Mars_2050
30 Apr 2016
Energy storage market The energy storage market is expected to expand rapidly in the coming years [link]
Mars_2050
29 Apr 2016
Tirupati - Major Producer India [link] Top Graphite-producing CountriesThursday April 07, 2016 Graphite is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity, and also has the highest strength of any natural material. However, it wasn’t until recently that the metal began to gain popularity.Interest in graphite is increasing in large part because lithium -ion batteries, which are used in everything from phones to modern vehicles, are becoming more and more common. Graphite is a key component of those batteries, and as their use increases, graphite production is only expected to rise.On that note, it’s interesting to look at which country is the largest producer of graphite. In 2015, China took the top spot by a wide margin, with India and Brazil coming in second and third, respectively. Here’s a brief overview of graphite production in those countries and in the other top graphite-producing nations last year. All stats are based on the most recent graphite report from the US Geological Survey .1. ChinaMine production: 780,000 MTAs mentioned, China is the world’s largest graphite producer. In 2015, it put out 780,000 MT of the metal, the same amount it produced in 2014. According to the US Geological Survey , it accounted for 66 percent of world graphite production last year, and consumed 35 percent.Despite China’s current stranglehold on the graphite market, investors shouldn’t necessarily expect the Asian nation’s dominance to continue forever. That’s because in recent years the country has made an effort to streamline graphite production, with part of the process being to take polluting producers offline. While originally some were expected to come back online, weak graphite market conditions have hampered that process .2. IndiaMine production: 170,000 MTIndia produced much less graphite than China in 2015, but is still the world’s second-largest graphite producer. Its total output last year came to 170,000 MT, the same amount it put out in 2014.The country’s graphite reserves vary widely from state to state — as this Industrial Minerals article from 2014 shows, the highest are in Arunachal Pradesh , which holds 43 percent of India’s graphite reserves. The country has eight main graphite producers, including TIRUPATI Carbon & Graphite, Chotanagpur Graphite Industries and Carbon & Graphite Products.
Mars_2050
28 Apr 2016
Samsung - 1 Trillion Li-ion Battery development APRIL 26, 2016Interesting..."So when we tell you that Samsung SDI has just sold its fuel cell division because it is simply unprofitable (and presumably has no long-term chance of making a profit), we think the facts speak for themselves. Add in the news that it is also preparing to invest an additional ₩1 Trillion ($870 million) in lithium-ion battery technology"“We will invest 3 trillion won in the [electric] car battery business by 2020 to make it one of the globally best businesses in the industry,” Samsung SDI chief executive Cho Nam-seong said earlier this year during a Samsung SDI shareholder meeting. While not quite the level of investment being planned by California automaker Tesla Motors and its lithium-ion technology partner Panasonic in the massive Gigafactory, Samsung’s planned investment should not be sneezed at.With global electric car sales on the rise and more and more demand for longer-range electric cars, there’s plenty of space in the electric car battery market for Samsung SDI to turn a healthy profit. With its Ulsan and Xian production facilities already producing enough lithium-ion cells for 200,000 electric cars per year — many of which are used in BMW electric cars — Samsung is perfectly poised to benefit from increased electric car battery demand.[link] 10x more graphite needed for electric vehicles batteries than lithium GLA
Mars_2050
27 Apr 2016
Great watch - Clean disruption Clean Disruption - Why Energy & Transportation will be Obsolete by 2030 ... [link] If you haven't already watched this video making the rounds on the Lithium threads, have a look at the trends converging in the coming decade.I first saw Tony Seba making this presentation in 2014. I shared this video he gave in Norway, as it's important to have a bigger picture (world view) to understand the drivers of the funding flows.Tony Seba is an esteemed Stanford University professor who Studied computer science at MIT before completing an MBA at Stanford. He worked at Cisco Systems in the late 80's to early 90's and saw the beginnings of the Internet. I'm of the view that his thesis outlined in this video is pretty much how things will play out in the coming decade. EV adoption will follow an S curve once they are cheaper to manufacture than ICE cars. With autos wanting to make more profits with EV's in the 2020's, combustion engines will struggle to compete with a superior product.On Monday the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince (King's son), announced their plan for the 'post-oil' era. The money we all donate weekly to the Saudi Royals and other potentates in the Gulf is ending with our hard earned staying in our own economies. This is good for the US, EU, China, India and others who work to create value.The transition is capital intensive but once the photo voltaics and lithium ion batteries are paid off, the fuel is essentially free. 2040, the prospect of free energy and mobility isn't out of the question. If somebody in 1990 told you that data would be near free in 2016, you would laugh.The lithium boom is just beginning as the energy and automotive industries are the biggest in the world and reliant on dirty fossil fuels. The long game is the right one in this case.Stratmin/Tirupati are comitted to enter high margin graphite product business and look at micronised graphite which is a precursor for lithium-ion battery and enter directly the graphite energy storage market.Happy holding.
Mars_2050
26 Apr 2016
Recognia: Bullish MACD pattern [link]
Mars_2050
26 Apr 2016
Re: Going up? Market price well below placing price. Directors have been willing to loan their own money on an unsecured basis. There is value in this company hence why Investors bought last few trading days!Now we have the new deal to look forward to - massively undervalued at the moment IMO. All to play for. GLA
Day_Tripper
25 Apr 2016
Going up? Haven't been paying much attention to this one lately but see it's up 30% today - was oversold I guess!Still some way to go to get back to my break-even.Not really sure what to make of the recent announcement regarding the Bass deal otherwise I'd be tempted to average down at these levels.
Mars_2050
24 Apr 2016
Aussie forum comments "London loosing the plot. UK Stratmin at 1.5p, market cap $4.5m valued less than Bass.These AIMers must be mad. No wonder Stratmin directors wanted ASX funding.Might buy some straminco shares".========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========="Yeah it is highly likely that they were never going to get the necessary funding without Bass having full control of the asset. This deal should pave the way for the funding required to take this to the next level. Stratmin will probably still end up having have a very large share of Bass as the second tranche payment requirements should be met this year I believe".========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========="Agree, "someone" mentioned 2nd tranche september. Deal announcement next week, Patterson report to follow. Asbury, AMG GK, RHI AG, India offtakes..."
Mars_2050
23 Apr 2016
Stratmin/Tirupati QuestionWill Shishir Poddar still be Ops Director after takeover?What's the thinking on Stratmin/Tirupati vertically integrated added value future?I asked the question to CEO, he said the only real change after the Bass deal was ownership, the technical development of the second mine would still be done by Stratmin (raises the question about whether we would see any fees for that or whether fees were priced into the deal).The really interesting question, assuming the Bass deal goes through as it does currently seem to be the least worst option for financing this (bar a white knight) is what Stratmin will do. I an obvious guess would be a formalisation of the Stratmin/Tirupati partnership for sales and verticals but I have no prior knowledge
pally66
22 Apr 2016
Mars Many thanks for your tireless work on digging up informationkeep it comingCheers Pally
Mars_2050
21 Apr 2016
Types of graphite GRAPHITE INVESTINGTypes of Graphite: Amorphous, Flake and VeinThe graphite space can be tough for investors to navigate. Getting a grasp on it involves knowing a little about the different types of graphite.Charlotte McLeod • April 18, 2016Graphite has a layered, planar structure, with carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice. It’s because of this unique structure that graphite has such a stellar combination of properties — for example, it’s flexible, highly refractory, chemically alert and has high thermal and electrical conductivity.Those characteristics allow graphite to be used in a variety of places, including brake linings, foundry operations, lubricants, refractory applications and steelmaking. However, not all graphite is suitable for all applications. Indeed, there are three main types of graphite, and in many cases specific applications require one type in particular.Here’s a brief look at those three types of graphite and how they’re used in the world today.Types of Graphite: Flake graphiteFlake graphite occurs as isolated, flat, plate-like particles with either hexagonal or angular edges. It is found in metamorphic rocks — such as limestone, gneiss and schist — either uniformly distributed through the body of the ore or in concentrated, lens-shaped pockets.Today, flake graphite is the type of graphite that those in the industry are most interested in. That’s because it’s the type of graphite that Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) will require for its lithium-ion battery gigafactory; other companies with megafactories in the works will also need it.Flake graphite comes in four basic sizes: jumbo, large, medium and fine. And while it can be tough to understand how they differ and how they relate to purity, it’s important for graphite-focused investors to get a handle on those topics.According to Stephen Riddle, CEO of privately owned Asbury Carbons, a supplier of carbon and graphite products for various industrial applications, industry standards for flake size are as follows:Jumbo flake: +35 mesh or +500 micronsLarge flake: -35 mesh by 50 mesh or -300 microns by 500 micronsMedium flake: -50 mesh by 80 mesh or -150 microns by 300 micronsFine flake: -80 mesh and finerSpeaking to the Investing News Network (INN), Riddle said that when those in the graphite space refer to “good” flake size, they’re usually referring to “a graphite deposit or graphite mine [that] is projected to have a high percentage of its total graphite concentrate with flakes greater than 80 mesh — and preferably including some +50 mesh and even possibly some +35 mesh.”He added that it’s important to consider whether a company has reached those numbers after flotation “because a lot of times during flotation graphite mines break down the flakes in order to get the purity level required by the market.”In terms of how purity fits into the mix, Riddle said that in general, “the higher the purity of the graphite concentrate, the higher the average realistic FOB mine selling price tends to be.” Essentially, a purer product will likely require less processing, and thus will cost the producer less money to make.Overall, then, it would appear that large-flake, high-purity graphite is the most desirable product for a company to have. However, Andrew Miller of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence has explained that the equation is not always that simple. “Quite often because of the niche requirements of each industry … they have very specific criteria. For some industries purity is more important, and for other industries flake size is more important,” he told INN.For instance, for the spherical graphite industry “purity and the shape of the particle are both key factors.” Meanwhile, for the refractories industry flake size is the overriding price influencer. “It’s not … clear cut,” Miller noted. “There’s no exact perfect grade out there — but there’s a need to tailor what you produce for the market.
Mars_2050
15 Apr 2016
Re: CEO BB Interview Dorset check your email.
Mars_2050
15 Apr 2016
Graphite mine to market Focus Graphite: Graphite Mine to MarketResources Wire | Jay CurrieTuesday, Apr. 12, 2016In the graphite space finding a graphite deposit is not the hard part. The hard part is finding the right sort of graphite, understanding how to make it ready for sale and recognizing that graphite is the precursor of the miracle material, graphene.Focus Graphite (V.FMS) has known for several years it has a significant graphite deposit at its 100%-owned Lac Knife Graphite Project in the Province of Quebec. This is a high grade, natural flake graphite deposit and is widely acknowledged as a world class graphite mine prospect.However, for Gary Economo, CEO of Focus, the Lac Knife deposit is the beginning of a much larger story. On the one side there is the promise of the booming Li-ion battery world. Here, pure spherical graphite is in increasing demand as the Tesla battery gigafactory nears completion and other huge Li-ion battery facilities come online. (People often forget that there is six times more graphite in a Li-ion battery than there is lithium.) On the other side there is a huge opportunity in the graphene space as more and more applications are commercialized for this extraordinary material.For Economo, keeping the publically traded Focus Graphite aimed squarely at securing the offtake agreements required to make the Lac Knife deposit into viable graphite mine is a priority. So is leveraging the technology embedded in the Focus investee private company Grafoid Inc.On March 23 Focus announced a Memorandum of Understanding had been reached between Grafoid and Xiamen Tungsten, a Chinese company with revenues of 1.55 billion a year derived from its position as one of China’s leading tungsten and other non-ferrous metals firms. Xiamen also has substantial interests in the rare earths space as well as significant exposure to the supply of battery materials. Per the MOU, Xiamen will acquire up to a 20% equity position in Grafoid and, as part of that transaction, will purchase up to 7,000,000 Grafoid common shares currently held by Focus Graphite.In the press release announcing the MOU Economo stated:“In addition to providing Grafoid with a strategic partner, Grafoid’s MOU with Xiamen, has benefits for Focus Graphite. When finalized, it will provide additional funding to allow us to advance our overall mine and transformation plant financing, and potentially open the China market to Focus Graphite for additional offtake partners and the sale of value added graphite products.”“Specifically, this injection of funding could enable Focus Graphite to advance our Lac Knife detailed engineering and finalize the environmental permitting process. And, it enables us to move to the next stage in assembling our mine CAPEX financing.”In our interview Economo explained the background to the proposed transaction. “The Chinese government is moving towards making the commercialization of graphene a national priority. At the same time the government wants China to get out of graphite and into graphene.”“Grafoid and Focus have been approached by over a dozen Chinese companies. They like the Grafoid model of “mine to market”. We’re not just making graphene, we’re making end user products.” said Economo. “For Xiamen an investment in Grafoid makes sense. The world market for tungsten is getting softer as incandescent light bulbs are being replaced with LEDs. They see graphene as the way to go.”“We hope to close this deal in the next couple of months.” explained Economo. “It has two main parts: the financing element which will let Focus move forward and the commercialization of graphene applications in China and worldwide.”“We see three main areas for graphene and battery graphite commercialization: energy, coatings, and polymers. One the energy side we are looking at supplying battery grade natural graphite and we are looking at supercapacitors.”“Coatings involve using graphene’s amazing properties in s
Mars_2050
09 Apr 2016
CEO reply For those who are not in direct contact with him:Thank you for making contact.I am very restricted on any communication in an open deal period and I know how frustrating that is I am dying to get more information out.We have been working closely with our Broker, Optiva, and they will be able to shed some light soon hopefully.We are producing and selling and as advised we went into the southern extension to bulk test the ore in the Mahefedok zone. At this stage I cannot tell you any more.We do expect Patersons Securities, Bass brokers and advisors, to publish a full research initiation note for Bass in the very near future. This should help Stratmin shareholders understand the value potential of the deal.RegardsBrett
Mars_2050
08 Apr 2016
12 new Battery Megafactories coming TESLA WILL NEED A LOT OF GRAPHITE & LITHIUM (BUT CHINA WILL NEED MORE)7th April 2016Batteries, Powerwall, TeslaBenchmark Mineral IntelligenceBattery grade graphite and lithium demand could surge if pre-orders of Tesla Motors’ Model 3 are any indicator of sales between 2017 and 2021.Orders for Model 3 – which there is very little information on at the present, including the battery size – today reached 325,000 units.Analysts expected Tesla to secure between 30,000 to 60,000 orders on day one of Model 3 availability, however expectations were comfortably beaten when Elon Musk revealed 115,000 orders at the end of the official launch.As a comparison, in the first 24 hours of the Model S launch, Tesla received 300 reservations while the Model X reached 8,000 pre-orders in its opening day.It is important to note that pre-orders of this nature are not sales. However, the Model 3 numbers are significant as it addresses whether the wider public are prepared to buy pure electric vehicles and focuses the question on whether Tesla can deliver.How much lithium and graphite?There are many assumptions that are made when estimating Tesla’s raw material demand as it ramps up to becoming a mainstream vehicle manufacturer.These include: the size of Model 3’s battery, whether Tesla will use an NCA cathode, ramp up rate of the Gigafactory, bottlenecks in car manufacturing, and drop off in pre-orders versus the new ones that come in.Benchmark Mineral Intelligence estimates for Model 3 raw material consumption between now and 2021 are as follows:In 2021, based on Tesla manufacturing 150,000 Model 3 units, Benchmark estimates that the company will consume 10,800 tonnes of spherical graphite for its anodes and 7,200 tonnes of lithium hydroxide as a cathode raw material.In terms of battery raw materials: this is the equivalent of 44% of the world’s battery grade lithium hydroxide and 15% of the world’s spherical graphite consumption in 2015.Cumulatively, assuming today’s 325,000 Model 3 pre-orders convert into sales, over the next 5 years – a conservative number considering there is still 18 months before it is launched – the product line will consume a total of 23,400 tonnes of spherical graphite and 15,600 tonnes of lithium hydroxide.In 2015, 100% of the world's battery-grade spherical graphite is sourced in China (Benchmark Mineral Intelligence)In 2015, 100% of the world’s battery-grade spherical graphite was sourced in China (Benchmark Mineral Intelligence)What will Tesla’s average annual demand for vehicles be?Of course, this demand will not hit the market all at once.Tesla expects to produce 80-90,000 Model S and Model X vehicles in 2016, a significant increase on the 50,580 units it made in 2015.If Tesla is able to reach a production total 300,000 vehicles a year all with batteries ranging from 60kWh to 90kWh in capacity, its annual demand for spherical graphite in vehicles in 2021 will be over 26,000 tonnes a year.In the same period, the company’s lithium hydroxide consumption will be over 17,000 tonnes a year.This does not take into account Tesla Energy’s raw material consumption for its Powerwall and Powerpack utility batteries, which could be up an additional 40%.Then there is a question of stockpiling: how much will Tesla wish to stockpile?Lithium hydroxide would pose a problem if stored longer than 6 months; however spherical graphite can be stockpiled for some time.It would be fair to assume Tesla will require at least one year’s worth of stockpiled material where possible which could further increase its purchases by 25% a year from 2018-2021.Will Tesla have to compete with China’s megafactories?One thing is for certain, Tesla will become one of the largest purchasers of niche raw materials in the world. But with 70% of expected lithium ion battery demand coming from China, securing the necessary volumes will not be an easy feat.As of
