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Watch Jim Roger
discuss graphite, graphene and
Mason Graphite on Bloomerg TV:
(1:50 Min)
|
Or
watch the full interview with
Jim Roger
on Bloomberg TV: (8:20 Min)
Here
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| Recent
News For Mason Graphite (OTCQX:
MGPHF, TSX.V: LLG) |
Financial
Press: Mason Graphite Develops a "Freak
Of Nature"
(Financial Press
- Nov 21, 2013) - For 20 years, Benoit
Gascon held executive positions, including
CEO, at Stratmin Graphite, one of North
America's only producing graphite mines
and the only one still in operation today.
In 1996 Gascon negotiated the takeover of
Stratmin Graphite to form Timcal Graphite
& Carbon. He stayed on to run the new
production company.
CEO's of established commodity producers
do not typically move into the riskier
world of junior development.
But in the spring of 2012, Mr. Gascon
joined Mason Graphite (LLG-TSX.V;
MGPHF-OTCQX) after it acquired the Lac
Gueret Graphite project in Northern
Quebec. A few months later two key
executives from Timcal, Luc Veilleus (CFO)
and Jean L'Heureux (V.P. Process
Development) followed Gascon to Mason
Graphite.
What caused this stampede of senior
executives to a junior graphite project?
"The Lac Gueret deposit is a freak of
nature," explains Guy Bennett, CEO of
Global Metal News, "a high grade, large
flake asset with mineralization close to
surface. It is a one-off geological
anomaly that will allow the mine to be
built cheaply and operated with high
margins."
Graphite is a low density allotrope of the
element carbon. Natural graphite comes in
three forms: flake, amorphous and lump.
Key applications include lithium ion
batteries, fuel cells and nuclear
reactors. There is 20 x times more
graphite by weight in a lithium-ion
battery, than lithium. Global consumption
of has doubled from 600,000 tons in 2000
to 1,200,000 tons in 2013.
Mason's 100% owned Lac Gueret graphite
property currently hosts an NI 43-101
compliant mineral resource based only on
17% of the known mineralized zone.
A Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA)
projects 22 years of production at 27.4%
Cg and a pre-tax internal rate of return
of 33.7%. Preliminary Metallurgical
Testing was completed in February 2013 and
shows graphite recoveries in excess of
96%.
"All batteries need graphite and
applications are very diversified - going
from steel making to autoparts and
electronics - so it is a material that we
use every day but don't see," explains
Mason CEO Benoit Gascon, "There is only
one graphite mine currently operating in
Canada, the Stratmin mine. I was the CEO
of that operation for many years. The
Stratmin mine was profitable at $600 a
tonne, the current prices are around
$1,400 a tonne."
The 11,630 ha Lac Gueret project is
located 288 km from a service centre. It
has all-weather access from Hwy 389 and
there are logging roads throughout the
property. Quebec is a mature mining
jurisdiction and provides access to a deep
pool of skilled labour. Gascon seems to
have fostered good relations with First
Nations stakeholders.
Demand for graphite has increased 5% per
year since 2000 due to the rapid
urbanisation of China, India and other
emerging economies. China currently
produces 70% of the world's graphite but
it is mostly low-carbon, low-value powder
or small flake. An export tax and
licensing system have been instituted in
China, choking off supply to international
markets.
"Back in the 1990s we had severe
competition from the Chinese," explains
Gascon, "At that time they weren't using a
lot of graphite domestically, so they were
exporting most of their product, which is
to say, they were importing foreign
currencies."
A recent European Commission study
included graphite among the 14 materials
high in economic importance and supply
risk. Battery application demand for the
next decade is projected to grow 10-18%.
"There has been little new graphite mining
outside China in the last 20 years,"
stated Gascon, "and demand is increasing
because the Chinese are now producing cars
and steel."
Electric vehicles and lithium battery
technologies are catalysing surging global
graphite demand - with a premium on large
flake, high purity graphite (+80 mesh,
0.2mm, 94-97% Carbon) typical of the Mason
Graphite project. Large flake graphite
commands premium pricing.
Lac Gueret's PEA anticipates annual
production of 50,000 tonnes. Because the
deposit is relatively near surface, direct
capital cost requirement is a modest $90
million, with production costs of
$390/tonne. The Internal Rate of Return of
33.7%. With these robust economics, Mason
Graphite has succeeded in raising $24
million since April 2012.
Unlike gold and copper, graphite is not
openly traded. Prices are negotiated
between end-users and producers for annual
or multi-year contracts. Prices vary based
on parameters such as purity, size,
impurities and shape.
It is paramount that a graphite company
going into production establish
relationships with buyers. A typical
contract with brake manufacturer
establishes price, product specifications,
volume, timing and delivery. Theses
business relationships can take years to
establish. Continuous contact with
customers is fundamental. Here LLG has a
significant competitive advantage as
Gascon has 700 end users on his rolodex
from his days at Stratmin Graphite.
There is another kicker to this Mason
Graphite story: the recent discovery of
graphene - a one-atom thick layer of
mineral graphite. Graphene is very strong,
light, flexible, nearly transparent, and
an excellent conductor of heat and
electricity.
It is such a radical advance on any known
material that there are already 10,000
registered graphene-based patents. In
2013, Jari Kinaret from Sweden's Chalmers
University of Technology secured a
âââ'¬Å¡Ã'¬1 billion grant from the
European Union for graphene research.
Predicted applications include display
screens, electric circuits, and solar
cells, as well as medical, chemical and
industrial processes.
"Mason Graphite is focussed on building
this mine for the current market of
graphite," stated Simon Marcotte, Mason's
V.P of Corporate Development, "When the
graphene demand arrives we expect to
already be in production and the
additional demand will be gravy for our
shareholders."
Since acquiring the Lac Gueret project in
April 2012, Mason Graphite has completed a
26,500 metre drilling program, an initial
NI 43-101 mineral resource, and a
Preliminary Economic Assessment.
Short term de-risking events include the
publication of an updated 43-101, a 3rd
and last drilling campaign, the initiation
of a Definitive Feasibility Study, and an
Environmental Baseline Study.
"The recent developments at our Lac Gueret
project have met or exceeded our
expectations," stated Gascon, "The speed
at which we have been able to advance the
project speaks to the quality of our asset
and the experience of our team. We
continue to work diligently to become a
graphite producer as quickly as possible."
Mason Graphite is currently trading at .39
with a market cap of $26 million - a
significant discount to its lower-grade
peers.
|
Corporate Summary -
Mason Graphite (OTCQX: MGPHF,
TSX.V: LLG) |
|
Mason Graphite is a Canadian
mining company focused on the
exploration and development of one
of the highest grade graphite
deposits known in the world.
Its 100% owned Lac Gueret graphite
property is located in
northeastern Quebec near the main
service center of Baie-Comeau and
currently hosts a NI 43-101
compliant Measured & Indicated
mineral resource of 7.6 million
tonnes grading 20.4% Cg (carbon as
graphite). 20.4% Cgr is the
equivalent to about 9.1 g/t gold
(assuming graphite price of $1,750
and gold price of $1,250. Source:
Craig Miller at TD Securities).
|
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Tremendous exploration
potential exists on the property with the
current mineral resource based on
exploration of only 17% of one well
defined zone. By the end of 2015, the
Company intends to have developed the Lac
Gueret project into one of the world's
highest grade graphite producers.
Mason Graphite is led by Benoit Gascon, CA
CMA, who has held 20 years of executive
positions at Timcal, including over 6
years as CEO. Timcal, now owned by Imerys,
is the largest graphite producer in the
world.
- 43-101
resource update
- 3rd and
last drilling program
- Initiation
of feasibility study
- Completion
of Environmental Baseline
Studies
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Learn More About
Graphene |
Graphene - the new
wonder material
| Article
courtesy of
|
 |
 |
The molecule is
priceless but it is not a matter
of cost - a
few hundred dollars per kilo.
The value lies in its potential.
The molecule in question is
called graphene and the EU is
prepared to devote $1.3bn to it
between 2013 and 2023 to find
out if it can transform a range
of sectors such as electronics,
energy, health and construction.
According to Scopus, the
bibliographic database, more
than 8,000 papers have been
written about graphene since
2005.
Graphene conducts
electricity better than copper.
It is 200 times stronger than
steel but six times lighter. It
is almost perfectly transparent
since it only absorbs 2% of
light. It impermeable to gases,
even those as light as hydrogen
or helium, and, if that were not
enough, chemical components can
be added to its surface to alter
its properties.
Read
More |
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