Energizer Resources To Present at Madagascar Mining Fair; Provides Update on Latest Vanadium Technologies; Clarification of March 24, 2011 Press Release
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 05/02/11 -- Energizer Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: EGZ)(OTCBB: ENZR)(FRANKFURT: YE5) ('Energizer' or the 'Company') announces that it will be participating in Madagascar's first-ever Mining and Hydrocarbon Fair being held in the capital city of Antananarivo on May 6, 7 and 8, 2011. As a gold-level sponsor of the Mining Fair, in addition to a prominent booth and presence at the Fair, Energizer will be making presentations on its Green Giant vanadium project, as well as the latest developments in vanadium-based technologies.
Other companies participating in the Mining Fair include, among others, Sherritt International Corporation (operator and 40% owner of the Ambatovy nickel-cobalt project), Rio Tinto (operator and owner of 80% of QMM Mineral Sands project) and Caterpillar (manufacturer of construction and mining equipment), according to the organizers of the Fair.
Julie Lee Harrs, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company, said 'We look forward to presenting our Green Giant vanadium project and meeting with participants who, by their attendance at the Mining Fair, are clearly interested in mining projects in Madagascar. We are encouraged by the advent of this first-ever Mining Fair, as it further signals Madagascar's commitment to the development of its mining sector.'
Latest Advancements with Vanadium Redox Batteries
Since March of this year, there have been notable developments in the advancement of vanadium redox batteries (VRB). Three laboratories on three different continents have announced advancements in the development of VRBs for grid storage applications.
The United States Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Researchers at the United States Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) announced that they were able to increase the energy storage capacity of the VRB by 70 percent and to expand the temperature range in which they operate by modifying the battery's electrolyte solution. This advancement will allow the size of the VRB to be reduced, while generating the same amount of power storage and output, and will allow the VRB to work in a wider temperature range while maintaining its high (approximately 87%) efficiency.
PNNL's announcement can be read in its entirety at http://www.pnl.gov/news/release.aspx?id=855.
Through the PNNL, the United States Department of Energy has committed millions of research dollars towards further advancement and development of the vanadium redox battery. As mentioned in President Obama's speech at the Forum for Small Business in Cleveland, Ohio this past February, the Department of Energy is helping fund the installation of the largest VRB in North America at a municipal power plant in Painesville, Ohio.
Germany's Fraunhofer Institute
The Fraunhofer Institute, the German government's research organization that employs around 18,000 scientists and engineers, announced on March 31, 2011 that they are working to expedite the development of vanadium redox batteries.
Researchers demonstrated the operation of a VRB at the Hanover Fair (Hannover Messe), the world's foremost technology and energy event, which is held in Hanover, Germany each year. The Fraunhofer Institute announced that their long-term goal is to build a 20 MWh capacity VRB installation. A VRB this size would utilize approximately 33 tonnes of battery-grade vanadium (V2O5) and would provide enough energy to provide power to roughly 2000 households for an entire day.
The full text of this announcement can be read at http://www.fraunhofer.de/en/press/research-news/2010-2011/15/giant-batteries-for-green-power.jsp.
The Fraunhofer Institute has created hundreds of commercial enterprises, inventions and patents, including the MP3 audio and the H.264/MPEG-4 video compression algorithms.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China's largest and state-owned science and research institute, have discovered a new nanofiltration membrane material that enhances the efficiency of VRBs making them a more viable tool for large-scale energy storage. Researchers found that by utilizing a new material, they could the lower cost of the membrane without sacrificing the performance or efficiency of the VRB.
The membrane serves as the facilitator of energy transfer in a VRB, allowing energy in the form of ions to pass from one side of the battery to the other during charge-discharge cycles, which enables the VRB to release power.
The CAS announcement can be read in its entirety at http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2011/April/13041101.asp.
The CAS has created hundreds of commercial enterprises, including with Lenovo Corporation (which purchased IBM's PC division).
Vanadium Redox Batteries - Nearing the Tipping Point
The vanadium electrolyte and the membrane are the two most expensive components in a VRB. Together, they represent approximately 50 percent of the cost of the battery.
The advancements in the development of the VRBs by these leading research institutes are expected to both reduce the size and cost of the VRB, and in turn, accelerate their implementation on a commercial level.
The increasing evidence in the marketplace of key developments in VRB technology is expected to result in the acceleration of commercial applications of vanadium-based battery technologies and in turn, may signal that the tipping point for vanadium redox batteries is near.
A great opportunity exists for vanadium producers who can provide the necessary high purity, battery-grade vanadium required by the VRBs. Energizer is uniquely positioning itself to meet the new anticipated demand for high purity, battery-grade vanadium (V2O5), as well as the anticipated 7% annual growth in demand for vanadium expected from the steel industry.
Please visit our website at www.energizerresources.com to learn more about the Green Giant vanadium project and to read the latest developments in vanadium news.
Clarification
At the request of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company wishes to clarify the disclosure in its press release dated March 24, 2011. The Company previously announced that it had submitted an application to list its common shares on The Toronto Stock Exchange (the 'TSX') and that it had met the TSX minimum listing requirements. The Company wishes to clarify that although it believes that it will be able to meet all of the listing requirements to graduate to the TSX from its current listing on the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company has not received confirmation from the TSX. The Company is confident that it will be able to work diligently to satisfy the TSX listing requirements.
About Vanadium
Vanadium is well established as a strategic metal that strengthens and hardens alloys like steel and is positioned to play a significant role in emerging battery technologies such as batteries for electric cars and for large-scale energy storage. While there are some opportunities for substitution in steel production, the same is not true for other markets, including the emerging energy (battery) storage markets, the military and particularly in the aerospace industry, where vanadium is irreplaceable.
About the Green Giant Vanadium Project
The Green Giant vanadium project, located in Madagascar, is 100% owned by Energizer. The Company has a NI 43-101 compliant indicated resource of 49.5 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.693% vanadium pentoxide ('V2O5') containing 756.3 million pounds of V2O5 and an inferred resource of 9.7 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.632% V2O5 containing 134.5 million pounds of V2O5. With this resource estimate, the Green Giant deposit currently ranks as one of the largest known vanadium deposit in the world, with only 75% of the 21-kilometre (18 mile) stratigraphic trend of vanadium remaining open for drilling.
Energizer's vanadium is unique - it is sedimentary-hosted, in contrast to the majority of other vanadium deposits, which are magnetite-hosted. As a result, Energizer is the only company that has announced its intention to produce the high purity vanadium pentoxide required by the battery technologies (greater than 99.4% purity) as its primary product.
Qualified Person
The resource estimate referred to in this press release was completed by AGP Mining Consultants Inc. ('AGP') and is in conformance with the CIM Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve definitions referred to in NationaI Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Pierre Desautels, P.Geo., of AGP, is the Independent Qualified Person under NI 43-101 responsible for the resource estimate.
About Energizer Resources
Energizer Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration and development company based in Toronto, Canada. The Company's common shares are traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol EGZ, on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board under the symbol ENZR, and on the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol YE5.
For more information, please visit our website at www.energizerresources.com.
Cautionary Statement: The above resource estimates were calculated in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 as required by Canadian securities regulatory authorities. For United States reporting purposes, Industry Guide 7 (under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), as interpreted by the Staff of the SEC, applies different standards in order to classify mineralization as a reserve. Among other things, the terms 'measured', 'indicated' and 'inferred' mineral resources are required pursuant to National Instrument 43-101, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize such terms. Canadian standards differ significantly from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and mineral resource information contained herein is not comparable to similar information regarding mineral reserves disclosed in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. This mineral resource estimate includes inferred resources that are normally considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is also no certainty that the inferred mineral resource will be converted to the measured and indicated mineral resource categories through further drilling, or into a mineral reserve once economic considerations are applied.
U.S. investors should understand that 'inferred' mineral resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. In addition, investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the Company's mineral resources constitute or will be converted into reserves.
Safe Harbour Statement: The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release issued by the Company. This press release may contain forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results could differ materially from expectations and projections set out herein.
Forward-looking statements include, receipt of regulatory approval, statements on the proposed use of proceeds; completion of financing on terms proposed; the ability to raise additional funds as required; the development potential and timetable of the Company's properties and minerals; the current and future price of minerals the Company explores; the estimated size of mineral deposits on the Company's properties; the realization of those mineral deposit estimates; the timing and amount of estimated future exploration, development and production; costs of future exploration, development and production activities; success of exploration activities; government regulatory matters; discussion of political and environmental risks. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management of the Company. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks that may cause actual results to be materially different from stated opinions and estimates of management. Some of the Company's more material risks are: availability and timing of external financing; unexpected events and delays during exploration; receipt of government and stock exchange approvals; results of current exploration activities; future price of minerals; political risks in the locations of the Company's properties; appreciation/depreciation of foreign currencies relative to the United States Dollar (the Company's functional currency) and other risks inherent in the mining and exploration industry.
While Company's management has attempted to determine the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from estimated results contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated. The Company provides no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove accurate or not materially different than projected. Therefore readers of this and other press releases issued by the Company should not place unreasonable reliance on stated forward-looking statements.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'U.S. Securities Act') or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Energizer Resources Inc.
Brent Nykoliation
Vice President of Business Development
Toll Free: 800.818.5442 or 416.364.4911
bnykoliation@energizerresources.com
Energizer Resources Inc.
Julie Lee Harrs
President and COO
Toll Free: 800.818.5442 or 416.364.4911
www.energizerresources.com