Agoracom Blog Home

Posts Tagged ‘First Graphite’

First Graphite Identifies 7 km and 14 km Long VTEM Conductors on Its Henry Graphite Project

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:14 PM on Tuesday, July 10th, 2012

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(July 10, 2012) – First Graphite Corp. (TSX VENTURE:FGR) (the “Company” or “First Graphite”) is pleased to announce that results from a helicopter-borne geophysical survey on the Henry Graphite Property (the Property) have been received from Geotech Ltd. of Aurora, Ontario. A total of 1452 line-kilometers of Versatile Time Domain ElectroMagnetic (VTEM) and magnetic data were collected during the survey, with the objective of identifying VTEM conductors that are typically associated with graphite mineralization.

Two discrete moderate- to high-conductivity, north-northeast trending VTEM conductors have been identified in the northern and southern sectors of the Property, respectively, in addition to a number of smaller anomalies (see www.firstgraphite.ca/s/henry.asp?ReportID=519338). The western anomaly measures approximately 7 km by 1 km while the eastern anomaly measures approximately 14 km by 1.2 km. Historic data indicates that widespread graphite mineralization is present on the Property, including mineralization identified in outcrops and drill holes coincident with the two high priority VTEM anomalies.

The newly acquired geophysical data will be used by the Company to guide its ground exploration program, which will consist of prospecting the historic graphite occurrences, surface sampling, geological mapping and exploration drilling.

Vince Sorace, President and CEO of First Graphite Corp. stated: “The Henry Property is a high quality graphite project with near-term potential. The access is excellent and the geological setting is similar to the Deep Bay Graphite deposit located 20 kilometres to the northeast. We look forward to drill testing coincident geophysical and geological targets associated with surface mineralization.”

Henry Property

The Henry Property consists of six road-accessible mineral claims covering approximately 22,853 hectares, located 10 km southwest of the community of Southend, Saskatchewan. Historic exploration work in the area was focused on base metals and titanium, rather than graphite.

The Property is underlain by high-grade Precambrian metamorphic rocks of sedimentary origin, which is an ideal setting for the development of large-flake graphite deposits such as that found at Deep Bay (located 20 km northeast of the Henry Graphite Property). As such, The Henry Property fits well-recognized geological and geographical criteria that define a potential area for the possible development of graphite resources at limited capital cost.

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed by Dr. Alan J. Wainwright, Ph.D., P.Geo., Exploration Manager for First Graphite Corp. and a Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101.

About First Graphite

First Graphite Corp. is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration company focused on the development of graphite projects in Canada. The company currently has three graphite properties led by its flagship project, the Henry Graphite Property, located near the Deep Bay Graphite Deposit in north-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada.

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “projects”, “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will”, “would”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur. Although First Graphite Corp. 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 realities may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of First Graphite Corp.’s management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, First Graphite Corp. undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

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 news release.

Contact Information

 

First Graphite Corp.
Andrew Mugridge
Corporate Development
(604) 689 2881

First Graphite Strengthens Management Team and Establishes Technical Advisory Board

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:09 AM on Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(May 8, 2012) – First Graphite Corp. (TSX VENTURE:FGR) (the “Company” or “First Graphite”) is pleased to announce the following additions to the Company’s existing management team and the establishment of a technical advisory board. These additions to the First Graphite team will provide the technical, regulatory and administrative experience necessary to rapidly advance the Henry Project, as well as the other graphite projects within the company’s portfolio.

The following additions have been made to the Company’s management team:

Vida Ramin, MPA

Senior Manager, Strategic and Public Affairs

Ms. Ramin has a decade of experience with the public, private and non-profit sectors developing and implementing programs and policies, as well as providing strategic advice to executive management, on a diverse range of complex and multi-faceted land and resource management issues. In addition to holding a Master of Public Administration (with a resource policy specialization), she has completed undergraduate programs in both Geography and Environmental Science and Applied Management. Before joining First Graphite Corp., Ms. Ramin managed a TSX-listed company’s Canadian mineral exploration projects and was responsible for, among other things, strategic planning and communications, regulatory affairs and external relations. Prior to that, she worked for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources as its Manager of Lands and Aboriginal Policy.

Alan J. Wainwright, Ph.D., P.Geo.

Exploration Manager

Dr. Wainwright is an economic geologist with mineral exploration and research experience in North America, South America and Asia. Alan has worked on generative, evaluation and target delineation campaigns in world-class mineral districts with a number of exploration firms and senior mining companies since 1999, and holds B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from McGill University, University of Toronto and The University of British Columbia, respectively. Alan completed his Ph.D. on the super-giant porphyry Cu-Au deposits at Oyu Tolgoi (Ivanhoe Mines; Mongolia), and was a senior member of the Kaminak Gold Corp. discovery team at Coffee (breccia-hosted Au; Yukon). Dr. Wainwright is accredited by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia.

The following additions have been made to the Company’s Technical Advisory Board:

Dan Jody Dahrouge, P. Geo

Mr. Dahrouge is a professional geologist with over 20 years of experience in both Canada and internationally. He has managed all types of mineral projects, from grassroots exploration to mine development and production. Since 1988, he has successfully owned and operated Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a private Edmonton-based consulting firm, which manages exploration and development programs for both junior and senior mineral resource companies. A graduate of the University of Alberta’s Geology program (BSc. 1988) and Computing Science program (Sp.C 1993), Mr. Dahrouge is a registered professional geologist in both Alberta and British Columbia.

Daniel MacNeil

Daniel MacNeil holds a B.Sc. from St. Francis Xavier University and a M.Sc. from the University of British Columbia. He has been involved in mineral exploration since 2001 and has experience with gold, nickel, and lead-zinc exploration and development. Daniel began his exploration career with Anglo American where he was involved in lead-zinc exploration in the Selwyn Basin, and nickel exploration in the Thompson and Cape Smith Nickel belts. Daniel spent 7 years with Barrick Gold Corp. where he assisted with advanced exploration in and around the world-class Eskay Creek (British Columbia), Round Mountain (Nevada), Hemlo (Ontario) and Donlin Creek (Alaska) gold deposits and managed generative and target delineation exploration projects in Canada and the United States. Prior to working for Barrick, Daniel held the title of Senior Geologist, an internal technical role for Cardero Resource Corp. where he provided technical assistance to Peruvian gold and base metal exploration projects and Canadian coal projects.

Graphite

Graphite is a polymer of carbon that comes in three naturally occurring forms – flake, amorphous, and lump. All three are found in metamorphic as well as igneous rocks, varying by grade, particle (mesh) size and moisture content. Graphite exhibits a number of characteristics, which make it a high value industrial mineral with a broad range of applications: it is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity, is resistant to strong acids and thermal shock, is a lubricant, is refractive and has the highest natural strength and stiffness of any known material.

The total worldwide graphite market is currently estimated to be US$12 billion. At present, the largest end use markets for graphite are the steel and automotive industries. However in recent years, emerging markets, including green energy development (fuel cells, solar energy and nuclear power) and batteries (lithium-ion and vanadium-redox) are creating the potential for incremental increases in demand. Meanwhile, the closure of a number of natural graphite mines in China, the world’s largest producer, is reducing world-wide supply.

About First Graphite

First Graphite Corp. is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration company focused on the development of graphite projects in Canada. The company currently has three graphite properties led by its flag ship project, the Henry Graphite property, located near the Deep Bay Graphite Mine in north-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada.

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “projects”, “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will”, “would”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur. Although First Graphite Corp. 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 realities may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of First Graphite Corp.’s management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, First Graphite Corp. undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

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 news release.

Contact Information

 

First Graphite Corp.
Andrew Mugridge
Corporate Development
(604) 689 2881

Terra cognita — First Graphite moves into Quebec, BC and Saskatchewan

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:25 PM on Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

By Greg Klein

It’s often said that closeology ain’t necessarily geology. But First Graphite’s (TSXV:FGR) Henry Project in north-central Saskatchewan could lay claim to both. It’s about eight kilometres from Noble Bay Mining’s Deep Bay Graphite Project and 20 from Strike Graphite’s (TSXV:SRK) flagship Deep Bay East. As for Henry’s geology, it was a curse back in the day when graphite was considered waste rock. The stuff was unavoidable.

“Henry had work done on it in the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s,” says First Graphite VP Corporate Development Andrew Mugridge. “There were 20 holes drilled on it historically. At the time, they were looking for base metals, and the 20 holes were picked to actually avoid graphite at all costs. But they found 30 metres of obvious graphite content. At that point, they decided to cease work on the area.”

How things have changed. China, which produces about 80% of the world’s graphite supply, has restricted exports. At the same time, predictions call for soaring demand for flake graphite, a type that China hardly produces anyway, to supply future such energy needs as lithium-ion batteries, vanadium redox batteries, fuel cells, solar panels and pebble-bed nuclear reactors. And depending how successfully laboratory experiments consummate scientific imagination, a graphite derivative called graphene could push demand even higher.

 

That glaring gap between supply and demand brought a new focus to First Graphite, which was originally called Solace Resources. “We’d been following some advice from close associates, people who were already following the graphite space one and a half years ago, mainly Zimtu Capital (TSXV:ZC),” says Mugridge. By February, his company picked up its first graphite property, Montpellier in Quebec, followed in late March by Mt Heimdahl in BC and, on April 10, the 22,853-hectare Henry acquisition. With a $1.4-million private placement announced the same day, First Graphite intends to move fast.

“Our Phase I plan, which we’re hopefully beginning in 30 to 60 days, will include a VTEM survey that will fly the entire project to update the airborne mag that was done back in the 1950s and again in the 1970s,” says Mugridge. “That will be simultaneous with, or closely followed with, getting a team on the ground, doing a metallurgical program, obviously ground sampling and mapping, which hopefully will provide us with a significant number of drill targets. We’d do an exploratory drill program in Phase II, which we’re hoping to start in the middle of 3Q 2012. That would be up to a 3,000-metre program.

“We’re very confident that we are going to have drill targets,” he emphasizes. “Everybody that we’ve spoken to on our geological advisory team has been suggesting that we’re in a very similar geological environment to both Deep Bay projects.”

Deep Bay West has a 1976 non-43-101 estimate of 1.8 million tons grading 10.32% carbon to a depth of 60 metres.

“We’re very confident that we’re going to be able to bring at least a discovery to the market here, and our goal will be to advance that to a resource estimate as quickly as possible,” Mugridge says. Henry boasts transportation connections as well. “We’ve got two major highways and a railroad that are either running through our project or within 10 kilometres.”

Advertisement

First Graphite’s Mt Heimdahl Property also enjoys enviable location and geology. The 1,045-hectare southeast BC property sits about eight kilometres from Eagle Graphite’s beneficiation plant, which processes ore from one of Canada’s two operating graphite mines. The property is 35 kilometres from Nelson and 41 from Castlegar, two important regional centres, and has logging road access. As for geology, “It’s got multiple layers of lenses [with non-43-101 grades] that are up to 8% large-flake disseminated graphite,” Mugridge says.

The company began its graphite love affair with the Valentine’s Day acquisition of Montpellier, a modest 300-hectare property located near Timcal Graphite & Carbon’s Lac-des-Îles Mine, the largest of Canada’s two graphite mines. Grab samples from Montpellier showed grades ranging from 0.82% to 14.4%.

Mugridge believes that the recent acquisitions, along with other properties now under consideration, can place First Graphite among the near-production companies. A strategic partnership, backed by an offtake agreement, could then “take it over the finish line.”

First Graphite will present a talk at OnPage Media’s Graphite Express-Conference in Toronto on May 2. “Around Christmas and into January there was suddenly very much a buzz on the street,” Mugridge reports. “But I think many people dismissed it at first. Then we had the first Graphite Express-Conference in Vancouver and at 2 pm on a pretty lackluster day in the market the room filled with not only retail investors but also the brokers and financiers of the city.”

Mugridge emphasizes his company’s distinctions. “One thing that differentiates us is our ability to finance the acquisition and development of advanced-stage projects in domestic locales that are near good infrastructure,” he points out. “We also have a very superior share structure with only 18.5 million shares issued and outstanding. Even when we finish the $1.4-million financing, we’ll be sitting around just 20 million shares. Beyond that, the stock charts over the last eight weeks show the company has taken great strides in market-capital appreciation. I think we’re positioning ourselves as one of the most aggressively expanding and developed companies in the graphite space.”

At press time, First Graphite had 18.4 million shares outstanding at $0.40 a share for a market cap of $7.36 million.

Read more articles like this at resourceclips.com.

All information on this website is: (a) for informational purposes only; (b) not to be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or an endorsement, recommendation, investment advice or sponsorship of any entity or security; and (c) not necessarily reflective of the views or policy of the Financial Post. Prior to making any investment decision, it is strongly recommended that you seek advice from a qualified investment advisor. The Financial Post does not provide or guarantee any financial, legal, tax or accounting advice or advice regarding the suitability, profitability, or potential value of any particular investment, security or information source, especially as it relates to mining companies. For further details, please Section 22 of http://www2.canada.com/aboutus/termsofservice.html.

Riding the graphite bull

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:06 AM on Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

Chris Berry, founder of Mountain Partners asset management company, provided an interesting summary of the graphite space while speaking at the recent Graphite Express Conference in Vancouver.

The conference featured a keynote address from Berry and 5-minute presentations from some of the key graphite explorers, including Zimtu Capital Corp., Northern Graphite, Lomiko Metals, Strike Graphite, Focus Metals, Graphite One Resources, First Graphite, and Standard Graphite. A similar conference followed in Toronto.

Investor interest in graphite has been growing. Last December saw the first graphite conference in London, UK presented by online journal Industrial Minerals.

The journal has a useful page on graphite and provides the following key facts on the mineral:

  • graphite comes in three forms: amorphous, flake and vein/lump. Amorphous graphite contains 70-75% carbon and is the most common. Flake graphite is 85-90% carbon and is used for higher value applications like batteries. Vein/lump graphite is 90-96% carbon and is most valuable because it requires the least processing.
  • graphite is used in refractories – used to line high-temperature equipment; pencils; lithium-ion batteries – used in consumer electronics and electric vehicles; fuel cells; and Pebble Bed nuclear reactors. It is used in foundries, lubricants and brake linings. Graphite is also used to produce graphene, a tightly packed single layer of carbon atoms that can be used to make inexpensive solar panels, powerful transistors, and even a wafer-thin tablet that could be the next-generation iPad. Graphene, extremely light and strong, has been called “the world’s next wonder material.”
  • the closure of graphite mines in China, which produces 75% of the world’s graphite, has resulted in a fall in global graphite production to 1.3 million tonnes per annum in 2011. Like rare earths, China is restricting the export of graphite to protect its own domestic industries. The second largest producer is India, followed by Brazil, North Korea, Austria and Canada.
  • Graphite exploration is focused in Canada, with eight companies exploring properties in Quebec and Ontario. Europe has a number of mothballed mines that could return to production.

Berry, a former Wall Street broker and co-publisher of the Morning Notes investment newsletter, presents the case for graphite as a key solution in solving the global dilemma of how to provide electrification to millions in the developing world, and as a critical metal for developing new battery and nuclear power technology.

What follows below are his key points:

  • The United States, Europe and China have included graphite among a short list of critical metals.
  • the US Geological Service estimates the graphite market to be 10 times the size of the market for rare earth elements. The graphite market is about the same size as the market for nickel. 60% of the market is amorphous graphite and 40% is flake graphite. Most of the growth is in flake graphite (see bullet point below)
  • natural graphite can be processed to make synthetic graphite useful for high-value applications like lithium-ion batteries, but the process is expensive – $10,000 to $20,000/ton versus $3-4,000/t for flake graphite. The result is a race to find the best flake graphite deposits.
  • graphite is different from gold, silver, copper, etc because users require a specific carbon purity level. “It’s security of supply that keeps you up at night,” says Berry.
  • 33% of the graphite market produces refractories and crucibles (used in foundries); only 5% is for batteries. But the lithium-ion battery market is expected to grow by 25% a year.
  • Three of the largest lithium-ion battery makers in the world, GS Yuasa Corp, LG Chem and Liotech, a consortium between Russia and China, are building the largest lithium-ion battery plant in the world, in Russia. “Just these three heavy hitters in the battery space are making multi-million dollar bets on the future of lithium-ion technology, which cannot push forward without graphite,” says Berry.
  • future uses of graphite could include vanadium-redox batteries and hydrogen fuel cells. Graphite could also potentially replace silicon in microchips and silver used in solar panels.
  • by 2020 world consumption of graphite will be 1.9m tonnes, which does not include graphite needed for batteries, fuel cells and Pebble Bed nuclear reactors.
  • China will require 400,000 tonnes of large flake graphite for Pebble Bed nuclear reactors and lithium-ion batteries will require 327,000 tonnes. The current supply of large flake graphite is 400,000t, so there will be a need to double the supply of large flake graphite used in batteries and nuclear reactors in the next eight years. ”The takeaway is if you buy into the electrification thesis, and I’m halfway right, demand should easily outstrip supply,” says Berry.

Gary Economo, CEO of Focus Metals, also makes a number of useful points about graphite in his recently penned article in Proactive Investors USA & Canada. A select few appear below:

  • If there is any doubt about graphite’s importance as a commodity, one only has to look at the trebling of market prices for 97% graphite concentrate during the last decade.
  • Green, off-petroleum technologies are driving demand growth towards a market bubble that even a tsunami of new global production will be unable to deflate by 2020.
  • Industrial Minerals reports that graphite prices between mid-2011 and the end of January 2012 appear to have stabilized after dropping through the end of last year.
  • A current surplus of product in the world market and end-user depletion of stockpiles contributed to the downturn.
  • The United States produces no graphite and is 100% dependent on imports to meet its industrial and technology needs. As a continental neighbor, it makes sense for Canada to look south first, then Europe and Asia as it builds its customer base.

Source: http://www.mining.com/2012/03/27/riding-the-graphite-bull/?utm_source=digest-en-mining-120327&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digest