THE DRILL SERGEANT: Comet Resources (ASX: CRL) has received results from ongoing test work on natural flake graphite from the company’s Springdale graphite project in Western Australia.

Comet Resources reported that both excellent grade and recoveries were achieved from initial tests, leading to commencement of work to produce a bulk sample for further testing.

The company explained that graphite concentrates previously produced had demonstrated a unique and potentially valuable characteristic in its small size distribution, with two-thirds of the product passing the 38-micron size fraction screen.

Generally, this small size fraction of graphite is a by-product of processing of larger flake fractions, which produces smaller size graphite, but in doing so also damages the smaller flake material in the process, reducing their performance and value.

Deposits, like Springdale could potentially be, that contain high quality ultra-fine graphite are uncommon and are potentially suitable for supplying the expanding battery anode market, which continues to grow as the sales of electric vehicles (EVs) increase.

Graphite suitable for battery anode production also achieves premium pricing in graphite markets, making it a highly sought-after product.

Once the bulk sample of Springdale graphite concentrate is produced it will be forwarded to a specialist lab in Germany where it will be assessed for, among other properties, the performance of the graphite during purification, micronisation and spheronisation.

These are the key steps for the processing of natural graphite products for EV battery anode specification markets.

Comet’s German lab partners will simulate these to test Springdale’s product suitability to meet industry standards in all these areas.

“The results of this ongoing test work will determine the suitability of the natural flake graphite from Springdale for use in the manufacture of battery anodes for electric vehicles,” Comet Resources managing director Matthew O’Kane said in the company’s ASX announcement.

“Earlier tests have demonstrated the graphite from Springdale is quite a rare product due to its very small flake size, which could make it ideally suited for anode production.

“This next stage of specialised testing will hopefully confirm this.”

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Email: comet@cometres.com.au

Web: www.cometres.com.au

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Comet Resources (ASX: CRL) announced further results from recent diamond drilling conducted at the company’s Springdale graphite project near Hopetoun in southern West Australia.

Comet Resources declared diamond drill hole HD022 had intersected up to:

16.95 metres at 16.55 per cent Total Graphitic Carbon (TGC) from 29.2m downhole, including 9m @ 26.88 per cent TGC from 30m.

The company said the drilling had encountered values up to 41 per cent TGC and that intends using the diamond drill core to provide bulk sample for upcoming priority metallurgical test work.

Comet said the results confirm excellent high-grade continuity of the North Zone graphite mineralisation.

“We have more, fantastic grades which confirm the continuity of our broad zones of high-grade graphite mineralisation in the fold-closure of the Northern Area,” Comet Resources CEO Philippa Leggat said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“These results are pretty exciting when viewed in context of the electromagnetic survey data and the shallow, high-grade targets in the surrounding, fold closure.

“This drilling program is the first diamond drilling in the northern zone, assisting our understanding of the mineralisation, confirming the previous RC results and building towards a resource upgrade.”

The Resources Roadhouse interviewed Phillippa Leggat at the recent 2019 Brisbane Resources Round-up

Comet explained the recent diamond core drilling program has been designed to primarily provide bulk sample material for detailed metallurgical test work as well as provide geological, and structural information on the high-grade graphite mineralisation at the Northern and Western Resource areas.

Hole HD022 was completed on the western side of the North zone was targeted to both infill existing RC drilling on the section and to scissor earlier RC drill hole HR060.

The company considers Total Graphitic Carbon assays for both scissor holes at the intersection point to be very similar and confirm that there is good grade consistency between RC and diamond drill holes.

Email: comet@cometres.com.au

Web: www.cometres.com.au

THE DRILL SERGEANT: Comet Resources (ASX: CRL) has identified a large, priority exploration target immediately to the north east of the company’s existing Springdale graphite resource in Western Australia.

Comet Resources believes the target could be a fold repeat of graphite-bearing stratigraphy that hosts the current high-grade Springdale resource that consists a defined Inferred Resource of 15.6 million tonnes at 6 per cent total graphitic carbon (TGC), including a high-grade portion of 2.6 million tonnes at 17.5 per cent TGC.

The company’s interpretation of a recent regional aeromagnetic survey identified a potential fold-repeat of graphite-bearing stratigraphy eight kilometres east-north-east of the defined resources.

The scale of the folding presents a target of approximately seven square kilometres.

The target sits in a similar, favourable fold-closure position to the one that already hosts the high-grade graphite resource.

Comet said its ability to target shallow, high-grade graphite mineralisation using electromagnetic surveys (EM) was confirmed during its February drilling campaign with the discovery of two new zones.

The company’s exploration to date has focussed on the fold closure of a northeast-southwest trending syncline.

Recent interpretation of the regional aeromagnetic survey has highlighted a potential fold-repeat of graphite-bearing stratigraphy to the east-north-east of the existing resource.

Comet plans to use EM as a high-grade targeting tool to test the newly identified area.

“We don’t yet know if we have found the highest-grade areas of graphite mineralisation at Springdale,” Comet Resources CEO Philippa Leggat said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The highest intercept of one metre at 48 per cent TGC was retuned in our February drilling program.

“The two new discoveries made in the program are outside the current resource and clearly confirmed the potential to use EM to target the high-grade zones near surface, and that is really quite exciting.

“We already have an Inferred Resource of 2.6 million tonnes at 17.5 per cent TGC on less than ten percent of our licence, mostly within 60 metres of surface, and this is before we look at the potential that a fold repeat could deliver.

“Moving forward, we see EM helping to identify the highest grade in new areas and around the existing resource, so that we can cost-effectively upgrade the high-grade component of our project.”

Email: comet@cometres.com.au

Website: www.cometres.com.au