South Star Announces Successful Purification of BamaStar Graphite Project in Alabama, U.S.A. to Battery Grade Purity

Rhea-AI Summary

South Star Battery Metals (TSXV:STS, OTCQB:STSBF) has successfully purified graphite from its BamaStar Graphite Project in Alabama to 99.95% fixed carbon, suitable for lithium-ion batteries and other value-add applications. The company is advancing a process for producing coated, spheronized, purified graphite (CSPG) using standard technology. These results will be included in the upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), due in September 2024.

South Star's strategy involves producing high-quality graphite concentrates from its Santa Cruz Graphite Mine in Brazil starting in 2024, while developing value-added products from both Santa Cruz and BamaStar, with commercial sales planned by Q4 2026. The company aims to become a vertically integrated supplier in the Americas, addressing the need for secure, diversified supply chains in the battery industry.

Positive

• Successfully purified BamaStar graphite to 99.95% fixed carbon, suitable for lithium-ion batteries
• Advancing process for producing CSPG using standard technology
• Planned production of high-quality graphite concentrates from Santa Cruz Mine in Brazil by 2024
• Commercial sales of value-added products planned by Q4 2026
• Positioning as a vertically integrated supplier in the Americas to address secure supply chain needs

Negative

• None.

Highlights:

• BamaStar natural flake graphite concentrate was successfully upgraded to 99.95% fixed carbon, which is suitable for lithium-ion batteries and a variety of other value-add applications.

• South Star is advancing a process flowsheet for producing coated, spheronized, purified graphite ("CSPG") using commercially available equipment and industry standard, proven technology with no special products or proprietary intellectual property.

• The purification test results will be incorporated into the upcoming National Instrument 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA"), which is scheduled for publication in September 2024.

• South Star's immediate go-to-market commercial strategy is to produce high-quality graphite concentrates from Santa Cruz Graphite Mine in Brazil beginning in 2024 for a variety of industrial applications and sectors. Concurrently, technical product-development programs are continuing to advance the Company's vertically integrated midstream and downstream product suite for value-added applications using graphite concentrates from both Santa Cruz and BamaStar, with commercial sales planned by Q4 2026.

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2024 / SOUTH STAR BATTERY METALS CORP. ("South Star" or the "Company") (TSXV:STS)(OTCQB:STSBF) is pleased to announce the positive purification results using a classic chemical purification process with its technology partner, Dorfner Anzaplan GMBH ("Anzaplan"). Chemical purification is the proven industry standard, which is currently the primary scalable, commercially-viable technology in use for improving the quality of concentrate graphite for a broad range of value-add applications, including lithium-ion batteries ("LiB"). Further to the March 23, 2024 press release, the purification test results will be incorporated into the upcoming PEA, which is scheduled for publication in September 2024.

Multiple kilograms of run-of-mine, natural flake graphite concentrate from the BamaStar Graphite Project ("BamaStar") with an average fixed carbon content of 93.47%, were purified to 99.95% C at Anzaplan's laboratory in Hirschau, Germany. The excellent purification results prove the material can be upgraded to a purity that is suitable for a broad range of battery applications including, alkaline, lead-acid and LiB, as well as value-add applications such as conductivity enhancement materials, expandable/expanded graphite, brushes, foils and gaskets. Additionally, the initial tests are unoptimized and resulted in extremely pure graphitic carbon with low levels of contaminants, as well as ease and flexibility of upgrading using dilute reagents. Additional test work, studies and optimizations are ongoing.

Richard Pearce, President and CEO of South Star, commented: "We are pleased to announce these exciting purification results for BamaStar, as part of the upcoming PEA study. Both our projects have now proven their suitability to attain purified grades suitable for LiBs and other value-add applications. In multiple conversations with LiB battery manufacturers, they all emphasize a similar message for potential anode suppliers. They are looking for solid partners that have scalable projects in secure jurisdictions and can provide similar anode products to their current materials secured from Asia using simple, proven technologies and production flowsheets. They also want alternative production locations in the Americas and Europe to ensure a more secure, more diversified supply chain. South Star is proud of its accomplishments at Santa Cruz as the first new graphite producer in the Americas since 1996, with production planned for Q3 2024. Our team is executing the Company's strategic plan of bringing vertically integrated, phased/modular production in the Americas of midstream and downstream products in a disciplined, technically viable and profitable business plan with commercial sales planned by 2026."

South Star has a go-to-market commercial strategy to offer an extremely high-quality graphite concentrates from Santa Cruz in Brazil to a broad array of possible markets and sectors in 2024. Concurrently, technical product-development programs are continuing to advance the Company's vertically integrated midstream and downstream product suite for value-added applications -- specifically, battery-graphite products, including specialty Coated Spherical Purified Graphite ("CSPG" or "Active Anode Material") for lithium-ion ("Li-ion") battery applications and conductivity-enhancement products applicable to all commercial primary and secondary battery chemistries.

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ABOUT DORFNER ANZAPLAN GMBH

Dorfner is a leading European specialty minerals producer delivering high-quality mineral products to different industries. ANZAPLAN was founded in 1985 to become the most independent venture within the Dorfner group of companies while concentrating the group's analytical and engineering know-how to serve external customers. Extensive know-how in specialty minerals processing, including liberation of fine-grained minerals, separation, flotation, and mechanical, chemical, and thermal modification derived from more than a century of day-to-day processing experience at Dorfner, has been successfully applied in the processing of various graphite raw materials. Furthermore, Dorfner has detailed expertise in advanced chemical and thermal purification, upgrading graphite concentrates to >99.9% purity levels. Today Dorfner is a specialist with a strong focus on specialty minerals and metals businesses (e.g. graphite, lithium minerals, rare-earth elements, high purity quartz), providing a one-stop-shop solution across all phases of the economic evaluation and process development -- with technological expertise from its laboratories, test-center and pilot-plant processing facilities including basic and advanced engineering services.

Purification processes including mechanical, chemical, and thermal-refinement technologies are key elements in ANZAPLAN's and Dorfner's daily business to efficiently remove impurities by targeting high-value products. ANZAPLAN's experience in the processing of graphite includes extensive test work carried out for several different projects including flake and hydrothermal vein graphite deposits as well as processing of synthetic graphite.

About South Star Battery Metals Corp.

South Star is a Canadian battery-metals project developer focused on the selective acquisition and development of near-term production projects in the Americas. South Star's Santa Cruz Graphite Project, located in Southern Bahia, Brazil is the first of a series of industrial- and battery-metals projects that will be put into production. Brazil is the second-largest graphite-producing region in the world with more than 80 years of continuous mining. Santa Cruz has at-surface mineralization in friable materials, and successful large-scale pilot-plant testing (> 30 tonnes) has been completed. The results of the testing show that approximately 65% of graphite concentrate is +80 mesh with good recoveries and 95%-99% graphitic carbon (Cg). With excellent infrastructure and logistics, South Star is fully funded for Phase 1, and the construction and commissioning are underway. Santa Cruz will be the first new graphite production in the Americas since 1996, with Phase 1 commercial production projected in Q3 2024. Phase 2 production (25,000 tonnes / year) is partially funded and planned for 2026, while Phase 3 (50,000 tonnes / year) is scheduled for 2028.

South Star's second project in the development pipeline is strategically located in Alabama, U.S.A. in the center of a developing electric-vehicle, aerospace, and defense hub in the southeastern United States. The BamaStar Project includes a historic mine active during the First and Second World Wars. A NI 43-101 guided technical report with the maiden resource estimate has been filed on SEDAR. Trenching, Phase 1 drilling, sampling, analysis, and preliminary metallurgical testing have been completed. The testing included a traditional crush/grind/flotation concentration circuit that achieved grades of approximately 94-99% Cg with approximately 90% recoveries. The vertically integrated production facilities include a mine and industrial concentrator in Coosa County, AL and a downstream value-add plant in the Southeast U.S., which will be upgrading natural flake graphite concentrates from both Santa Cruz and BamaStar mines. South Star is executing on its plan to create a multi-asset, diversified battery-metals company with near-term operations in strategic jurisdictions. South Star trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol STS, and on the OTCQB under the symbol STSBF.

South Star is committed to a corporate culture, project execution plan and safe operations that embrace the highest standards of ESG principles, based on transparency, stakeholder engagement, ongoing education, and stewardship. To learn more, please visit the Company website at http://www.southstarbatterymetals.com.

This news release has been reviewed and approved by Richard Pearce, P.E., a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101 and President and CEO of South Star Battery Metals Corp.

On behalf of the South Star Board of Directors,

MR. RICHARD L. PEARCE,
President & Chief Executive Officer

For additional information, please contact:

South Star Investor Relations
Email: invest@southstarbatterymetals.com
Phone: +1 (604) 706-0212
Website: www.southstarbatterymetals.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/southstarbm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southstarbatterymetals
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/southstarbatterymetals/
YouTube: South Star Battery Metals - YouTube

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to statements regarding moving Santa Cruz into production and scaling operations as well as advancing the Alabama project; and the Company's plans and expectations.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.

SOURCE: South Star Battery Metals Corp.

View the original press release on accesswire.com

FAQ

What purity level did South Star Battery Metals (STSBF) achieve for its BamaStar graphite?

South Star Battery Metals successfully purified BamaStar graphite to 99.95% fixed carbon, which is suitable for lithium-ion batteries and other value-add applications.

When is South Star Battery Metals (STSBF) planning to start graphite production at Santa Cruz Mine?

South Star Battery Metals plans to start producing high-quality graphite concentrates from its Santa Cruz Graphite Mine in Brazil in 2024.

When is the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for South Star Battery Metals' (STSBF) BamaStar project expected?

The Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for South Star Battery Metals' BamaStar project is scheduled for publication in September 2024.

What is South Star Battery Metals' (STSBF) timeline for commercial sales of value-added graphite products?

South Star Battery Metals plans to begin commercial sales of value-added graphite products by Q4 2026.