for the Zenyatta material shows the unit cells are the same as determined for pure natural graphite."
BET data are within range of typical high grade synthetic graphite powder. It is also worth emphasizing that the measurements were performed on unmilled graphite material produced from the initial caustic bake process development tests. Further work to optimize the process conditions and to prepare materials to meet target customer specifications is underway and will result in production of a range of grades with varying BET, particle size, particle size distribution and particle morphology characteristics.
Aubrey Eveleigh, President and CEO commented, "This new data on the physical characteristics of the Albany graphite is consistent with the results of the recent work on resistivity and shows the high quality nature of the Albany graphite which could be suitable for a wide range of high technology applications presently served by synthetic graphite."
Zenyatta will continue to test the characteristics of the Albany graphite at various laboratory facilities in the U.S., Europe and Canada where the required instrumentation is available. Additional test results will be reported when received.
Zenyatta continues to explore its 100% owned Albany (Hydrothermal) Graphite Deposit located in northern Ontario, Canada, and anticipates releasing additional drill results in the near-term. A NI 43-101 resource estimate by RPA is scheduled for mid 4Q/13 (November), and the Company remains well funded. A Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) is expected to be concluded in 1Q/14. In preparation for a PEA, Roskill Information Services Ltd. has been retained to undertake a detailed world graphite marketing study and SGS Canada Inc. are to provide an optimized flow sheet after processing a 5 tonne mini-bulk sample.
Zenyatta's Albany graphite deposit is located 30km north of the Trans Canada Highway, power line and natural gas pipeline near the communities of Constance Lake First Nation and Hearst in northern Ontario, Canada. A rail line is located 70km away and an all-weather road approximately 4-5km from the graphite deposit. The deposit is near surface, underneath glacial till overburden and a thin veneer of Paleozoic sedimentary cover rocks.
The outlook for the global graphite market is very promising with demand growing rapidly from new applications. It is now considered one of the more strategic elements by many leading industrial nations, particularly for its growing importance in high technology manufacturing and in the emerging "green" industries such as electric vehicle components. The application for graphitic material is constantly evolving due to its unique chemical, electrical and thermal properties. It maintains its stability and strength under temperatures in excess of 3,500°C and is very resistant to chemical corrosion. It is also one of the lightest of all reinforcing elements and has high natural lubricating abilities. Some of these key physical and chemical properties make it critical to modern industry. The world trend is to develop products for technological applications that need extraordinary performance using ultra-high purity graphite powders.
Mr. Aubrey Eveleigh, P. Geo., President & CEO of Zenyatta Ventures Ltd., and Mr. Don Hains, P.Geo, Zenyatta's technical advisor are the "Qualified Persons" under National Instrument 43-101 and have reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. To find out more on Zenyatta Ventures Ltd., please visit website www.zenyatta.ca.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward looking information and Zenyatta cautions viewers that forward looking information is based on certain assumptions and risk factors exist that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations of Zenyatta included in this news release. This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements", which often, but not always, can be identified by the use of words such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan" . These statements are based on information currently available to Zenyatta and Zenyatta provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements with respect to Zenyatta's future plans, objectives or goals, to the effect that Zenyatta or management expects a stated condition or result to occur, including the expected timing for release of drill results, a resource estimate and a PEA, the expected uses for graphite in the future, and the future uses of the graphite from Zenyatta's Albany deposit. The Company plans to carry out much more testing of the Albany graphite. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results relating to, among other things, results of exploration, project development, reclamation and capital costs of Zenyatta's mineral properties, and Zenyatta's financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for minerals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological and operational difficulties encountered in connection with Zenyatta's activities; and other matters discussed in this News Release and in filings made with securities regulators. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of Zenyatta's forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on Zenyatta's forward-looking statements. Zenyatta does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by Zenyatta or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Contact Information:
807-346-1660
info@zenyatta.ca
www.zenyatta.ca