Battery anode and advanced materials company Talga Group Ltd ('Talga' or 'the Company') is pleased to announce it is to commence trial mining this month at the Vittangi graphite project ('Vittangi') in northern Sweden.

The trial mine, operating under a three-year permit issued by the Environmental Review Commission within the Norrbotten County Administration Board ('CAB'), covers the extraction of 25,000 tonnes graphite ore from Talga's Niska South deposit at Vittangi. Trial mined ore will be subsequently refined into Talnode-C, the Company's flagship Li-ion battery anode product for large scale production testing in the EV supply chain.

This coated high-performance anode product has been developed over several years by Talga to provide a sustainable and European source of anode for battery manufacturers. Trial mine operations are scheduled to begin in mid-September and in this first phase of the campaign, approximately 2,500 tonnes of graphite ore is planned to be extracted before the site is rehabilitated for the northern hemisphere winter. Rehabilitation will use the successful measures previously used in the Company's 2015-2016 trial mining campaign at its nearby Nunasvaara South deposit.

The balance of the permitted 25,000 tonnes graphite ore is planned to be accessed in 2022.

Niska Mining Applications Submitted

In addition, exploitation concession applications have been submitted over the Niska North, Niska South and Nunasvaara North deposits of the Vittangi project. These pertain to expansion plans defined in the Niska Scoping Study (ASX:TLG 7 December 2020) which detail a pathway for Talga to produce a total of more than 100,000tpa anode for Li-ion batteries - sufficient for the production of approximately one million passenger electric vehicles1 per year. The Company will submit Niska's environmental permit application once an environmental permit has been granted for the nearby Nunasvaara South deposit, which is expected to be granted in mid-2022.

Talga Managing Director, Mark Thompson, commented: The trial mining of our Niska South deposit will allow Talga to begin testing Talnode-C samples on a mass production scale. The graphite anode products created from the ore will help progress Talga's battery manufacturing customer qualification trials and market testing towards future expanded commercial production.' Annual demand from Talga's engaged customers', including current expressions of interest and targeted 2025 anode supply, now exceeds 14 times the 19,500tpa Talnode-C production capacity outlined in the Vittangi Anode Project DFS (ASX:TLG 1 July 2021). By 2030, customers' estimated demand exceeds 50 times the DFS capacity, with 30% of this demand coming from European manufacturers. Confidential commercial processes using Talnode qualification samples have increased to 62 active programs across 48 customer engagements.

Contact:

Tel: +61 (0) 8 9481 6667

About Talga

Talga Group Ltd (ASX:TLG) is building a European battery anode and graphene additives supply chain, to offer advanced materials critical to its customers' innovation and the shift towards a more sustainable world. Vertical integration, including ownership of several high-grade Swedish graphite projects, provides security of supply and creates long-lasting value for stakeholders.

Forward-Looking Statements & Disclaimer

Statements in this document regarding the Company's business or proposed business, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, such as estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. This announcement may not be distributed in any jurisdiction except in accordance with the legal requirements applicable in such jurisdiction. Recipients should inform themselves of the restrictions that apply in their own jurisdiction. A failure to do so may result in a violation of securities laws in such jurisdiction. This document does not constitute investment advice and has been prepared without taking into account the recipient's investment objectives, financial circumstances or particular needs and the opinions and recommendations in this representation are not intended to represent recommendations of particular investments to particular investments to particular persons

(C) 2021 Electronic News Publishing, source ENP Newswire