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Strike Graphite Appoints Chief Executive Officer

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:51 AM on Monday, April 2nd, 2012

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(April 2, 2012) – Strike Graphite Corp. (TSX VENTURE:SRK) (the “Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Blair Way as Chief Executive Officer.

Blair Way is a seasoned management professional with a career spanning over 25 years within the precious metals, petroleum exploration and development, and mining construction sectors throughout Australia, Asia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. In the past several years, Mr. Way has demonstrated success in building and managing teams through to achieving either a major resource milestone or advancing development projects into production.

Mr. Way’s recent career path is highlighted as follows:

Most recently – VP Project Development for Ventana Gold (Vancouver), advancing projects in Colombia and recently acquired by Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista for $1.4 billion.

Just prior – President and Project Director, Oceanagold Philippines, overseeing the construction of the Didipio gold copper project.

As well as – Project Manager Non Ferrous Group with Hatch Associates (Brisbane), providing project management support for various mining and metal related projects in Australia, South Africa, China, Papua New Guinea and South East Asia.

Earlier – Project Director for BHP’s Major Projects division (QNI Pty Ltd) in Townsville, Queensland.

Mr. Way holds a Bachelor of Science (Petroleum Geology) from Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada, as well as a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Queensland, Australia.

Blair Way remarks about his appointment, “While it is very satisfying to be coming off some success by being part of the Ventana team during a take-over, it is now very gratifying at this point in my career to secure a key role within a commodity sector which I am certain is poised for explosive growth in these coming years. I’m delighted to be part of it and looking forward to applying my skills and experience in a Company with such great potential.”

Geoff Balderson, who will remain as President, remarks on the appointment, “We’re very pleased to have Blair come on board with us. The Company is committed to assembling a first class executive and management team in the graphite space, a team with the ability to build and manage projects through the development to PEA stage and through the joint venture and acquisition process. Blair Way is qualified to lead this team and advance the Company rapidly for the benefit of all shareholders.”

About the Company:

Strike Graphite Corp. is a progressive exploration company with seasoned management targeting strategic assets on a global scale. In addition to aggressively advancing its graphite properties in north eastern Saskatchewan toward the goal of achieving a compliant 43-101 resource by Q4, 2012, the Company is also advancing the Satterly Lake gold project in north western Ontario, located just west of Gold Canyon Resources Inc.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Geoff Balderson, President

For more information on the above or to view the Company’s Corporate Presentation on its Graphite assets and opportunity, please visit the Company’s website at www.strikegraphite.com.

We seek safe harbor.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Geoff Balderson
Strike Graphite Corp.
President
604.669.9330
604.669.9335 (FAX)
[email protected]
www.strikegraphite.com

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.

Northern Graphite Successfully Produces and Tests Spherical Graphite for Use in Lithium Ion Batteries

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:40 AM on Monday, April 2nd, 2012

OTTAWA, ONTARIO–(April 2, 2012) – Northern Graphite Corporation (TSX VENTURE:NGC)(OTCQX:NGPHF) is pleased to announce that the Company has successfully manufactured test quantities of spherical graphite from graphite concentrate produced from the Company’s 100% owned Bissett Creek deposit. The spherical graphite has been evaluated in Lithium/graphite battery test cells and the performance of these cells demonstrated that it meets or exceeds current commercial performance requirements and that Bissett Creek graphite does not contain any impurities that negatively affect cell performance. Further test cycles are on-going. The cells were made and testing carried out in a highly qualified, independent laboratory.

Gregory Bowes, Chief Executive Officer, commented that: “Value added processing such as the manufacture of spherical graphite is a big part of Northern Graphite strategy to create value for shareholders.” He added that: “As a result of work that has been completed over the last two years we can now provide potential strategic and offtake partners with representative test samples of graphite concentrate produced using the same flow sheet that will be employed in a full scale mine, and spherical graphite based on that concentrate.”

About Spherical Graphite

Spherical graphite is used to make the anodes in Li ion batteries and is manufactured from the flake concentrate produced by graphite mining operations. The upgrading process consists of micronizing the graphite flakes, rounding them to create a spherical or “potato” shape, and purifying them to increase the carbon content to 99.95%. Northern Graphite micronized and rounded its Bissett Creek graphite to basic industry specifications and can modify it to meet the requirements of various products and manufacturers. Spherical graphite sells for much higher prices than run of mine graphite concentrates and could further enhance the economics of the Bissett Creek Project.

Currently, almost all spherical graphite is produced from small flake concentrates (-100 to +150 mesh) and 70% of the graphite is destroyed in the process. As a result, it takes three tonnes of small flake graphite to make one tonne of spherical graphite. These losses are the single largest cost in the manufacturing of spherical graphite. However, Northern Graphite has achieved spherical graphite yields from its large flake concentrate as high as 70% which will substantially reduce production costs. The large flake nature of the Bissett Creek deposit provides the Company with the flexibility to sell its concentrates into high value, large flake markets or produce spherical graphite at competitive costs for the Li ion battery market.

Almost all spherical graphite is currently produced in China and purified using strong acids which results in large volumes of acidic and toxic waste. This method is not environmentally sustainable as the demand for, and production of, Li ion batteries increases. It is also inconsistent with the green energy objectives of the hybrid and all electric car industry. The high quality and purity of graphite from Bissett Creek has enabled the Company to develop a proprietary purification technology that is environmentally friendly and sustainable. The technology works at much lower temperatures than traditional thermal purification techniques and will result in lower capital and operating costs.

Value Added Processing

Based on the positive test results, the Company will commence engineering and design work to define the capital and operating costs of a facility to upgrade Bissett Creek graphite concentrate into spherical graphite. The objective is to provide Li ion battery manufacturers with a stable, secure source of supply that is produced in an environmentally acceptable manner. This facility will initially be based on the approximately 20% of Bissett Creek production that is -80 mesh with the ability to scale it to larger volumes in the future.

Don Baxter, P.Eng, President of the Company and a “Qualified Person” under 43-101, is responsible for and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this press release.

The Graphite Market

Graphite prices have increased substantially due to the ongoing modernization of China and other emerging economies which has resulted in strong demand from traditional steel and automotive markets. In addition, new applications such as lithium ion batteries, vanadium redox batteries, fuel cells and nuclear power have the potential to create significant incremental demand growth. The manufacturing of Li ion batteries requires up to 30 times more graphite than lithium and their use in the growing EV/HEV market is expected to require significant increases in graphite production. However, graphite production and exports from China, which produces 70% of the world’s supply, are expected to decline and an export tax and a licensing system have been instituted. As a result, both the European Union and the United States have declared graphite a supply critical mineral.

Northern Graphite Corporation

Northern Graphite Corporation is a Canadian company that has a 100% interest in the Bissett Creek graphite deposit located in eastern Ontario. Northern Graphite is well positioned to benefit from this compelling supply/demand dynamic with a high purity, large flake, scalable deposit that is located close to infrastructure. A bankable Final Feasibility Study (“FS”) and permitting are expected to be completed in the first half of 2012, following which mine construction could commence, subject to the results of the FS and financing. Additional information on Northern Graphite can be found under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website at www.northerngraphite.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which can be identified by the use of statements that include words such as “could”, “potential”, “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “plan”, “likely”, “will” or other similar words or phrases. These statements are only current predictions and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

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.

Contact Information

 

Northern Graphite Corporation
Gregory Bowes
CEO
(613) 241-9959

Northern Graphite Corporation
Don Baxter P.Eng
President
(705) 789-9706

Zenyatta shares scream higher ahead of graphite discovery drilling results

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:00 PM on Friday, March 30th, 2012

Without any official news, Zenyatta Ventures shareprice skyrocketed almost 60%. Meanwhile it awaits results from drilling on a new graphite discovery.

Author: Kip Keen
Posted: Friday , 30 Mar 2012

HALIFAX, NS (MINEWEB) –

Over the past two days, trading in Zenyatta Ventures (TSX-V: ZEN) – a newcomer to the graphite exploration game in Ontario, Canada – went from sleepy to hyper. Until Wednesday’s open, daily trading volume of Zenyatta stock averaged 57,000 over the past 16 trading days. Though it had no news to report, that started to change on Wednesday. Zenyatta’s shares climbed 20 percent to C$0.18 on trading volume over a million, about a twenty-fold increase relative to its daily average over the past few weeks.

And on Thursdayn Zenyatta shares sky-rocketed. As of presstime – with still no news to report – Zenyatta was up 58 percent to C$0.29 on a blistering 4.6 million in trading volume.

Graphite – for which Zenyatta recently started exploring near Hearst, Ontario – is undoubtedly the powder setting off Zenyatta shares. Back in early January Zenyatta noted it had drilled a compelling intercept with numerous broad intervals showing significant graphite in a breccia pipe, what it now calls the Albany graphite deposit. Zenyatta highlighted eight of these intercepts, with as much as 68 metres @ 4.2 percent carbon starting about 113 metres downhole. The other intercepts graded between about two and five percent carbon over widths from about five to 50 metres.

At the time the news did not register on Zenyatta shares which were trading around the C$0.15 mark. It did at Zenyatta, which quickly sent samples of the Albany graphite core to a mineralogist at Lakehead University in Ontario for study.

In late February Zenyatta said the results looked positive, with fine to coarse sized flakes and graphite accounting for almost all the reported carbon. This was good news for Zenyatta as it is the coarser-sized flakes of graphite that catch a premium on the graphite market. Thus Zenyatta took the next logical steps. It would drill more, it said, and it would contract SGS Lakefield, an independent consulting company, to test the core samples further to get a sense of how amenable Albany graphite might be to extraction and processing. Those results are expected in May or June.

Around Mid-March Zenyatta started drilling the deposit to test girth. Zenyatta has reason to believe it might be sizeable as it had defined the target as a particularly strong electromagnetic anomaly some 1,400 metres by 800 metres. In a stylized long section on its website Zenyatta shows the deposit as a deep, 1,400-metre-long breccia pipe with a graphite matrix. Drilling will go at this picture with a finer brush.

Zenyatta has said it would drill 4,000 metres in the breccia pipe and that results would be out within a few weeks. That was March 15, some two weeks ago. Has the ticking clock on imminent drilling results caught investor attention? It may be. As of presstime Zenyatta President and CEO Aubrey Eveleigh could not be reached for comment.

Whatever the case, Zenyatta now stands as another example of the hot market for graphite stories. As previously mentioned in these pages, investors look to be clamouring to find graphite investment vehicles and have been willing to pay a premium – as was the case in a recent private placement by Flinders Resources (TSX-V: FDR), another graphite-focused junior. Graphite prices have burgeoned in recent years as it has become apparent that the growing battery industry especially will need large amounts of high purity graphite.

Source: http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page103118?oid=148474&sn=Detail&pid=102055

First Graphite Announces Option Agreement for Mt. Heimdahl Property

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:59 PM on Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – March 28, 2012) –

THIS PRESS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO U.S. NEWS AGENCIES

First Graphite Corp. (the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE:FGR) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a mining option agreement (the “Option Agreement”) dated March 26, 2012, with Thomas Lewis (the “Optionor”), pursuant to which the Optionor has granted the Company an option (the “Option”) to acquire a 100% interest in certain claims located in the Slocan Valley region of the province of British Columbia (the “Mt. Heimdahl Property”).

The Mt. Heimdahl Property, totalling approximately 1045 hectares is located in the Valhalla Ranges, in high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Valhalla Complex, within the Omineca Crystalline Belt. Infrastructure is well developed in the Mt. Heimdahl Property area, as the property is approximately 35 kms south west of Nelson BC, or alternately 41 kms north east of Castlegar. There are existing forestry roads, and a high-tension power line that runs through Koch Creek, approximately 8 kms south of the property, where Eagle Graphite’s beneficiation plant is located.

In consideration of the grant of the Option, the Company will pay $5,000 and issue 100,000 common shares of the Company to the Optionor within five business days of the date that the TSX Venture Exchange issues its approval of the agreement (the “Approval Date”). In order to maintain and exercise the Option, the Company must, by the first anniversary of the Approval Date, issue to the Optionor an additional 100,000 common shares of the Company and pay the Optionor an additional $5,000.

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.

THIS PRESS RELEASE, REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE CANADIAN LAWS, IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES, AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO SELL ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN IN THE UNITED STATES. THESE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN, AND WILL NOT BE, REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS, AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO U.S. PERSONS UNLESS REGISTERED OR EXEMPT THEREFROM.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.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/641771#ixzz1qR2L7IRv

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.

Hub on AGORACOM / Corporate Website

Strike Graphite is an AGORACOM Sponsor