Zenyatta Ventures Ltd; University Of Sussex Successfully Enhances Performance Of Rubber Composites Using Zenyatta Graphene Derived From Albany Graphite

Zenyatta Ventures Ltd; University of Sussex Successfully Enhances Performance of Rubber Composites using Zenyatta Graphene Derived from Albany Graphite

08:00 EDT Thursday, April 06, 2017 

THUNDER BAY, ON --(Marketwired - April 06, 2017) - Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. ("Zenyatta" or "Company") (TSX VENTURE: ZEN) (OTCQX: ZENYF) is pleased to announce successful initial test results from research carried out by Dr. Alan Dalton at the University of Sussex, UK ("Sussex") using graphene converted from the Company's high-purity graphite. Sussex tested the use of Zenyatta graphene in rubber composite and emulsion applications. 

Rubber Composite Applications
Sussex easily exfoliated Zenyatta graphite via sonication to produce graphene which was then homogenously dispersed into a rubber composite. A several fold improvement in the electrical and thermal properties of the rubber composite along with increased strength and elasticity was realized by adding as little as 0.5% Zenyatta graphene. Sussex researchers have turned to nano-materials like graphene to develop high performance rubber composite sensors. The resulting material demonstrated impressive performance as sensors which can detect motions as subtle as those associated with breathing and pulse.

Dr. Alan Dalton, Professor of Experimental Physics at Sussex noted, "The exfoliation of Zenyatta graphite was very clean with the production of mostly monolayer and bilayer graphene." Dr. Dalton further stated, "Our initial results using Zenyatta graphene in rubber composites show exceptional motion sensitivity to mechanical stress which is critical for sensor applications. We will be investigating the use of these composites in several other applications in conjunction with the appropriate industrial partners."

Rubber composites with multiple properties have potential sensor applications in wearable sports clothing and medical devices as health monitors.

Dr. Bharat Chahar, VP Market Development for Zenyatta noted, "This further confirms the distinct and desirable properties of Albany graphite for conversion to graphene which was previously recognized by scientists in Israel, Japan and Canada. Dr. Chahar added that "We continue to find that the unique properties of our graphite enable easier production of consistently high quality and easily dispersible graphene which is opening doors for new and important applications, especially composites. Zenyatta recently achieved similar successful results using our graphene in concrete composites with Dr. Oren Regev at Ben-Gurion University."

The Company continues to provide high-purity graphite samples to potential end-users to allow them to assess the consistent quality of our material in their current graphene product developments.

Emulsion Applications
Scientists at Sussex have also developed techniques to produce solid-stabilized water-in-oil suspensions known as emulsions. Exfoliated graphite or graphene can be used as the stabilizing solid for these emulsions. These emulsions can then be used in new applications where the control of electrical and thermal properties is critical for performance. Examples of such applications include inkjet printing, thin wires, stress sensors and supercapacitors.

Sussex has developed a method to produce the graphene directly in the emulsion, but the homogeneity and yield of the Zenyatta produced graphene determined the success and usefulness of the suspension. In the past, the low yields and lack of homogenous graphene from other sources resulted in insufficient concentration of graphene and required further processing with a centrifuge. Recent results with Zenyatta's Albany graphite demonstrated superior homogenous graphene production with high yields thus allowing production of conductive liquid suspensions directly. These emulsions show excellent conductivity controls at graphene concentrations of approximately 1% or less. 

Sussex is a world-leading research university near Brighton, United Kingdom. The high quality research-led university delivers internationally recognized, high-quality research. Zenyatta and Sussex are now working to scale-up testing while developing plans to prove out the viability of applications. 

Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. is developing the Albany Graphite Deposit situated in northeastern Ontario, Canada. The deposit is a unique type of igneous-hosted, fluid-derived graphite mineralization contained in two large breccia pipes. The Company is seeking end users for their graphite and graphene and is working with several collaborative partners including the development of a graphene enhanced concrete. Other potential markets for graphite include Li-ion batteries, fuel cells and powder metallurgy. The outlook for the global graphite market is very promising with demand growing rapidly from new applications. It is now considered one of the more strategic elements by many leading industrial nations, particularly for its growing importance in high technology manufacturing and in the emerging "green" industries such as electric vehicle components.

The Albany graphite deposit is situated 30 km north of the Trans-Canada Highway, power line and natural gas pipeline near the communities of Constance Lake First Nation and Hearst. A rail line is located 70 km away with an all-weather road approximately 10 km from the graphite deposit. The world trend is to develop products for technological applications that need extraordinary performance using ultra-high purity graphite powder at an affordable cost. Albany graphite can be upgraded with very good crystallinity without the use of aggressive acids (hydrofluoric) or high temperature thermal treatment therefore having an environmental advantage over other types of upgraded high-purity graphite material.

Mr. Aubrey Eveleigh, P.Geo., Zenyatta's President and CEO, is the "Qualified Person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed, prepared and supervised the preparation of the technical information contained in this news release. For further information please visit the Company's website at www.zenyatta.ca or contact: Mara Strazdins, HB.Sc., VP Corporate Communications and Investor Relations C (416)710-0646, T (807) 346-1660 mstrazdins@zenyatta.ca or info@zenyatta.ca.University of SussexSuccessfully Enhances Performance of Rubber Composites Using Zenyatta Graphene Derived From Albany Graphene