Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 22, 2016) - ELCORA ADVANCED MATERIALS CORP. (TSXV: ERA) (OTCQB: ECORF) (FSE: ELM), (the "Company" or "Elcora"), is pleased to announce that the company is in the process of completing the engineering of a 2,000 tpa (tonne per annum) demonstration plant to produce lithium ion battery graphite anode base material by the end of 2016. Current market price for this material ranges between $10,000-$15,000 USD per ton. This plant will use the Elcora proprietary technologies, which proved cost effective and ecological, announced in our Press Release dated October 16, 2016 - Building and advanced testing of industry standard 18650 lithium ion batteries.
Site selection in North America is currently underway with the objective to begin construction in early 2017 and to be completed by fall 2017. To the best of our knowledge, there are currently no other commercial anode grade graphite producers in North America. The plant will be used to confirm performance at an industrial scale, leading to the establishment of a 20,000 tpa graphite material facility. Financing for the development and construction of the pilot plant is being pursued with strategic partners and government agency grants with the objectives of optimizing resources and being the least dilutive to shareholders.
We are also currently confirming the performance of graphite from two different mines, one in Africa and the other in Europe, in addition to the operational Joint Venture mine in Sri-Lanka, to supply additional high quality graphite feed material. The Company has ten-year term renewable signed contracts to purchase graphite feed material, contingent upon successful testing, from these two entities.
"This move is part of Elcora's vertical integration strategy of added value processing to maximize returns to shareholders" said Troy Grant, Elcora's President and CEO.
New data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence forecasts the anode market — which is nearly exclusively served by naturally sourced spherical graphite and synthetically produced graphite — to increase from 80,000 tpa in 2015 to at least 250,000 tpa by the end of 2020 while the market could be as large as 400,000 tpa in the most bullish of cases with no supply restrictions as global cell production surges on the back of maturing pure electric vehicle demand and the inception of the utility storage market.
Investments in new lithium ion battery capacity out to 2020 are in excess of $12bn and rising according to Benchmark data. This is set to have a significant impact on demand for graphite anode base material as cell manufacturers seek to lock up long term supplies of the material.
Ian Flint, Ph.D., P.Eng., is the Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 who has reviewed and is responsible for the technical information presented in this news release.
About Elcora Advanced Materials
Elcora was founded in 2011 and has been structured to become a vertically integrated graphite & graphene company that mines, refines, and processes graphite, and produces graphene. The company's products are then used to manufacture battery grade anode graphite and to develop future graphene based and/or enriched high tech products such as graphene enhanced silicon anodes for lithium ion batteries. As part of this vertical integration strategy, Elcora has secured high-grade graphite and graphene precursor graphite from its interest in the operation of the Ragedara mine in Sri Lanka which is already in production. Elcora has developed a unique low cost effective processes to make high quality battery grade and battery form graphite and graphene at commercial scale. This combination means that Elcora has vertically integrated. the tools and resources required to produce graphite, micro-graphite and graphene.
For further information please visit the company's website at http://www.elcoracorp.com
For further information please contact: Troy Grant, Director, President and CEO, Elcora Resources Corp., T: +1 902 802-8847 F: +1 902 446-2001.