The Magnis Energy Technologies Ltd (ASX: MNS) share price isn't going anywhere on Thursday afternoon. This comes after the battery technology company requested a trading halt just after midday.
As such, the Magnis share price is frozen at 43.5 cents apiece, up 2.35% for the day. It's worth noting that the company's shares have lost more than 35% in value in the past month.
Why are Magnis shares in a trading halt?
Magnis requested the trading halt this afternoon pending the release of a binding off-take agreement.
While details remain sketchy, the announcement is in regards to the future sale of graphite from the Nachu project.
Tanzanian subsidiary, Uranex Tanzania, owns a 100% interest in the Nachu graphite project located near Ruangwa, Tanzania.
The project is approximately 220 kilometres away from the Tanzanian port of Mtwara. The project has significant potential due to its large size, an orebody with very low variation in lithology and mineralisation, and its low-cost operational model.
Magnis has a proprietary process to produce high-quality, high-purity graphite concentrate ore from the Nachu graphite feedstock.
The African graphite project is estimated to contain combined, measured, indicated, and inferred resources totalling 174Mt grading 5.4% graphitic carbon (Cg) at 3% Cg cut-off grade.
While the likely purchaser is unknown, investors will have to wait until possibly 20 December to find out. It is expected that once the announcement is provided to the ASX, the trading halt will be lifted then.
About the Magnis share price
Since this time last year, Magnis shares have risen sharply by more than 135%. In 2021 alone, the company's share price is up almost 120%, reflecting positive investor sentiment.
Magnis presides a market capitalisation of roughly $425.67 million with approximately 978.56 million shares on its registry.