Mr. Ryan Shacklock reports

ZENTEK SUBSIDIARY ALBANY GRAPHITE CORP. PROVIDES UPDATE ON THERMAL PURIFICATION TESTWORK RESULTS

Further to Zentek Ltd.'s press release dated Jan. 8, 2025, that its wholly owned subsidiary, Albany Graphite Corp. (AGC), has received additional results from the fluidized bed reactor (FBR) testwork. These results indicate that rare-earth elements (REE) and other elements of interest can be recovered as a byproduct of the thermal purification process.

Highlights

• Purification was performed utilizing an FBR directly on a approximately 950-gram sample of the Albany flotation concentrate (85-per-cent total graphitic carbon (TGC)) with no intermediate hydrometallurgical steps and yielded 99.9991-per-cent purity.
• Impurity elements, including REEs, removed from the flotation concentrate during the purification process were collected and concentrated in the scrubber that handles all the FBR exhaust products.
• Zentek will continue to investigate the REE potential of the Albany graphite deposit and tailings.
• The company also plans on exploring both production and processing of graphite to create a battery-ready anode active material and a cathode conductivity enhancement material, as well as ultrahigh-purity graphite for nuclear applications.

As reported in Zentek's Jan. 8, 2025, press release, the company had contracted a manufacturing company specializing in industrial graphite and carbon to explore the direct purification of albany flotation concentrate (approximately 85 per cent TGC) using its proprietary continuous processing equipment. Zentek supplied a one-kilogram sample of the homogenized bulk flotation concentrate, which was characterized, aggregated into 3-D particles, and then run in an electrothermal FBR. As part of the characterization process, an elemental analysis (59 elements) was performed to identify the impurity elements. In its report, the manufacturing company noted that the feed material contained concentrations of REEs and other potential elements of value that could be recovered as part of the thermal purification process. Impurity elements, including the REEs, that were removed from the graphite during the purification process were collected and concentrated in a scrubber that handles all the FBR exhaust products.

Next steps

Zentek intends to continue to investigate the REE potential of the Albany graphite deposit and send samples of unprocessed Albany mineralization and tailings material for additional elemental analyses to verify their REE content and determine if there is any consistency within the two pipes, which REEs are enriched, and also provide an estimate of their average concentrations. Additional detailed sampling and verification would include analyzing the pulps and core from representative drill holes and the insertion of certified reference materials into the sample stream. It should be noted that the mineral resources and assay database do not currently include REE values and much detailed work is required before they can be considered.

Additionally, the ultrahigh-purity graphite will be evaluated for its suitability for both the lithium-ion battery and nuclear markets. This will require postprocessing of thermally purified graphite and its testing in battery cells, as well as against the specifications of commercially available nuclear industry graphite material. Zentek has received quotations from the manufacturing company to complete this testwork.

Greg Fenton, chief executive officer of Zentek and Albany Graphite, commented: "This is an exciting development as we continue to gather information on the potential of the Albany project. The REEs and other elements that could be recovered during the purification process and potentially from the tailings could be a new byproduct and help to offset the purification costs."

Peter Wood, PEng, PGeo, vice-president, development of AGC, a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the technical information contained in this news release.

Overview of the Albany graphite project

The Albany graphite project, an igneous-hosted fluid-derived graphite deposit located in Claim Block 4F, comprises 521 mining claims (461 single-cell claims and 60 boundary-cell claims) is at an advanced exploration stage. The project is located west of the communities of Constance Lake First Nation (CLFN) and Hearst, Ont., within 30 kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway, close to established infrastructure including roads, rail, power transmission lines and a natural gas pipeline.

About Zentek Ltd.

Zentek is an ISO 13485:2016-certified intellectual property technology company focused on the research, development and commercialization of novel products seeking to give the company's commercial partners a competitive advantage by making their products better, safer and greener.

Zentek's patented technology platform ZenGUARD is shown to have enhanced viral filtration efficiency for surgical masks and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems. Zentek's ZenGUARD production facility is located in Guelph, Ont.

Zentek has a global exclusive licence to the Aptamer-based platform technology developed by McMaster University which is being jointly developed Zentek and McMaster for both the diagnostic and therapeutic markets.

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