The BlackEarth Minerals NL (ASX: BEM) share price has recovered after a morning of poor trading after the company announced it has joined the European Battery Alliance (EBA).
It's been a volatile day for the graphite developer's share price. After opening at 11 cents this morning, it soon dropped by 8%. It has since gained that back and is currently more than 33% higher than yesterday's close.
At the time of writing, shares in BlackEarth Minerals are trading at 16 cents each.
What did BlackEarth announce today?
In this afternoon's announcement, BlackEarth revealed it and its supply partner LuxCarbon GmbH had joined the EBA, pledging to provide industry support to the Alliance and its members.
BlackEarth will also provide the EBA with samples of high-grade concentrate from its recently commenced Stage 2 pilot program to confirm its suitability for the electric vehicle market.
The company says its association with the EBA will benefit it in further developing its graphite supply chain business strategy, supporting its downstream processing plant and fast tracking the development of its graphite deposit in Madagascar.
About the EBA
The EBA is an industry group that aims to develop the growing electric vehicle and battery markets in Europe. It's working to create a competitive, sustainable and inexpensive battery-making industry on the continent.
The goals of the EBA are to access sustainable raw materials for the production of batteries at a reasonable cost and to support both European battery making and new markets for batteries.
Other members of the EBA include Tesla, Ford, BMW, Bosch and Volvo Cars.
Commentary from management
BlackEarth managing director Tom Revy said that the company was encouraged by the EBA to join.
He commented:
Membership of the Alliance is a natural fit for our ambitions and the plans we have with our existing German based supply partner, LuxCarbon.
The team at BlackEarth are working toward the establishment of a downstream processing plant and we see the European market as a key destination for our range of products. Many of the existing Alliance members are already engaged with our partner in Europe and this provides us with enormous opportunities that are unique to BlackEarth.
BlackEarth Minerals share price snapshot
The BlackEarth Minerals share price has risen by 200% year to date, and by more than 321% over the last 12 months.
