Mason Graphite Inc. (“
Mason Graphite” or the
“
Company”) (TSX.V: LLG; OTCQX: MGPHF) is pleased
to provide an update on recent corporate actions and discuss its
commitment to the Company’s Lac Guéret Graphite project.
Since establishing itself as a new Board of
Directors (the “Board”) at the Company’s annual
general meeting of shareholders held on
December 29, 2020, the Company has appointed Messrs.
Peter Damouni and Simon Marcotte as executive directors to
facilitate an assessment of the Company’s current activities. The
existing management team remains intact and is working with the new
Board to integrate its knowledge into the Board’s decision-making
process.
Along with other initiatives, the current focus
of the Company on value-added products, carrying higher returns in
the near term, will continue its course. But the Lac Guéret
Graphite project remains extremely important in the North American
ecosystem and is undoubtfully one of the pillars of Québec’s
ambitions to become the battery territory of North America.
Mr. Fahad Al-Tamimi, Chairman of Mason Graphite,
commented: “We are pleased with the transition of the Board of
Directors and are looking forward to continue to work with our
management team to develop the Company’s exciting next stages. The
Lac Guéret Graphite project has a completed feasibility study,
permits in place, 75% its detailed engineering completed, and
long-lead items already delivered. We are therefore well advanced
to bringing this high-grade world class graphite asset into
production and we are confident that the Company is well-positioned
to be a cornerstone of the North American electrification
industry.” The Company reminds investors that it believes the Lac
Guéret project carries one of the highest grades of graphite in the
world, with 27.8% graphite for the first 25 years, and that the
25-year mine life of the feasibility study uses approximately 7% of
the mineral resources.
As evidenced by the recent performance of the
battery materials listed companies, the macro environment for the
development of battery related minerals is now very favorable.
According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (“BMI”), the prices of
graphite are also recovering rapidly with the BMI Index up 6.2% in
December 2020, the fastest monthly growth rate since May 2018,
including an appreciation of 13.2% for the -100 mesh, 90-93% Carbon
purity material, FOB China. BMI explained that: “Demand for flake
graphite from the anode value chain is set to surge this year,
forecasting a 49% growth rate in demand from the battery sector in
2021 as consumers, institutions, and nations alike strive for a
green recovery from COVID-19.”
As such, to benefit from the structural change
rapidly unfolding in the graphite industry, a goal of the newly
elected Board is to re-accelerate the development of the Company’s
Lac Guéret Graphite project, which was put on hold in April 2020.
The Company is of the view that customers are currently looking to
secure unprecedented volumes of graphite supply, preferably sourced
in North America, to support the electrification of the
transportation industry. As such, graphite prices will soon need to
reach significantly higher levels to allow for new sources of
supply, or upstream integration will be necessary to establish an
adequate supply chain. To have a better understanding of the view
of the new Board of Directors, investors are invited to review the
press release issued on October 29, 2020 and the Dissident Circular
filed on Sedar on December 4, 2020.
Further to the impact of the battery related
demand, graphene is also reaching an important commercialisation
tipping point. NanoXplore, a world leading graphene manufacturer,
indicated at its recent annual general meeting that the total
apparent graphene demand from all its purchase order discussions
adds up to 120,000 tpa in a two-year timeframe, which would require
a comparable volume of graphite.
The Company retains a strong cash position, with
$25.2 million as of September 30, 2020, representing more than
$0.18 per share. The last equity financing of the Company was done
at $2.40 in early 2018. The capital structure was not diluted
during the downturn and therefore retains the same potential.
The Company also confirms discussions with
Investissement Québec, the Company’s largest shareholder, to
facilitate the appointment of its nominee to the Board in
accordance with the agreement entered in connection with
Investissement Québec’s initial investment in the Company in 2014.
The Company also expressed its willingness to appoint an additional
director to be mutually agreed upon with Investissement Québec.
The Company wishes to remind investors that it
entered the Mushalakan Impact Benefit Agreement with the Innu
Council of Pessamit in June 2017. Mason Graphite was nominated for
the “Best Company in Sustainable Development” by the AEMQ
(Association de l’Exploration Minière du Québec) during that same
year. Finally, the Company has been collaborating for many years
with the World Biosphere Reserve Manicouagan Uapishka,
international designation by UNESCO, and during its periodic review
of 2017, the report of UNESCO’s external review committee mentioned
the exemplarity of Mason Graphite’s approach for the sustainable
development and collaboration with local communities.
Update on Battery Material testing: 600
Cycles Reached
Lastly, Mason Graphite is pleased to announce
that the Li-ion prototype cells containing Coated Spherical
Purified Graphite (“CSPG”) made with graphite
coming from its Lac Guéret deposit have reached a new milestone of
600 charge & discharge cycles and the batteries still retain
84% of their initial capacity. The results are presented in the
graph below.
A photo accompanying this announcement is
available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f8f35687-e476-4325-8337-39e9dea6fba1
The batteries are tested at a rate of C/3,
meaning 3 hours to charge and 3 hours to discharge, hence
completing about 4 full cycles per day. The cathode used is of the
NMC532 type. These cycling tests are performed at the National
Research Council of Canada laboratories in Boucherville, Quebec.
The CSPG being tested was produced at pilot scale in the Company’s
own equipment and in equipment at Corem facilities in Quebec City,
Quebec. Tests are still ongoing with these batteries to evaluate
the full life expectancy of the cells.
About Mason Graphite
Mason Graphite is a Canadian corporation
dedicated to the production and transformation of natural graphite.
Its strategy includes the development of value-added products,
notably for green technologies like transport electrification. The
Company also owns 100% of the rights to the Lac Guéret graphite
deposit, one of the richest in the world. The Company is managed by
an experienced team cumulating many decades of experience in
graphite, covering production, sales, as well as research and
development.
Mason Graphite Inc. On behalf of the Board
of Directors:“Simon Marcotte, CFA”, Executive Director
For more
information:www.masongraphite.comAna Rodrigues at
info@masongraphite.com or 1 514 289-3580Head Office:
3030, boulevard Le Carrefour, suite 600, Laval, Quebec, Canada, H7T
2P5
Consent of the Qualified
Person
Jean L'Heureux, Eng., M. Eng., COO for Mason
Graphite, and a Qualified Person, as defined by NI 43-101 for Mason
Graphite, was responsible for the audit of data presented in this
press release and read and approved it.
Cautionary Statements Regarding Mineral
Reserves and Resource Estimates: The Mineral Reserves and
the “In-Pit” Mineral Resources are included in the total Measured
and Indicated Mineral Resources of 65.5 Mt grading 17.2% Cg (19 Mt
of Measured Resources grading 17.9% Cg and 46.5 Mt of Indicated
Resources grading 16.9% Cg) that were reported in the Company’s
press release dated December 5th, 2018. The Mineral Reserves are
the basis of the 25-year Mine Life of the Feasibility Study
published on September 25th, 2015 (updated on December 5th, 2018)
and are not included in the “In-Pit” Measured and Indicated Mineral
Resources of 58 Mt grading 16.3% Cg (which have an equivalent
drilling definition). The reference point for the Mineral Reserves
estimate is the mill feed. Mineral Resources, which are not Mineral
Reserves, do not have demonstrated economic viability and were not
included in the mine life or the economics of the Feasibility
Study. Environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation,
sociopolitical, marketing, or other relevant issues may materially
affect the estimate of Mineral Resources. In addition, there can be
no assurance that Mineral Resources in a lower category may be
converted to a higher category, or that Mineral Resources may be
converted to Mineral Reserves.
Cautionary Statements
Regarding Forward-Looking InformationThis press
release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning
of Canadian securities laws. All information contained herein that
is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking
information. Generally, such forward-looking information can be
identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
“plans”, “expects”, “budgets”, “schedules”, “estimates”,
“forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “believes”, or variations
of such expressions and the negative of such expressions, or state
that certain actions, events, or results “may”, “could”, “would”,
“might” or “will” and the negative of such expressions.
Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results,
level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking information, including but not limited to: (i)
volatile stock price; (ii) the general global markets and economic
conditions, including the demand for graphite in specific markets;
(iii) the possibility of write-downs and impairments; (iv) the risk
associated with exploration, development and operations of mineral
deposits; (v) the risk associated with establishing title to
mineral properties and assets; (vi) the risks associated with
entering into joint ventures; (vii) fluctuations in commodity
prices; (viii) the risks associated with uninsurable risks arising
during the course of exploration, development and production; (ix)
competition faced by the Company in securing experienced personnel
and financing; (x) access to adequate infrastructure to support
mining, processing, development and exploration activities; (xi)
the risks associated with changes in the mining regulatory regime
governing the Company; (xii) the risks associated with the various
environmental regulations the Company is subject to; (xiii) risks
related to regulatory and permitting delays; (xiv) risks related to
potential conflicts of interest; (xv) the reliance on key
personnel; (xvi) liquidity risks; (xvii) the risk of potential
dilution through the issue of common shares; (xviii) the Company
does not anticipate declaring dividends in the near term; (xix) the
risk of litigation; and (xx) risk management. Forward-looking
information is based on assumptions management believes to be
reasonable at the time such statements are made, including but not
limited to, continued exploration activities, demand in graphite,
no material adverse change in metal prices, exploration and
development plans proceeding in accordance with plans and such
plans achieving their stated expected outcomes, receipt of required
regulatory approvals, and such other assumptions and factors as set
out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify
important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in the forward-looking information,
there may be other factors that cause results not to be as
anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that
such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as
actual results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such forward-looking information. Such
forward-looking information has been provided for the purpose of
assisting investors in understanding the Company’s business,
operations and exploration plans and may not be appropriate for
other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking
information is made as of the date of this press release, and the
Company does not undertake to update such forward-looking
information except in accordance with applicable securities
laws.
Neither 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.
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