Jul 19 2018
MGX Minerals Inc. (“MGX” or the “Company”) is pleased to report it has completed the previously announced diamond drill program on its Koot silicon project (“Koot” or the “Project”) in British Columbia. A total of 782 meters (2,565 feet) of drilling were completed across 10 drill holes.
Drill core has been split and sent to ALS Minerals in North Vancouver, British Columbia for special carbide pulverizing disc preparation and ME-ICP06 whole rock analysis. The Summer 2018 drill program was designed to define an initial N.I. 43-101 resource estimate. Additional drill work is planned at two of the Company’s nearby silicon properties with the goal of also defining a resource. Historic Exploration conducted by COMINCO during the 1980’s outlined a mineralized zone spanning approximately 400 meters consisting of high-purity silicon dioxide (SiO2).
Solar Silicon Metallurgy Work
Metallurgy work is now underway at Dofner ANZAPLAN, a leading silicon metal metallurgy and process engineering Company. The process design for testing is complete and physical material is currently being tested. The purpose of the metallurgical work is to generate standard silicon metal (95-96% Si) and potentially solar grade silicon metal (99.9999%) process design options for feedstock from the Company’s silicon projects.
Solar Industry
The global solar energy industry is expected to reach $422 billion by 2022 according to Allied Market Research, with a compounded annual growth rate of 24.2% between 2016 and 2022. MGX has prioritized evaluation and development of its silicon projects for silicon metal potential. One of the primary uses of silicon metal is in solar panels. Solar panels are a cornerstone to remote and distributed energy solutions.
Energy Storage Applications
The adoption of grid storage is projected to increase exponentially over the next decade and development of photovoltaic (PV) storage systems is seen as an essential driver to replace existing conventional sources. MGX has invested in low cost mass energy storage systems through the acquisition of ZincNyx Energy Solutions (“ZincNyx”) in December 2017 (see press release December. 13, 2017). Solar, combined with a mass storage system such as that currently under development by ZincNyx, serves to replace or augment diesel generators, as well as having broad applications in energy storage for residential and commercial grid load balancing and backup, and in providing primary and backup power for industrial sites, telecommunications, large scale computer server arrays and military bases. Additional information on the integration of solar with ZincNyx energy storage systems is available at www.zincnyx.com.
Qualified Person
Andris Kikauka (P. Geo.), Vice President of Exploration for MGX Minerals, has prepared, reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release. Mr. Kikauka is a non-independent Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards.