Mason Graphite Inc., Laval, Quebec, Canada, (TSX.V: LLG; OTCQX: MGPHF) has provided 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 at the Company’s annual general meeting of shareholders held on December 29, 2020, the Company has appointed 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.
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.
