QUANTUM GRAPHITE LIMITED — Investor Presentation 2015

Sep 21, 2015

Valence Industries

Advanced Manufacturing of Graphite Powders for High Performance Ceramics

2nd International Minerals Conference September 21-22, 2015

Asia Pacific I Europe I North America

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Advanced Manufacturing of Graphite Powders

Graphite Powders Used In High Performance Ceramics

Graphite Overview

Graphite Overview

Graphite can be considered a "universal technical mineral"

One of the few industrial minerals that can be used by a vast array of industries & applica?ons

From refractories used in steel to graphene nano-sheets used in medical research for spinal injury treatment

Graphite Overview

Graphite possesses three unique characterisPcs used by many industries

Thermally - refractive / conductive

Electrical - conductivity / resistivity

Exploring advanced graphite powders for high performance ceramics

Exploring Graphite Powders for Performance Ceramics

Primary Synthetic Graphite

• •Manufactured from select carbon precursors
• •Petroleum and coal tar-based amorphous cokes
• •Acheson furnace technology
• •Electric / induction furnace (vertical or horizontal)
• •Graphitized above 2,500C / No Oxygen
• •Various morphologies & PSD's
• •High crystallinity with purities ≥ 99.9%

Natural Flake (Macrocrystalline)

• •Mined & processed into mesh fractions & purities
• •>95% purity flake micronized into specific PSD's
• •Particle sizes range D90 3 µm to 150µm
• •Purified Chemical or thermal / halogen process
• •Purities achieved up to 99.999% (≤100 total ppm)
• •Base morphology is flake (can be mill modified)
• •New purification methods create new products

Graphite powder milling, morphology modifica?on, & purifica?on methods

Graphite Powder Milling & Modification Processes

Graphite Powder Advanced Milling &

Micronized Primary Synthetic Graphite

Micronized Natural Flake Graphite

Morphology Modification Methods

Typical Micronization Milling Methods

• Jet Mills, Hammer Mills, Modified Pin Mills
• Particle size distribution D50 1.5µm to 45µm

Advanced Milling & Morphology Modification

• Modified Rotary Mill Air Swept Classification
• Modified Ball / Roller Mills Surface Area Modification (BET ≥ 80 m2/g)
• Particle size distribution D50 1.5µm to 28µm

Graphite Powder Purification Processes & Methods

Graphite Powder Purification Processes & Methods

Micronized Natural Flake Graphite

Typical Purification Methods

• Caustic leaching (chemical), drying, classification (up to 20% product loss) environmentally unfriendly
• Thermal / halogen purification continuous & batch process

Purification Targets

• Caustic leaching purification purities 99.0% 99.9%
• Thermal / halogen purification purities 99.9% 99.999%

Advanced graphite powders in high performance ceramics

Graphite Powders In Performance Ceramic Applications

High purity graphite powder is used in a number of performance ceramics

Sintered SiC Bearings & Seals

Sintered SiC Optic Mirrors

Graphite (Carbon Structure)

Sintered SiC Armor Components

SOFC Components

Graphite powders for Sintered SiC Ceramics & SOFC applica?ons

Graphite Powders for Sintered SiC Bearings & Seals

Graphite loaded Sintered SiC parts produced by various manufacturers

Graphite Powder Morphologies and PSD's

• Irregular (bulky) synthetic; bulky or modified shape natural graphite
• High purity ≥ 99.9%
• Up to 20% by weight of dry lubricant (graphite or combined w/ BN; AIN)
• Dry graphite Avg. PSD < 25µm (specific graphite lubricant inclusions)

Improvements by using graphite powders in SiC seals & bearings

• Improved lubricity at high temperatures and reduced wear
• Improved thermal gradient

Graphite Powders for Sintered SiC Optic Mirrors

Graphite loaded Sintered SiC Optic Mirror Substrates produced by few manufacturers

Graphite Powder Morphologies and PSD's

• Irregular (bulky) synthetic; bulky or modified shape natural graphite
• High purity ≥ 99.9%
• Dry graphite powder up to 25% Avg. PSD < 25µm (specific inclusions for SiC body dimensions & grain growth inhibitor)

Improvements by using graphite powders in SiC Optic Mirror Substrates

• Improved ceramic surface smoothness; inhibited SiC grain growth by graphite inclusions
• Reduced lapping machining time & cost

Graphite Powders for Sintered SiC Body Armor

Graphite loaded Sintered SiC Body Armor produced by few manufacturers

Graphite Powder Morphologies and PSD's

• Irregular (bulky) synthetic; bulky or modified shape natural graphite
• High purity ≥ 99.9%
• Dry graphite powder up to 25% Avg. PSD < 25µm (specific inclusions for SiC body dimensions & grain growth inhibitor)

Improvements by using dry graphite powder in Sintered SiC Body Armor

• Improved ceramic surface smoothness; inhibited SiC grain growth by graphite inclusions
• Limited post sintering machining requirements

Graphite Powders for SOFC Ceramic Components

SOFC Ceramic components produced by various manufacturers

Graphite Powder Morphologies and PSD's

• Micronized graphite powder used as a ceramic substrate pore former
• Powder morphology & PSD ≤ 10µm critical in microstructure porosity
• Irregular (bulky) synthetic; bulky or shaped natural graphite (5 50% mix)
• High purity ≥ 99.9% (Ni, Fe, Co < 100ppm)
• Mix % of graphite depends on substrate size, configuration, & shrinkage
• Common electro-ceramic substrates yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)
• Fuel-flexible bio-fuels, kerosene, diesel, propane, natural gas, butane

Advanced graphite powder performance summary

Advanced Graphite Powders Performance Summary

Advantages using micronized high purity graphite

Sintered SiC Ceramics

• Improve lubricity & wear (graphite loaded SiC bearings & seals)
• Improve thermal gradient (graphite loaded SiC bearings & seals)
• Inhibit surface grain growth (specialty machined critical surface applications)

SOFC Ceramic Components

• QC of PSD & purity (≥ 99.9%) is critical in SOFC substrate pore formers
• Morphology consistency is important for porosity microstructure
• Dispersibility of graphite agglomerates when combined with zirconia & binders

Contact Details

Christopher S. Whiteley Valence Industries Chief Marketing Officer

e: cwhiteley@valenceindustries.com t: +61 8 8215 6400

Thank You

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