Graphite elevated into select group of "super-critical
minerals" after receiving DPA Title III designation
VANCOUVER, BC, April 1,
2022 /CNW/ - Graphite One Inc. (TSXV: GPH)
(OTCQX: GPHOF) ("Graphite One" or the "Company") offers
the following comments on President Joe
Biden's announcement today that graphite and other critical
battery materials are designated as "essential to national defense"
under the Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950.
Graphite and other battery minerals – lithium, manganese, cobalt
and nickel – join rare earth materials the only U.S.
Government-listed Critical Minerals eligible for the comprehensive
support provided by the DPA. Unlike Presidential Executive Orders,
designations under the DPA, first passed during the Korean War,
carry the full force of U.S. federal law.
"With this new defense designation under U.S. law, graphite
joins a select group of 'super-critical minerals' that are
essential to commercial technology and national security
applications," said Anthony Huston,
CEO of Graphite One. "This action by President Biden
validates Graphite One's strategy of creating a full supply chain
for advanced graphite materials located in the United States."
According to the Department of Defense, the (DPA) "provides the
President a broad set of authorities to ensure the timely
availability of essential domestic industrial resources to support
national defense and homeland security requirements."
According to the White House statement, President Biden
"…issue[d] a directive, authorizing the use of
the Defense Production Act to secure American production of
critical materials to bolster our clean energy economy by reducing
our reliance on China and other
countries for the minerals and materials that will power our clean
energy future. Specifically, the DPA will be authorized to
support the production and processing of minerals and materials
used for large capacity batteries–such as lithium, nickel, cobalt,
graphite, and manganese—and the Department of Defense will
implement this authority using strong environmental, labor,
community, and tribal consultation standards. The sectors supported
by these large capacity batteries—transportation and the power
sector—account for more than half of our nation's carbon
emissions. The President is also reviewing potential further
uses of DPA – in addition to minerals and materials – to secure
safer, cleaner, and more resilient energy for America."
Earlier this month, U.S. Senators Lisa
Murkowski (R-AK) and Joe
Manchin (D-WV), former and current Chairs of the Senate
Energy and Natural Resource Committee, sent a letter to President
Biden urging him to make a DPA Title III designation
to "invoke the Defense Production Act to accelerate domestic
production of lithium-ion battery materials, in particular
graphite, manganese, cobalt, nickel, and lithium." Mr. Huston
commented: "All of us at Graphite One want to thank Senator
Murkowski, the Senate's undisputed expert on critical minerals, and
Chairman of the Senate ENR Committee, Joe
Manchin who made such a compelling case for President Biden
to take this step. Giving graphite and the battery
materials the DPA Title III designation – as 'essential to national
defense' – is a strong signal that the full force of the U.S.
federal government will now be behind domestic development of these
'super-critical minerals'. With the USGS recognizing
Graphite One's Alaska deposit
just last month as being America's largest known graphite
deposit, and adding to that our plan to produce battery-ready anode
material, Graphite One is ready to answer the call, and create a
complete advanced graphite supply chain solution for the U.S."
Dean of the House, the Honorable Don Young
"I also want to single out a real leader, a great patriot and
friend who we mourn and miss: Congressman Don Young, Dean of the House," continued Mr.
Huston. "Congressman Young was a supporter of Graphite One
from the first moment I had a chance to meet him, and he was an
advocate of DPA Title III being used to drive domestic production
of graphite and other critical minerals. We talked about
the issue the last time we met. On a personal level, all
of us at Graphite One want to express our deepest condolences to
Mrs. Young and the Young family. When you were talking
to him, it didn't matter what huge issues of government were in
play on Capitol Hill, Don Young had
a way of making you feel like the conversation you were having with
him was the most important thing he could be doing. He
was a happy warrior – and Alaska
and all of America were lucky to have him."
Graphite One's Supply Chain
Strategy
With the United States
currently 100 per cent import dependent for natural graphite,
Graphite One is developing a complete U.S.-based, advanced graphite
supply chain solution anchored by the Graphite Creek resource near
Nome, Alaska. The Graphite One
project plan includes an advanced graphite material and battery
anode manufacturing plant expected to be sited in Washington State1 with the
development of the Graphite Creek resource.
As announced on March
7th2, Graphite One Inc.'s Graphite Creek resource
in Alaska has been cited as the
largest known graphite deposit in the
United States by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in its
updated U.S. Mineral Deposit Database (USMIN).
The USGS report confirms Alaska
Governor Mike Dunleavy's statement
in support of Graphite One's designation as a U.S. government
high-priority infrastructure project, stating, "Graphite Creek is
the largest deposit of graphite in the nation and would be a
superior domestic supply of this critical mineral.
About Graphite One
Inc.
GRAPHITE ONE INC. (GPH: TSXV) (GPHOF: OTCQB) continues to
develop its Graphite One Project (the "Project"), whereby the
Company could potentially become an American producer of high-grade
anode materials that is integrated with a domestic graphite
resource. The Project is proposed as a vertically integrated
enterprise to mine, process and manufacture high grade anode
materials primarily for the lithium‐ion electric vehicle battery
market. As set forth in the Company's Preliminary Economic
Assessment, potential graphite mineralization mined from the
Company's Graphite Creek Property, is expected to be processed into
concentrate at a graphite processing plant. The proposed processing
plant would be located on the Graphite Creek Property situated on
the Seward Peninsula about 60
kilometers north of Nome,
Alaska. Graphite anodes and other value‐added graphite
products would be manufactured from the concentrate and other
materials at the Company's proposed advanced graphite materials
manufacturing facility expected to be located in Washington
State. The Company intends to make a production decision on
the Project once a feasibility study is completed.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
"Anthony Huston" (signed)
For more information on Graphite One Inc., please visit the
Company's website, www.GraphiteOneInc.com.
On Twitter @GraphiteOne
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
All statements in this release, other than
statements of historical facts, including those related to future
production, establishment of a processing plant and a graphite
manufacturing plant, and events or developments that the Company
intends, expects, plans, or proposes are forward-looking statements
Generally, forward‐looking
information can be identified by the use of
forward‐looking terminology
such as "proposes", "expects", or "is expected", "scheduled",
"estimates", "projects", "intends", "assumes", "believes",
"indicates" or variations of such words and phrases that state that
certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might"
or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". The Company cautions
that there is no certainty that tests of the Company's material
will be successful or that such tests will result in the
development of successful products. Although the Company believes
the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are
based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees
of future performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and
exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties
related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and
title and delays due to third party opposition, changes in
government policies regarding mining and natural resource
exploration and exploitation, and continued availability of capital
and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this
forward-looking information, which is given as of the date it is
expressed in this press release, and the Company undertakes no
obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking
information, except as required by applicable securities laws. For
more information on the Company, investors should review the
Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available
at
www.sedar.com.
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1
https://www.graphiteoneinc.com/graphite-one-announces-location-of-its-advanced-graphite-anode-facility/
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2 https://www.graphiteoneinc.com/u-s-government-cites-graphite-ones-graphite-creek-as-the-largest-graphite-deposit-in-the-united-states/
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SOURCE Graphite One Inc.