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Flinders financing set to fund restart of graphite mine in Sweden

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 7:24 AM on Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

Graphite has been a hot commodity of late and one Canadian junior looks to have capitalized on market sentiment through a proposed C$15 million financing.

Posted:  Monday , 26 Mar 2012

HALIFAX, NS (MINEWEB) - –

After Flinders Resources (TSX-V: FDR) said it would raise C$15 million in a private placement on Monday morning, its shareprice leapt by more than a third in the first minutes of trading to as high as C$2.75.

It settled down soon thereafter, but was still well up by 19 percent to C$2.24 as of presstime late in the trading day. Share volume was strong over 1.5 million.

The private placement Flinders outlined was set at C$1.70 a unit with each unit comprising a share and a half-share purchase warrant @ C$2.20.

That Flinders shareprice revved well above the private placement purchase price suggested the appetite to get into Flinders stock and by extension its flagship graphite project in Sweden was hearty.

Graphite has recently caught a fair amount of attention. There were a noticeable number of graphite stories on display at the recent Prospectors and Development Association convention in Toronto, suggesting juniors are increasingly attuned to it as an investment story.

The reason for the buzz is a simple matter of price. Higher quality graphite especially, used in products as batteries and solar panels, has more than doubled in price in the past couple years.

Flinders’ chief selling point is that it owns a permitted past-producing graphite mine in Sweden, called the Kringel mine, which it could have up and running within two years, it has said. There it lists historic resources of 6.9 million tonnes @ 8.8 percent carbon.

“Importantly, with Kringel at such an advanced stage of development, the cost of re-starting operations will be relatively modest and this $15 million financing is expected to deliver to Flinders most if not all of its restart budget requirements,” said Martin McFarlane, Flinders president and CEO in a prepared statement.

The graphite deposits, Flinders has said, are enough to keep it going for over 30 years. The mine went out of production because of lacklustre graphite prices in the early 2000s.

Since then it has been on pause with infrastructure including tailings and milling facilities still in place.

One area the company looks keen to capitalize on is the battery market that requires high purity graphite – with 99.5 percent or more carbon. This high purity graphite fetches a premium price.

Flinders has said that it will conduct feasibility tests in a pilot plant to see if its worth upgrading its graphite products to near full carbon purity. Historically past operators produced graphite that was 85 to 94 percent carbon at the Kringel mine, Flinders said.

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AGORACOM Interview: Bob Moriarty Says Graphite Is For Real & Gold Juniors Poised For 500% Gains

Posted by AGORACOM at 2:56 PM on Monday, March 26th, 2012

I’m very pleased to announce the completion of an interview with Bob Moriarty, one of the junior resource industry’s most respected commentators whose market thoughts can be found at 321gold.com and 321energy.com.   More than just a market commentator, I look forward to reading Bob Moriarty’s comments because he simply isn’t one to sit on the fence and hedge his words.  He makes a call and says it like it is.

This rare trait most likely stems from the fact that Bob was trained to make split-second life or death situations as a young man.  Specifically, Moriarty was a Marine F-4B pilot at the age of twenty and a veteran of over 820 missions in Vietnam. Becoming a Captain in the Marines at 22, he was one of the most highly decorated pilots in the war. He went on to ferry General Aviation aircraft all over the world for 15 years with over 240 over the water deliveries. He holds 14 International Aviation records including Lindbergh’s record for time between New York to Paris in two different categories.

As such, when someone like Bob Moriarty speaks, it behooves all of us to listen.  So what did we talk about today?

1. Why the explosion of interest, investment and growth in new graphite mine development? Is it for real?

2. Why graphite is an analog of oil.

3. Why the present ratio of the XAU (Philly Gold and Silver Index) over gold almost guarantees a 500% return on gold shares over the next two years.

4. Why the banking system is going to collapse / The implications of $708 trillion dollars in derivatives.

5. Middle East tension

This was a great interview.  One of the best we’ve had with a major market commentator, which have included the likes of  Eric Sprott, JF Tardif, Barry Ritholtz , Paul Kedrosky and Eric Coffin.  What made it one of our better ones? Though I agree with much that Bob had to say, I challenged him by playing Devil’s Advocate and arguing the case as presented by Wall Street and the mass media.  Though Bob didn’t budge and argued his case even harder, he was kind of enough to tell me how pleased he was with the interview.

The ultimate judge will be you, so listen in on the first few minutes and see if it carries you through to the fireworks at the end.

On behalf of myself and the entire listening audience, I want to thank Bob for taking time out of his Sunday to speak with us.

Regards,

George

This Blog Post Sponsored By                      

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Galaxy Capital Corp. Arranges 12 Million Unit Private Placement

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:40 PM on Monday, March 26th, 2012

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – March 26, 2012) – Galaxy Capital Corp. (TSX VENTURE:GXY) (the “Company” or “Galaxy”) is pleased to announce that it has arranged for a non-brokered private placement of 12 million units at a price of 18 cents per unit. Each unit will consist of one common share and one transferable eighteen month share purchase half-warrant. Each half-warrant will be exercisable at a price of 25 cents to purchase one additional common share of Galaxy. Galaxy intends to use the funds with this private placement for exploration and development on its graphite exploration projects in Quebec and for general working capital.

About Galaxy

Galaxy Capital Corp is a publicly traded Canadian exploration company which is focused on exploring and developing graphite properties, especially in the Grenville geological province in eastern Canada. In addition, the company is exploring a highly prospective gold property in northeastern Saskatchewan, Brownell Lake.

Sun Graphite Property, Quebec

The Sun Graphite property consists of 4,200 hectares, located approximately 145 km by road, north of Baie-Comeau, QC. The property is owned 100% by Galaxy Capital Corp. The claim block hosts multiple targets for large flake graphite, initially identified by Outokumpu Mines Inc. in 1998, looking for base metal mineralization.

The property is located within the Central Metasedimentary Belt of the Grenville Province of the Canadian Shield. This geological province is characterized by a high level of metamorphism, critical in the development of coarse flake graphite. This metamorphism is believed to have occurred approximately one billion years ago.

Within the property boundary, in excess of 25 km of conductive horizons were identified from the airborne survey. All of this may be considered prospective for graphite mineralization.

Buckingham Graphite Property, Quebec

The Buckingham Graphite property comprises two former producing mines, located just east of Buckingham, QC. They are located in the highly prospective Central Metasedimentary Belt of the Grenville geological province, host to many active graphite projects. The host rocks for both deposits are graphitic crystalline marbles, similar to the host stratigraphy at Timcal’s Lac des Iles graphite mine, currently Canada’s only producing graphite mine. The two properties cover a total of 1,324 Ha on 22 mining.

Graphite Market

Global consumption of natural graphite has increased from approx. 600,000 in 2000 to 1.2 MM t in 2012. Demand for graphite has been increasing by approximately 5% per year since 2000 due to the ongoing modernization of China, India and other emerging economies, resulting in strong demand from traditional end uses such as the steel and automotive industries. Graphite also has many important new applications such as lithium ion batteries, fuel cells and nuclear and solar power that have the potential to create significant incremental demand growth. There is roughly 20 times more graphite required by weight to produce a lithium-ion battery than there is lithium. Demand for graphite is expected to rise as electric vehicles and lithium battery technology are adopted as well as increasing uses in new technology applications.

Natural graphite comes in several forms: flake, amorphous and lump. Of the 1.2 million tonnes of graphite produced annually, approximately 40% is of the most desirable flake type. China, which produces about 73% of the world’s graphite, is seeing production and export growth leveling and export taxes and a licensing system have been instituted. A recent European Commission study regarding the criticality of 41 different materials to the European economy included graphite among the 14 materials high in both economic importance and supply risk (Critical Raw Materials for the EU, July 2010). Graphite prices have been increasing in recent months and over the last couple of years prices for large flake, high purity graphite (+80 mesh, 94-97%C) have more than doubled.

Chris M. Healey, geologist, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Chris M. Healey, President and CEO

For further information, please visit the website at www.sedar.com to view the Company’s profile.

We seek safe harbor.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Galaxy Capital Corp.
Chris M. Healey
President and CEO
604-921-1810
604-921-1898(FAX)

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Energizer Resources Confirms Jumbo Flake Graphite With +90% Purity; DRA Mineral Projects Makes Initial Equity Investment in Energizer

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:40 AM on Monday, March 26th, 2012

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(March 26, 2012) – Energizer Resources Inc. (TSX:EGZ)(OTCBB:ENZR)(FRANKFURT:YE5) (“Energizer” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has received positive initial metallurgical test results from its Green Giant Project in Madagascar and that DRA Mineral Projects has made an equity investment into the Company.

Graphite ore samples from the Fotsy and Molo zones were submitted to the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Minerals Research Laboratory in Asheville, North Carolina for preliminary evaluations to define potential for recovery of commercial products. Simple mechanical crushing with no flotation yielded flake sizes of +50 mesh, which according to Tom Burkett, Vice President of Graphite Materials & Systems at SGL Carbon Group – the world’s largest carbon company – is regarded by the industry as jumbo flake. Both ores have produced graphite concentrates at purities of +90%.

Both samples were subjected to beneficiation that included crushing, grinding, and various flotation schemes. A +50-mesh grind was utilized for the majority of the testing to achieve a high degree of liberation while maintaining a particle size that would be attractive to the marketplace. This testing recovered graphite in the form of oversize products at +50 mesh and flotation concentrates.

Data is still being processed and an initial report will be forthcoming by the NCSU complete with conclusions, recommendations, flake distribution summary and a preliminary process flow sheet.

Green Giant Outlines Extensive Graphite Zones

Energizer’s Senior Vice President of Exploration, Craig Scherba, P. Geol., commented, “We are very pleased with these initial results. With the confirmation of jumbo flake graphite and +90% purity, Energizer has now met two more thresholds and when combined with our exploration results to date, make our Green Giant project quite unique in the marketplace. We have multiple zones with mineralization at surface, high grades, wide intersections and strike lengths that can be measured in kilometers, not meters. We are outlining a graphite camp.”

To date, Energizer’s Green Giant and JV Property contains 17 separate and distinct graphite zones, seven of which have been drill tested. The culmination of drilling, trenching, geophysics, geologic mapping and prospecting have confirmed graphite mineralization in all tested zones to be at surface, open along strike and at depth.

Drill assays have been received so far from two zones, the Fondrana and the Fotsy, showing high grades and extensive widths (FOND-01: 6.24% C over 118.6 meters; FOND-TH-11-01: 7.11%C over 106 meters; FOTSY-TH-11-05A: 9.93%C over 10 meters). Initial assay results are expected shortly from the Molo and Seta zones.

DRA Makes Initial Equity Investment in Energizer

The Company is also pleased to announce that a private placement transaction has been concluded with DRA Africa Pty Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of DRA Mineral Projects (“DRA”) who has recently become a technical partner of Energizer (see January 25, 2012 news release).

Johann de Bruin, Pr.Eng, and Director of DRA commented, “Our current understanding of the quality of the graphite within the tenements as well as our understanding of the logistics associated with the development of a mine in the Southern part of Madagascar gives us enough confidence in the Green Giant Graphite and Vanadium project to justify moving forward with an equity investment in Energizer Resources. This represents a further commitment to the project and solidifies our relationship with Energizer since being appointed as their technical partner. It is our intention to increase our equity position as funds and test work analyses become available in accordance with the MOU. We look forward to supporting Energizer Resources in bringing this project to implementation and operation.”

Kirk McKinnon of Energizer stated, “We are very pleased that DRA has decided to invest in Energizer. It certainly reflects their belief in our project and further strengthens our relationship. Their role of technical partner is a key factor in our ability to move the project from resource definition to production within a very short timeframe. As the importance of graphite continues to manifest itself, speed to market will become increasingly important in order to maximize shareholder value.”

DRA has subscribed for 2,540,000 common shares of Energizer for gross proceeds of $635,000 USD. This results in DRA having an equity position of 1.6%. Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”), DRA has the right to acquire up to a 5% equity position in Energizer. Future private placements will be done at market conditions. The transaction requires final regulatory approval and all securities issued in this matter are subject to applicable hold periods.

About DRA Mineral Projects

  • DRA is a world leader in process engineering and metallurgy and has been a provider of full EPCM services (Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management) since 1984. DRA has a primary focus on managing the development of mining projects in the African Continent
  • Employ over 1,100 people with operating offices in Southern and Central Africa, Australia, India, China, Canada and the UK.
  • A well-qualified team of over 350 professional engineers and project management professionals specializing in large capital projects in the minerals processing fields of coal, vanadium, diamonds, gold, platinum, ferrous metals, base metals and heavy mineral sands
  • They are a leader and specialist in the field of outsourced operations and maintenance of minerals processing plants. They currently operate 22 mineral processing facilities in Africa and Indonesia

About Energizer Resources

Energizer Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration and development company based in Toronto, Canada, which is developing its Green Giant Project located in Madagascar. The Green Giant hosts one of the largest known vanadium deposits and potentially one of the largest known graphite deposits.

The identification of 17 graphite trends, with a cumulative strike length in excess of 320 km, on the 100% owned Green Giant property and 75% owned Joint Venture (with Malagasy Minerals Limited (ASX:MGY) properties, have validated the Company’s belief that the Green Giant Project has the potential to host a potential graphite camp. Metallurgical results to date confirm jumbo flake (+50 mesh) with +90% purity.

As graphite and vanadium are considered to be critical minerals, the Company will position itself to both strategic partners, and the financial markets, a dual offering of critical minerals from a single source for energy and storage, as well as steel and other innovations worthy of development.

In addition to the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:EGZ), the Company’s common shares trade on the U.S. Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board under the symbol ENZR, and on the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol YE5.

For more information on graphite, graphene and vanadium, please visit our website at www.energizerresources.com.

We seek Safe Harbour: This press release may contain forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results could differ materially from expectations and projections set out herein.

Contact Information

 

Energizer Resources Inc.
Brent Nykoliation
Vice President of Business Development
Toll Free: 800.818.5442 or 416.364.4911
[email protected]

Energizer Resources Inc.
Kirk McKinnon
Chairman and CEO
Toll Free: 800.818.5442 or 416.364.4911
www.energizerresources.com

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AGORACOM Welcomes Focus Metals As Newest Sponsor Of GraphiteStocksBlog.com

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:40 AM on Friday, March 23rd, 2012

FMS: TSX-V

GraphiteStocksBlog.com a website dedicated to the needs of investors and companies in the fast growing Graphite industry, is pleased to announce that Focus Metals (FMS:TSXV) has become a sponsor of our site.

Focus Metals is a Canadian junior explorer and owner of the 16% carbon grade Lac Knife crystalline flake graphite deposit located in the Côte Nord region of Quebec.  Focus is fast-tracking the exploration program at Lac Knife with the aim of developing one of the lowest cost producers of industrial and technology-grade graphite in the world. A NI 43-101 compliant feasibility study on the project was completed in December 2011.  As a junior explorer with significant cash holdings, the company states it is poised to assume a leading position for graphite supply on a global scale and plans an aggressive program of acquisition, mergers and joint-venturing.

Focus Metals is managed by a great team and led by President and CEO, Gary Economo.  Mr. Economo enjoys a long history of graphite marketing and sales for high-tech applications. Over the span of his business career, Mr. Economo provided strategic consulting and representation services to technology companies in North America and Asia.   Beyond sharing a growing friendship with him, I respect and admire Gary for his work ethic, expertise and deep knowledge of the world’s technology needs.

As always, assume I am horribly conflicted by the fact Focus Metals is a sponsor of our site and conduct your own thorough due diligence.  To this end, in addition to the helpful links above, here is some information provided by the company to help get you started.

Top 5 Reasons to Consider Focus Metals

1. The company has two properties each containing a strategically important mineral – graphite and neodymium – needed for green initiatives and U.S. national and industrial security.

2. The Lac Knife graphite property has a proven history. Nearly developed in the early 2000s in a joint venture between Graftech and Ballard Power Systems, previous studies are being recast to NI 43-101 standards, and discussions with funding and/or development partners are currently underway.

3. The Kwyjibo REE property has as a strategic partner in the government of Quebec. SOQUEM, the wholly owned subsidiary of SGF, an industrial and financial holding corporation of the government of Quebec, holds 50% of the Kwyjibo property. SOQUEM/SGF are known for their long-term vision and successful development within the Quebec economy.

4. Market applications favour the company. Incremental demand for graphite and neodymium will be driven by green initiatives. Li ion batteries, fuel cells and magnet demand in the next five to seven years have the potential to consume more graphite than all current uses combined. Neodymium is one of three REEs projected to be in deficit supply.

5. Supply conditions favour the company. China controls the current global market in graphite and in REEs. Over 80% of the world’s graphite is produced in China and over 95% of the world’s REE production is in China. China is restricting supply and controlling and manipulating the price.

Lac Knife – Graphite Project

The Lac Knife graphite deposit is located on the Labrador border, south of Fermont, Quebec. It contains a NI 43-101 compliant resource of some 8 million tons grading 16% graphite, making it the highest grade graphite resource in the world. The deposit absorbed 7,600 metres of historic exploration drilling that defined mineralization over 600 metres of strike, that averaged 20 metres in width, and remains open in all directions and at depth.

An expanded drilling program is planned for 2012 to further define and expand the graphite resource.The area hosts excellent infrastructure, with cheap Quebec electric grid power, and nearby access to road, rail and port facilities. Lac Knife is also close to Fermont, Wabush, and Labrador City which serve as bases for three iron ore mines in the area, one being the largest open pit mine in North America. Lac Knife is currently at the pre-development stage but Focus plans to fast track development and commence annualized production of 20,000 tonnes of 95%graphite in 2013, and commission a secondary enrichment and refining facility capable of producing an additional 3,000 tonnes per year of 99.9% graphite in 2014.

Kwyjibo – REE (Rare Earth Elements) & Copper Project

Focus Metals’ Kwyjibo, Quebec, rare earth elements (REE) and copper property being developed in partnership with Soquem, the Quebec Government’s commercial mining corporation, is on a fast-track for development.

The property, located some 10 kilometers north of Lac Manitou, was designated by the Quebec government in 2010 as a priority economic development target. It sits in one of the province’s historically-rich iron ore, copper and gold (IOCG) mineralized zones.

Discovered during the early 1990s, Focus Metals 2010 summer drilling program produced significant initial results for rare earths, primarily neodymium – a critical alloy in super-strength magnets used in hybrid and electric vehicle motors, representing about 20% of total rare earth oxides.

Romer & Labrador Trough Project

Focus Metals’ longer-term development project in the Ungava-Labrador Trough region of Northern Quebec holds potential economic prospects for the discovery of gold, platinum, palladium, copper, zinc and nickel.

Focus Metals owns 100% of these 13 properties covering some 668 square kilometres running north-south from our Lemming property in southwestern Ungava Bay to Fox, some 75 kilometers east of Schefferville, Quebec.

Our Romer property, however, showed potential interest from 2009 geologic surface samplings and we decided in late 2010 to formally assay those findings.

Positive assay results for gold, silver and copper from earlier work conducted in 2009 confirmed historical showings and identified several new mineralized zones on the Romer Property.

Significant gold values included 8.54 g/t Au on the Lac Plissé Showing and 2.03 g/t Au from a pyritic boulder which represents a new discovery and a new type of gold mineralization on the property.

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Archer Exploration – Campoona graphite deposit: Drilling update

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:18 AM on Friday, March 23rd, 2012

Highlights

  • Wide intercepts of graphite intersected in all seven holes drilled to date covering 500 metres of the estimated greater than 6km of strike of the deposit.
  • Visible flake component to the drill intercepts.
  • Graphite occurs as highly graphitic schist within graphitic gneiss.
  • The drilling reinforces the importance of Campoona as a high priority resource target.
  • Resource drilling is continuing.

The directors of Archer Exploration Limited (“Company“) are pleased to provide an update on the resource drill program at the Company’s 100% owned Campoona Graphite Project located approximately 12km north of the township of Cleve on Eyre Peninsula, South Australia.

On 15 March 2012 the Company announced that it had commenced a resource drilling program at Campoona. This drilling program was accelerated as a result of the discovery of visible flake graphite during the Company’s February drilling campaign. In the announcement of 15 March 2012 the Company reported wide intervals of exceptional grade graphite including:

  • 21m @ 15.0%C from 46m downhole in hole CSRC12_006.
  • 24m @ 10.4%C from 49m downhole, including 10m @ 16.7%C from 48m and 3m @ 13.9%C from 70m in hole CSRC12_003.

The current 2,000m RC and aircore resource drilling program at Campoona is designed to test the consistency of the graphite mineralisation along strike and to form the basis for subsequent infill drilling programmes designed to enable the estimation of a JORC Resource.

Drilling Completed to Date

The current Campoona drilling programme commenced on 14 March 2012 targeting outcropping graphite south of the historic Campoona graphite shaft. Graphite is observed at the surface over the 500m of strike and in places reaches more than 20m wide.

The summary of drill holes drilled in Campoona North is shown in Table 1. Drill holes CSRC12_008 – CSRC12_014 have been drilled since 14 March 2012.

Table 1. Campoona North Drill Hole Details

Hole ID Easting Northing RL Depth Dip Azimuth
CSRC12_006 637355 6289256 359 69 -60 130
CSRC12_007 637352 6289263 361 121 -60 130
CSRC12_008 637281 6289152 361 38 -60 110
CSRC12_009 637258 6289157 369 73 -60 110
CSRC12_010 637243 6289164 362 72 -60 110
CSRC12_011 637202 6289068 368 21 -60 110
CSRC12_012 637186 6289075 372 55 -60 100
CSRC12_013 637175 6289076 366 59 -60 100
CSRC12_014 637027 6288890 370 97 -60 110

All holes drilled in this current round of drilling (CSRC12_008 onwards) have intersected graphite including sections carrying visible flake.

Table 2. Campoona North Graphite Intercept Summary

Hole ID EOH(m) From(m) To(m) Graphite Interval(m)
CSRC12_008 38 0 31 31
CSRC12_009 73 0 67 67
CSRC12_010 72 24 67 43
CSRC12_011 21 0 10 10
CSRC12_012 55 0 35 35
CSRC12_013 59 20 55 35
CSRC12_014 97 75 90 15

Geological Observations

The current drilling indicates:

  • The Campoona graphite deposit dips steeply to the west.
  • The graphite unit shows strong correlation between drill holes in having a coarser graphite unit (about 10m true width) overlying finer grained graphite.
  • The graphite unit varies in width from 15m to greater than 25m.
  • The graphite footwall is marked by a thin hematite unit possibly reflecting a primary sulphide-rich sediment.
  • Graphite outcrops over the full 500m of strike drilled to date. The weathering seen in the pavement outcrop accentuates the flake component of the unit.

Figure 1. Drill hole location of Campoona Shaft holes.

Figure 1 shows the location of the holes drilled to date over the 500m of strike.

The next phase of drilling will include:

  • Additional drill holes to confirm graphite at holes 006 and 007.
  • Drilling to the north of the Campoona shaft.
  • Systematic drilling from the Campoona South outcrop to the Campoona shaft (a distance of 6kms) on 200m and 400m drill lines until the full strike of the deposit is covered.

The results of this phase of drilling will be used to design the Resource drill out.

Drill Results

Assay results for holes 008 to 013 are anticipated within a week.

For further information please contact:

Mr Greg EnglishChairman

Archer Exploration Limited

Tel: (08) 8272 3288

 Mr Gerard AndersonManaging Director

Archer Exploration Limited

Tel: (08) 8272 3288

The exploration results reported herein, insofar as they relate to mineralisation, are based on information compiled by Mr. Wade Bollenhagen, Exploration Manager of Archer Exploration Limited. Mr. Bollenhagen is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy who has more than seventeen years experience in the field of activity being reported. Mr. Bollenhagen consents to the inclusion in the report of matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

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Graphene and DNA

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:42 PM on Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

1:58 p.m., March 22, 2012–Look at the tip of that old pencil in your desk drawer, and what you’ll see are layers of graphite that are thousands of atoms thick. Use the pencil to draw a line on a piece of paper, and the mark you’ll see on the page is made up of hundreds of one-atom layers.

But when scientists found a way—using, essentially, a piece of ordinary sticky tape—to peel off a layer of graphite that was just a single atom thick, they called the two-dimensional material graphene and, in 2010, won the Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery.

Now, researchers at the University of Delaware have conducted high-performance computer modeling to investigate a new approach for ultrafast DNA sequencing based on tiny holes, called nanopores, drilled into a sheet of graphene.

“Graphene is a two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern” Branislav Nikolic, associate professor of physics and astronomy, said. “The mechanical stability of graphene makes it possible to use an electron beam to sculpt a nanopore in a suspended sheet of graphene, as demonstrated in 2008 by Marija Drndić at the University of Pennsylvania.”

Graphene has been among the fastest-growing areas of study in nanoscience and technology over the past five years, Nikolic said. He calls it a wonder material that has remarkable mechanical, electronic and optical properties and is being investigated for a variety of applications as diverse as plastic packaging and next-generation gigahertz transistors.

In the sequencing that he and other physicists have proposed, a tiny hole a few nanometers in diameter is drilled into a sheet of graphene and DNA is threaded through that nanopore. Then, a current of ions flowing vertically through the pore or an electronic current flowing transversely through the graphene is used to detect the presence of different DNA bases within the nanopore.

“Since graphene is only one atom thick, the nanopore through which DNA is threaded has contact with only a single DNA base,” Nikolic said.

In 2010, three experimental teams—led by Jene Golovchenko of Harvard, Cees Dekker of Delft and Drndić—demonstrated DNA detection using nanopores in large-area graphene. However, Nikolic said, the process moved too quickly for the existing electronics to detect single DNA bases.

The new device concept proposed by the UD researchers uses graphene nanoribbons—thin strips of graphene that are less than 10 nanometers wide—with a nanopore drilled in their interior. Chemists, engineers, materials scientists and physicists have devised various methods over the past three years to fabricate nanoribbons with a specific zigzag pattern of carbon atoms along their edges, Nikolic said. Nanoribbons could enable fast and low-cost (less than $1,000) DNA sequencing, he said, because of the quantum-mechanically generated electronic currents that flow along those edges.

Such quick and inexpensive DNA sequencing could usher in an era of personalized medicine, Nikolic said.

“We used the knowledge acquired from several years of theoretical and computational research on the electronic transport in graphene to increase the magnitude of the detection current in our biosensor by a thousand to million times when compared to other recently considered devices,” Nikolic said. “Two years ago, scientists would have told me our device was impossible, but there are so many people working on graphene that nothing is impossible anymore.

“Every time physicists think something is impossible, materials scientists or chemists come to the rescue—and vice versa.”

Nikolic said he and postdoctoral researcher Kamal Saha have employed their home-grown massively parallel computational codes to simulate the operation of the proposed nanoelectronic biosensor from first principles, using the supercomputer Chimera that UD acquired with support from a National Science Foundation grant.

“This project has to run on 500-1,000 processors for several months continuously,” he said. “We couldn’t have done it without UD Chimera becoming fully operational in early 2011.”

Nikolic, Saha and Drndić have recently published the results of this research in an article in the prestigious Nano Letters, a journal with an impact factor of 12.219 published by the American Chemical Society. Colleagues, led by Drndić at the University of Pennsylvania, will now seek to fabricate the biosensors in their lab, guided by the simulations presented in the article. Nikolic said that this research synergy will, in turn, allow for simulations of improved device designs.

Nikolic is also organizing an interdisciplinary workshop, sponsored by the Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire, to be held in June in Pisa, Italy. The workshop will bring together some of the world’s leading experts in computational modeling and in the experimental investigation of nanodevices for third-generation DNA sequencing technologies.

Article by Ann Manser

Photo by Evan Krape

Source: http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2012/mar/graphene-genetic-sequencing-032212.html

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Strike Identifies New 2 km Long Conductor at Deep Bay East Graphite Project

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:38 AM on Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

Strike Identifies New 2 km Long Conductor at Deep Bay East Graphite Project

The company completed the previously announced helicopter-borne VTEM – Electromagnetic Survey of its Deep Bay East Graphite property located within north eastern Saskatchewan.

Preliminary data from the VTEM survey has highlighted a strong conductive horizon associated with the known graphite mineralization at Deep Bay East, and extending well beyond the known limits of the historic mineralization. Based upon the preliminary survey data, the historic conductor was confirmed at approximately 2.5 km strike length. A second conductor, approximately 2 km in length, was identified. Based on its orientation and regional mapping, the new conductor likely represents a structural repetition (folding) of the mineralized Deep Bay East horizon, and thus represents a high-priority exploration target.

Historic exploration of the Deep Bay East Property, confirmed potential for near surface, large flake, high-purity graphite deposit(s) as a result of surface trenching, mapping, and EM Ground Survey(s) and four diamond drill holes over a 1,600 metre east – northeast tending conductor. This highly conductive zone, first identified in the 1970’s, was confirmed by the recent VTEM survey. Some of the historic results include:

DB-1: 22.9 metres averaging 4.02% C beginning at a depth of only 10.7 metres;
DB-2: 35.1 metre interval of 8.58% C
DB-3: 13.1 metres averaging 8.97% C at depth of 7.32 metres and 9.06% C from 60.96 metres to 71.63 metres (10.67 m).

Approximately 15 kilometres to the west of the Deep Bay East property, the Deep Bay Graphite Mine is currently being advanced toward production. The geology and grades of the Deep Bay East Project appear similar to the Deep Bay mine’s deposit.

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AGORACOM Small-Cap Wire: Skype Videos By Lomiko, McLaren and Strike Graphite; Donner Live Video

Posted by AGORACOM at 1:23 PM on Sunday, February 19th, 2012

 

AGORACOM WIRE – WEEKEND EDITION

SAD NEWS … David Coffin Passes Away Suddenly Read Message From Eric Coffin

SKYPE VIDEOS: COMPANIES CONNECTING WITH YOU

NEW: LOMIKO METALS: Paul Gill Discusses Pending 43-101 On New Graphite Property Watch Video  |  Why Graphite

DONNER METALS: Chairman, David Patterson, Discusses Mine Coming On Time and Budget + Last Big Technical Hurdle Watch Video:  Why DON?*CLIENT

STRIKE GRAPHITE GOES SKYPE: Acquires Wagon Graphite Project In Vicinity of Canada’s Largest Graphite Mine Watch Video: 2-Min Profile Why SRK?  *CLIENT

MCLAREN RESOURCES: Drills 7.0 Grams Gold Over 7.4 Metres at TimGinn Property Located Adjacent to Hollinger Mine Watch Video Why MCL? *CLIENT

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HOW DO US INVESTORS BUY CNSX STOCK?  Mistango River Resources Answers That Question For You  View Post  Why MIS? *CLIENT

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Posted in AGORACOM Wire, All Recent Posts, Donner Metals, Golden Hope Mines, Graphite, Lomiko Metals, McLaren Resources, Strike Graphite | Comments Off on AGORACOM Small-Cap Wire: Skype Videos By Lomiko, McLaren and Strike Graphite; Donner Live Video

SKYPE INTERVIEW: Paul Gill Discusses Pending 43-101 On New Graphite Project

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:52 PM on Thursday, February 16th, 2012

As you know, AGORACOM conducts Beyond the Press Release Interviews for the purpose of speaking with small cap executives about recent news and events. Yesterday Lomiko Metals announced their intention to complete a 43-101 Report on Previous Drilling at the Quatre Milles Graphite Property.

LOCATION: The Quatre Milles Property is road accessible and is located approximately 175 km northwest of Montreal and 17 km due north of the village of Sainte-Veronique, Quebec. The property consists of 28 contiguous claims totaling approximately 1,600 hectares.

HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS:

-Graphicor completed reconnaissance mapping and prospecting as well as ground geophysics and a 26 hole diamond drill program totaling 1,625 metres.

-The work identified several conductive trends in the central portion of the property and at least three, relatively flat lying graphitic beds.

-Three surface samples were collected and analyzed returning results of 14.16% Cgf, 18.06% Cgf and 20.35% Cgf.

-23 of the initial 26 drill holes intersected graphite concentrations with graphite concentration in range of 4.69% in hole Q90-1 to a highlight of 8.07% Cgf over 28.60 metres in hole Q90-7.

-The highest individual assay was reported in hole Q90-10 reporting 15.48% Cgf over 0.50 metres.

Graphite Facts

-Natural graphite comes in several forms: flake, amorphous and lump.

-Southwestern Quebec is host to some of the most favorable geological terrain for graphite exploration in Canada and is known to host graphite resources, including the nearby Lac Des Iles mine operated by Timcal.

-Graphite has many important new applications such as lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells, and nuclear and solar power that have the potential to create significant incremental demand growth.

-There is roughly 20-30 times more graphite by weight need to produce a lithium-ion battery than there is lithium.

-Of the 1.2 million tonnes of graphite produced annually, approximately 40 per cent is of the most desirable flake type.

-High-growth, high-value graphite applications require large-flake and high-purity graphite which is the prime exploration and development target at the Quatre Milles Property.

Paul Gill, Chief Executive Officer of Lomiko Metals joins us to discuss the company’s exploration initiatives.

Take Me To The Interview

Lomiko Metals is a sponsor of our recently launched GraphiteStocksBlog.com . As always, assume we are horribly conflicted when speaking with sponsors and do your own due diligence.

Lomiko Hub / Corporate Profile / Graphite blog

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