Any OTC company is focusing on graphene?

Graphene Council identifies Versarien as quality graphene maker.

https://www.compositesworld.com/blog/post/nanomaterials-products-supply-chain-mature-for-next-gen-composites

6/26/2019
Nanomaterials: Products, supply chain mature for next-gen composites

Verifying producers and supporting developers


One of the challenges facing a dynamic, fast-maturing technology is to build trust in the supply chain. To that end, the Graphene Council is working to mature the global supply chain through its Verified Graphene Producer program. Versarien plc (Cheltenham, U.K.) is the first graphene supplier to successfully complete this independent, third-party verification system that involves a physical inspection of the production facilities and review of the entire production process and safety procedures. “We also take random samples of their products and submit them for blind testing to be rigorously characterized at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL, Teddington, U.K.), a world-class institution that follows ISO/TR 19733:2019 for Nanotechnologies,” says the Graphene Council’s Barkan. NADCAP is an analogous audit program long used by the aerospace industry for the same purpose. “Without this type of program, customers have no clue what they are getting when they buy and receive graphene products,” says Barkan. “Our Verified Graphene Producer program is an important step to provide a level of confidence in the both products and producers worldwide.”

The Graphene Council also works to improve development of graphene applications. “We connect companies with resources to help them quickly navigate products, producers, materials science and testing for faster, more successful development,” says Barkan. “We also provide independent, third-party advisory services to help companies that want to use graphene, but don’t know where to start. We not only have reach into our formal members, but also track more than 200 companies involved with graphene worldwide. We monitor what is being developed and the latest scientific and research results, helping to understand what type of graphene to use, how to functionalize and disperse it and how to test for performance.” He notes a close relationship with the Graphene Engineering & Innovation Center (GEIC) at the University of Manchester (Manchester, UK), where graphene was first discovered. “This is a rapid prototyping center,” says Barkan, “and helps us to leverage what graphene can do.”

Summary for those interested in Versarien:

Versarien PLC is the first graphene company in the world to successfully complete the US based Graphene Council's "Verified Graphene Producer” programme.

Versarien produces, develops and commercialises advanced materials technology with graphene (brand name: Nanene), graphene electrically conductive ink (brand name: Graphinks) and boron nitride (brand name: Hexotene) currently core products. There are however, many further materials being researched by the company which could have equally have amazing qualities.

It is a British Company and listed on the London AIM market under the ticker VRS.

Link to the website: http://www.versarien.com/

Discovered in 2004 at the University of Manchester, graphene is a single layer of graphite arranged in a hexagonal lattice. At 200x stronger than steel it is the strongest known material, yet it's also stretchy. It is better at carrying electricity and heat than any other material, better by far than silver and copper. It is optically transparent, yet so dense that it is impermeable to gases so even helium, the smallest gas atom, cannot pass through it.

Graphene can create multiple benefits in multiple industries. Here are a few examples based on proven applications:

Construction:
Adding a small amount of graphene to cement makes concrete that is 30% stronger allowing buildings and other structures to be made using less material, increasing efficiently with lower costs and much improved environmental impact. Adding graphene to asphalt improves the wear resistance by over 200% and extends the service life of roads.

Aerospace:
Graphene enhanced composites are significantly stronger for the same mass of material. This allows ‘Lightweighting’ meaning less material is needed allowing greater fuel economy and greater range.

Automotive:
Graphene can drastically reduce the weight of vehicles allowing better fuel efficiency while graphene paint provides an ultra-strong coating which is impermeable to gas, water and chemicals, meaning rust could be a thing of the past. Graphene can be used in battery technology to enhance efficiency allowing electric vehicles greater range and faster charging.
Packaging:
It has several properties that lend themselves well to food packaging by acting as a barrier to oxygen and moisture therefore increasing the life of the product, and features both conductivity for antistatic packaging and stiffness for added strength achieving the same mechanical performance using less plastic, and is recyclable.

This is just a very small fraction of the uses for graphene advanced materials that you can use right now.
The pace of change in this emerging industry is astonishing. Whole industries of the future are being based around the use of graphene and these will play a key role in generating economic benefits to those that embrace this exciting advanced materials approach.

Competition:
2D graphene material must be less than 11 layers thick, and anything above is bulk material (graphite). It is very difficult to produce high quality graphene cost effectively at commercial scale, which is why there are many companies which claim to produce graphene, but 95% of them produce multi-layer graphene nano platelets, which is relatively easy to do.

The range of gains from graphene declines rapidly when you move above 10 layers, which is why we are delighted that the ISO standards have just been published. Many of the so called graphene producers will no longer be able to call their product graphene.

Versarien is the first graphene company in the world to successfully complete the US based Graphene Council's "Verified Graphene Producer" programme which provides end-users with a degree of confidence that has not existed before, that they are sourcing material from a reputable supplier capable of producing genuine graphene cost effectively at a commercial scale.

?Many of the companies currently claiming to be producers have serious financial problems. Versarien is 'lucky' to have many arms to the company, including 'traditional' profit making companies which have supported 2DTech through its infancy.

Versarien’s financials:
Review based on Announced Interim Results•
Cash of £6.07 million at 30 September 2018 (30 September 2017: £0.35 million) following? successful fund raising of £5.15 million gross in September 2018•
In October 2018, Versarien completed its acquisition of 62% of the Spanish company Gnanomat?S.L. for £2,647,000 of which £673,000 in cash and £1,974,000 in shares. In addition VRS willprovide a convertible loan to GNA of €750,000 in September 2019 and £500,000 in March 2020.•
Cash used from operations before working capital changes was £375,000 being a monthly cash?consumption of £63,000.•
Free cash is considered to be the excess of a minimum of £1m headroom and the GNA?commitment of £1.1m so free cash at 30 September was £4m which at the H1 burn rate of?£63,000 per month provides circa 5 years operational cash before any increased opex, capex etc

Company Objectives:
VRS's chosen areas initially for developing their graphene technology are carbon fibre composites, polymers and batteries.
The CEO Neill Ricketts has stated in many interviews that he wants VRS to become a huge company. They intend to do this by:
Concentrating (though not exclusively) on 5 main existing collaborations to bring them to the stage where they are producing graphene in commercial quantities for specific applications.??
Establishing new licence arrangements with research institutions and acquiring majority stakes in companies whose intellectual property fits with their definition of advanced materials technology and are capable of commercialising graphene applications and
Continuing to identify opportunities for international expansion.

Connections:
Versarien have links with all the great UK universities including Manchester and Cambridge and now Madrid university too thanks to the Gnanomat acquisition, Versarien have a licensed process from the University of Ulster with 60% ownership of IP.
They are a Tier 1 partner of the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre
They are a project partner with the National Graphene Institute
They have 2 UK Government secondees and around 38 collaborations
They have good working relationships with The Warwick Manufacturing Group, The Energy Innovation Centre, Scafell Organics Ltd, Fern Plastics Ltd, Luxus Ltd and many more.

Then there is their range of products... Nanene, Hexotene, Graphinks and Polgrene just to get us going...many more 2D materials are being worked on as we speak. Then of course moving up the value chain we have Gnanomat and AAC Cryoma....

They currently produce Nanene enhanced earphones which are being sold by MediaDevil and are at an advanced stage of launching a range of mobile phone and tablet device accessories utilising Nanene.
https://mediadevil.com/products/artisanphonics-cb-01-nanene-graphene-wood-earphones

Validation of Versarien's products and people:
-First graphene company in the world to successfully complete the Graphene Council's "Verified Graphene Producer" programme.

-It has been independently tested by the University of Manchester and we believe it to be the highest quality graphene product on the market today.

-The patented process that is used to manufacture Nanene produces high quality graphene nano-platelets with a majority of sub 10 layers and a significant number of sub 5 layers material. This gives Nanene its incredible performance benefits. The quality of this process has been independently verified by several leading United Kingdom universities.

-They have been successful in all the tenders entered into to supply the UK Government’s Centre for Process Innovation with nanomaterials after a competitive process.

-Versarien has been appointed as the inaugural Industry Council member and Corporate Partner of The National Graphene Association ("NGA"), the main organisation and body in the US advocating and promoting the commercialisation of graphene. It was also selected to be The Graphene Council's launch client for their 'Verified Graphene Producer’ programme to independently verify that the Company's Nanene graphene nano platelets meet their demanding standards.

-The quality of their Nanene graphene nano platelets has been satisfactorily tested by the Chinese National Graphene Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Centre (NGSIC) in Wuxi and more importantly the Chinese appear to prefer their graphene over that of the many producers in China.

-Perhaps one of the greatest validations however, is that Dr Denis Koltsov and Dr Martin Kemp who worked on the ISO graphene standards then chose to go and work for the company.

So far they have had no collaborations fail due to product performance.

Summary for those interested in Versarien:

Versarien PLC is the first graphene company in the world to successfully complete the US based Graphene Council's "Verified Graphene Producer” programme.

Versarien produces, develops and commercialises advanced materials technology with graphene (brand name: Nanene), graphene electrically conductive ink (brand name: Graphinks) and boron nitride (brand name: Hexotene) currently core products. There are however, many further materials being researched by the company which could have equally have amazing qualities.

It is a British Company and listed on the London AIM market under the ticker VRS.

Link to the website: http://www.versarien.com/

Discovered in 2004 at the University of Manchester, graphene is a single layer of graphite arranged in a hexagonal lattice. At 200x stronger than steel it is the strongest known material, yet it's also stretchy. It is better at carrying electricity and heat than any other material, better by far than silver and copper. It is optically transparent, yet so dense that it is impermeable to gases so even helium, the smallest gas atom, cannot pass through it.

Graphene can create multiple benefits in multiple industries. Here are a few examples based on proven applications:

Construction:
Adding a small amount of graphene to cement makes concrete that is 30% stronger allowing buildings and other structures to be made using less material, increasing efficiently with lower costs and much improved environmental impact. Adding graphene to asphalt improves the wear resistance by over 200% and extends the service life of roads.

Aerospace:
Graphene enhanced composites are significantly stronger for the same mass of material. This allows ‘Lightweighting’ meaning less material is needed allowing greater fuel economy and greater range.

Automotive:
Graphene can drastically reduce the weight of vehicles allowing better fuel efficiency while graphene paint provides an ultra-strong coating which is impermeable to gas, water and chemicals, meaning rust could be a thing of the past. Graphene can be used in battery technology to enhance efficiency allowing electric vehicles greater range and faster charging.
Packaging:
It has several properties that lend themselves well to food packaging by acting as a barrier to oxygen and moisture therefore increasing the life of the product, and features both conductivity for antistatic packaging and stiffness for added strength achieving the same mechanical performance using less plastic, and is recyclable.

This is just a very small fraction of the uses for graphene advanced materials that you can use right now.
The pace of change in this emerging industry is astonishing. Whole industries of the future are being based around the use of graphene and these will play a key role in generating economic benefits to those that embrace this exciting advanced materials approach.

Competition:
2D graphene material must be less than 11 layers thick, and anything above is bulk material (graphite). It is very difficult to produce high quality graphene cost effectively at commercial scale, which is why there are many companies which claim to produce graphene, but 95% of them produce multi-layer graphene nano platelets, which is relatively easy to do.

The range of gains from graphene declines rapidly when you move above 10 layers, which is why we are delighted that the ISO standards have just been published. Many of the so called graphene producers will no longer be able to call their product graphene.

Versarien is the first graphene company in the world to successfully complete the US based Graphene Council's "Verified Graphene Producer" programme which provides end-users with a degree of confidence that has not existed before, that they are sourcing material from a reputable supplier capable of producing genuine graphene cost effectively at a commercial scale.

?Many of the companies currently claiming to be producers have serious financial problems. Versarien is 'lucky' to have many arms to the company, including 'traditional' profit making companies which have supported 2DTech through its infancy.

Versarien’s financials: ?
Review based on Announced Interim Results?•
Cash of £6.07 million at 30 September 2018 (30 September 2017: £0.35 million) following? successful fund raising of £5.15 million gross in September 2018?•
In October 2018, Versarien completed its acquisition of 62% of the Spanish company Gnanomat?S.L. for £2,647,000 of which £673,000 in cash and £1,974,000 in shares. In addition VRS will?provide a convertible loan to GNA of €750,000 in September 2019 and £500,000 in March 2020.?•
Cash used from operations before working capital changes was £375,000 being a monthly cash?consumption of £63,000.?•
Free cash is considered to be the excess of a minimum of £1m headroom and the GNA?commitment of £1.1m so free cash at 30 September was £4m which at the H1 burn rate of?£63,000 per month provides circa 5 years operational cash before any increased opex, capex etc

Company Objectives:?
VRS's chosen areas initially for developing their graphene technology are carbon fibre composites, polymers and batteries.??
The CEO Neill Ricketts has stated in many interviews that he wants VRS to become a huge company. They intend to do this by:??
Concentrating (though not exclusively) on 5 main existing collaborations to bring them to the stage where they are producing graphene in commercial quantities for specific applications.??
Establishing new licence arrangements with research institutions and acquiring majority stakes in companies whose intellectual property fits with their definition of advanced materials technology and are capable of commercialising graphene applications and
Continuing to identify opportunities for international expansion.??

Connections: ?
Versarien have links with all the great UK universities including Manchester and Cambridge and now Madrid university too thanks to the Gnanomat acquisition, Versarien have a licensed process from the University of Ulster with 60% ownership of IP.??
They are a Tier 1 partner of the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre
They are a project partner with the National Graphene Institute
They have 2 UK Government secondees and around 38 collaborations
They have good working relationships with The Warwick Manufacturing Group, The Energy Innovation Centre, Scafell Organics Ltd, Fern Plastics Ltd, Luxus Ltd and many more.??

Then there is their range of products... Nanene, Hexotene, Graphinks and Polgrene just to get us going...many more 2D materials are being worked on as we speak. Then of course moving up the value chain we have Gnanomat and AAC Cryoma....

They currently produce Nanene enhanced earphones which are being sold by MediaDevil and are at an advanced stage of launching a range of mobile phone and tablet device accessories utilising Nanene.
https://mediadevil.com/products/artisanphonics-cb-01-nanene-graphene-wood-earphones
?
Validation of Versarien's products and people:
-First graphene company in the world to successfully complete the Graphene Council's "Verified Graphene Producer" programme.
?
-It has been independently tested by the University of Manchester and we believe it to be the highest quality graphene product on the market today.
?
-The patented process that is used to manufacture Nanene produces high quality graphene nano-platelets with a majority of sub 10 layers and a significant number of sub 5 layers material. This gives Nanene its incredible performance benefits. The quality of this process has been independently verified by several leading United Kingdom universities.
?
-They have been successful in all the tenders entered into to supply the UK Government’s Centre for Process Innovation with nanomaterials after a competitive process.
?
-Versarien has been appointed as the inaugural Industry Council member and Corporate Partner of The National Graphene Association ("NGA"), the main organisation and body in the US advocating and promoting the commercialisation of graphene. It was also selected to be The Graphene Council's launch client for their 'Verified Graphene Producer’ programme to independently verify that the Company's Nanene graphene nano platelets meet their demanding standards.
?
-The quality of their Nanene graphene nano platelets has been satisfactorily tested by the Chinese National Graphene Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Centre (NGSIC) in Wuxi and more importantly the Chinese appear to prefer their graphene over that of the many producers in China.
?
-Perhaps one of the greatest validations however, is that Dr Denis Koltsov and Dr Martin Kemp who worked on the ISO graphene standards then chose to go and work for the company.

So far they have had no collaborations fail due to product performance.??

List of Collaborations:??
1. 20/4/16 -Nanene enhanced battery collaboration with Warwick Manufacturing Group

2. 11/5/16 -Carbon fibre collaboration with Bromley Technology

3. 14/6/16 -Carbon fibre collab’ with Absolute Engineering?

4. 23/6/16 -N enhanced composites for aerospace components with CT Engineering (supply Airbus)

?5. 14/12/16 -N enhanced PAEK materials with Scafell Organics Ltd (polymers for auto & aero industries)?

6. 19/12/16 -N enhanced PAEK materials with Fern Plastic Products (injection moulded products)

7. 3/10/17 -Collab with Israel Aerospace?

8&9. 17/11/17 -Collabs with 2 of the world’s largest consumer groups to make N enhanced polymers for packaging

10. 4/12/17 -Agreement with US Fortune 100 chemical supplier - N and other 2D products in packaging?

11. 8/1/18 -Agreement with Global Apparel manufacturer (HQ Asia) - fabrics & high perf sportswear -INKS

12. 15/1/18 -LOI with Jinan/Shandong - planned Chinese manufacturing facility?

13. 27/2/18 -Collab with VivoBarefoot - N enhanced resins & fibres for footwear?

14. 14/3/18 -Collab with Team Sky - cycling products using N & INKS?

15. 27/3/18 -Collab with a world leading aerospace group - engines & mechanical systems & sensory devices - propeller initial £200k
?
16. 16/4/18 -European tyre manufacturer - initial order 500gr

17. 30/4/18 -Agreement with LUXUS (UK plastics manufacturer) N enhanced polymers for packaging, automotive, civil engineering sectors (AAC Cryoma, WMG)?

18. 29/5/18 -FTSE listed European manufacturer of consumer products for personal & household goods?

19. 8/6/18 -Collab with ArrowGreenTech - graphinks for PVA film, N banknotes & passports - (both exclusives) -tyre & rubber sectors (exclusive India only), 1st refusal on manufacturing plant in India

20. 18/6/18 -Collab with MediaDevil earplugs
?
21. 2/7/18 -Zap&Go supercapacitators

22. 2/7/18 -Flexibat - thin batteries for wearable devices (£145k funding granted)?

23. 2/8/18 -Collab with a top sportswear manufacturer - footwear & textiles?

24. 20/8/18 -Collab with AXIA - composite mats & smart graphene devices (N & INKS), S Korea, smart buildings & EVs?

25. 24/8/18 -AECOM US Fortune 500, large civil engineering structures - first SOW confirmed which includes the supply of 50 kg of graphene enhanced polymer material to be delivered in early December 2018 and a further 200kg early Jan '19 for final testing.

26. 1/10/18 -Completion of acquisition and collab with Gnanomat utilising Nanene for energy storage devices for use in EVs and portable electronic devices?

27. 18/10/18 -Collab with Advanced Insulation Ltd - sub-sea insulation materials, with a view to improving their tear resistance and reducing water absorption.?

28. 4/11/18 -Agreement with Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Commerce - Q to become one of the principal places to develop VRS' market in China - Q will assist VRS to form relationships with local businesses & identify investors - Q will help form a "Sino-foreign joint venture" which may include capital contributions.?

29. 7/11/18 -MOU with Tunghsu Optoelectronic Technology Ltd - upgraded to an LOI on 14/03/19 - the companies are to work together to manufacture in China new generation graphene heaters based on the micro-flow graphene ink technology and to develop other products utilising a variety of 2d materials, including graphene-enhanced sports equipment and smart wearable devices.
?
30. 15/11/18 -Major Global Airline - order for the supply of Versarien's graphene nanoplatelets to a design and manufacturing company for use in fire retardant aircraft interior parts which have gained the necessary certification from a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified, fire testing laboratory.?

31. 19/11/18 - MOU with Jinan High-tech Financial Investment Co., Ltd - to establish a joint venture for the manufacture and sale of the Company's Nanene, Graphinks and other related graphene products in Jinan.?

32. - 04/12/18 -Polygrene launch - to enable us to offer customers an already compounded material incorporating graphene that they can use in existing production processes.
?
33. - 05/12/18 -MOU with China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co Ltd. ("CTCE"), a subsidiary of China Railway Group Limited ("CRG"). - for use in anticorrosive and fireproof coatings, heat conductive and heating materials for the temperature control of structures, sensors for the mechanical monitoring of engineering structures, special engineering plastics, rubber and asphalt.?

34. 17/12/18 -GNA patent awarded which will enable the development of the technology needed to produce commercially viable graphene enhanced batteries and other energy storage devices.?

35. 09/12/18- Collab with large state-owned Chinese Aerospace Co. Nanene and other 2d materials including Hexotene.

36. 04/02/19 -MOU signed with another of China's Fortune 500 building materials companies to use our powders and inks for in flame-retardant applications, conductive shielding applications, the development and manufacture of new generation graphene heaters using graphene inks, winter sports equipment, specifically targeted at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, smart wearable devices, including sensors and smart earphones, the incorporation of graphene into concrete, anti-corrosion coatings, 3D printing of concrete and certain rail projects, solar energy, photovoltaic cells and smart buildings and Gnanomat's proprietary nanomaterials into supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries. Nanene graphene nano platelets has been satisfactorily tested by NGSIC.?

37. 07/03/19 - MOU with a second large state-owned Chinese aerospace company focussed on developing additional innovative products incorporating Nanene in to film materials and sensors.

38. Term Sheet with Beijing Institute of Graphene Technology which envisages that BIGT will provide funding to Versarien to establish a subsidiary company in China in the form of an equity investment in the Company, providing BIGT with a holding of up to 15% of the issued share capital of the Company.

The Team:
CEO - Neill Ricketts
CFO - Chris Leigh
Head of Commerce - David Kerr
NED - Iain Gray
Consultant- Nigel Laughton
Head of International Strategy and Government Relations - Matt Walker (secondee: Dept’ International Trade)
Deputy Head of International Strategy and Government Relations - Yi Luo (secondee: Dept’ International Trade)
Head of Research - Dr Stephen Hodge
Heads of Technology - Dr Denis Koltsov and Dr Martin Kemp
Cambridge Graphene Consultant - Mark Shepherd
Cambridge graphene technology Advisor - Professor Andrea Ferrari
Nomad & Broker - Cannacord Genuity Ltd
China contact - Bruno
Korean contact - Rachel Yeong-Mee Kim
Vice President of North American Operations - Patrick Abbott

Hi Grabster good to see you posting on here. VRS has a huge following in the UK, & has been a superb investment for those of us who bought in 2017.

The only real Verified Graphene producer in the world, with scaleable production.

Notification of the first large order should see this much higher.

Summary for those new to Versarien

Versarien PLC is the first graphene company in the world to successfully complete the US based Graphene Council's "Verified Graphene Producer” programme.

Versarien produces, develops and commercialises advanced materials technology with graphene (brand name: Nanene), graphene electrically conductive ink (brand name: Graphinks) and boron nitride (brand name: Hexotene) currently core products. There are however, many further materials being researched by the company which could have equally have amazing qualities.

It is a British Company and listed on the London AIM market under the ticker VRS.

Link to the website: http://www.versarien.com/

Discovered in 2004 at the University of Manchester, graphene is a single layer of graphite arranged in a hexagonal lattice. At 200x stronger than steel it is the strongest known material, yet it's also stretchy. It is better at carrying electricity and heat than any other material, better by far than silver and copper. It is optically transparent, yet so dense that it is impermeable to gases so even helium, the smallest gas atom, cannot pass through it.

Graphene can create multiple benefits in multiple industries. Here are a few examples based on proven applications:

Construction:
Adding a small amount of graphene to cement makes concrete that is 30% stronger allowing buildings and other structures to be made using less material, increasing efficiently with lower costs and much improved environmental impact. Adding graphene to asphalt improves the wear resistance by over 200% and extends the service life of roads.

Aerospace:
Graphene enhanced composites are significantly stronger for the same mass of material. This allows ‘Lightweighting’ meaning less material is needed allowing greater fuel economy and greater range.

Automotive:
Graphene can drastically reduce the weight of vehicles allowing better fuel efficiency while graphene paint provides an ultra-strong coating which is impermeable to gas, water and chemicals, meaning rust could be a thing of the past. Graphene can be used in battery technology to enhance efficiency allowing electric vehicles greater range and faster charging.
Packaging:
It has several properties that lend themselves well to food packaging by acting as a barrier to oxygen and moisture therefore increasing the life of the product, and features both conductivity for antistatic packaging and stiffness for added strength achieving the same mechanical performance using less plastic, and is recyclable.

This is just a very small fraction of the uses for graphene advanced materials that you can use right now.
The pace of change in this emerging industry is astonishing. Whole industries of the future are being based around the use of graphene and these will play a key role in generating economic benefits to those that embrace this exciting advanced materials approach.

Competition:
2D graphene material must be less than 11 layers thick, and anything above is bulk material (graphite). It is very difficult to produce high quality graphene cost effectively at commercial scale, which is why there are many companies which claim to produce graphene, but 95% of them produce multi-layer graphene nano platelets, which is relatively easy to do.

The range of gains from graphene declines rapidly when you move above 10 layers, which is why we are delighted that the ISO standards have just been published. Many of the so called graphene producers will no longer be able to call their product graphene.

Versarien is the first graphene company in the world to successfully complete the US based Graphene Council's "Verified Graphene Producer" programme which provides end-users with a degree of confidence that has not existed before, that they are sourcing material from a reputable supplier capable of producing genuine graphene cost effectively at a commercial scale.

?Many of the companies currently claiming to be producers have serious financial problems. Versarien is 'lucky' to have many arms to the company, including 'traditional' profit making companies which have supported 2DTech through its infancy.

Versarien’s financials: ?
Review based on Announced Interim Results?•
Cash of £6.07 million at 30 September 2018 (30 September 2017: £0.35 million) following? successful fund raising of £5.15 million gross in September 2018?•
In October 2018, Versarien completed its acquisition of 62% of the Spanish company Gnanomat?S.L. for £2,647,000 of which £673,000 in cash and £1,974,000 in shares. In addition VRS will?provide a convertible loan to GNA of €750,000 in September 2019 and £500,000 in March 2020.?•
Cash used from operations before working capital changes was £375,000 being a monthly cash?consumption of £63,000.?•
Free cash is considered to be the excess of a minimum of £1m headroom and the GNA?commitment of £1.1m so free cash at 30 September was £4m which at the H1 burn rate of?£63,000 per month provides circa 5 years operational cash before any increased opex, capex etc

Company Objectives:?
VRS's chosen areas initially for developing their graphene technology are carbon fibre composites, polymers and batteries.??
The CEO Neill Ricketts has stated in many interviews that he wants VRS to become a huge company. They intend to do this by:??
Concentrating (though not exclusively) on 5 main existing collaborations to bring them to the stage where they are producing graphene in commercial quantities for specific applications.??
Establishing new licence arrangements with research institutions and acquiring majority stakes in companies whose intellectual property fits with their definition of advanced materials technology and are capable of commercialising graphene applications and
Continuing to identify opportunities for international expansion.??

Connections: ?
Versarien have links with all the great UK universities including Manchester and Cambridge and now Madrid university too thanks to the Gnanomat acquisition, Versarien have a licensed process from the University of Ulster with 60% ownership of IP.??
They are a Tier 1 partner of the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre
They are a project partner with the National Graphene Institute
They have 2 UK Government secondees and around 38 collaborations
They have good working relationships with The Warwick Manufacturing Group, The Energy Innovation Centre, Scafell Organics Ltd, Fern Plastics Ltd, Luxus Ltd and many more.??

Then there is their range of products... Nanene, Hexotene, Graphinks and Polgrene just to get us going...many more 2D materials are being worked on as we speak. Then of course moving up the value chain we have Gnanomat and AAC Cryoma....

They currently produce Nanene enhanced earphones which are being sold by MediaDevil and are at an advanced stage of launching a range of mobile phone and tablet device accessories utilising Nanene.
https://mediadevil.com/products/artisanphonics-cb-01-nanene-graphene-wood-earphones
?
Validation of Versarien's products and people:
-First graphene company in the world to successfully complete the Graphene Council's "Verified Graphene Producer" programme.
?
-It has been independently tested by the University of Manchester and we believe it to be the highest quality graphene product on the market today.
?
-The patented process that is used to manufacture Nanene produces high quality graphene nano-platelets with a majority of sub 10 layers and a significant number of sub 5 layers material. This gives Nanene its incredible performance benefits. The quality of this process has been independently verified by several leading United Kingdom universities.
?
-They have been successful in all the tenders entered into to supply the UK Government’s Centre for Process Innovation with nanomaterials after a competitive process.
?
-Versarien has been appointed as the inaugural Industry Council member and Corporate Partner of The National Graphene Association ("NGA"), the main organisation and body in the US advocating and promoting the commercialisation of graphene. It was also selected to be The Graphene Council's launch client for their 'Verified Graphene Producer’ programme to independently verify that the Company's Nanene graphene nano platelets meet their demanding standards.
?
-The quality of their Nanene graphene nano platelets has been satisfactorily tested by the Chinese National Graphene Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Centre (NGSIC) in Wuxi and more importantly the Chinese appear to prefer their graphene over that of the many producers in China.
?
-Perhaps one of the greatest validations however, is that Dr Denis Koltsov and Dr Martin Kemp who worked on the ISO graphene standards then chose to go and work for the company.

So far they have had no collaborations fail due to product performance.??

List of Collaborations:??
1. 20/4/16 -Nanene enhanced battery collaboration with Warwick Manufacturing Group

2. 11/5/16 -Carbon fibre collaboration with Bromley Technology

3. 14/6/16 -Carbon fibre collab’ with Absolute Engineering?

4. 23/6/16 -N enhanced composites for aerospace components with CT Engineering (supply Airbus)

?5. 14/12/16 -N enhanced PAEK materials with Scafell Organics Ltd (polymers for auto & aero industries)?

6. 19/12/16 -N enhanced PAEK materials with Fern Plastic Products (injection moulded products)

7. 3/10/17 -Collab with Israel Aerospace?

8&9. 17/11/17 -Collabs with 2 of the world’s largest consumer groups to make N enhanced polymers for packaging

10. 4/12/17 -Agreement with US Fortune 100 chemical supplier - N and other 2D products in packaging?

11. 8/1/18 -Agreement with Global Apparel manufacturer (HQ Asia) - fabrics & high perf sportswear -INKS

12. 15/1/18 -LOI with Jinan/Shandong - planned Chinese manufacturing facility?

13. 27/2/18 -Collab with VivoBarefoot - N enhanced resins & fibres for footwear?

14. 14/3/18 -Collab with Team Sky - cycling products using N & INKS?

15. 27/3/18 -Collab with a world leading aerospace group - engines & mechanical systems & sensory devices - propeller initial £200k
?
16. 16/4/18 -European tyre manufacturer - initial order 500gr

17. 30/4/18 -Agreement with LUXUS (UK plastics manufacturer) N enhanced polymers for packaging, automotive, civil engineering sectors (AAC Cryoma, WMG)?

18. 29/5/18 -FTSE listed European manufacturer of consumer products for personal & household goods?

19. 8/6/18 -Collab with ArrowGreenTech - graphinks for PVA film, N banknotes & passports - (both exclusives) -tyre & rubber sectors (exclusive India only), 1st refusal on manufacturing plant in India

20. 18/6/18 -Collab with MediaDevil earplugs
?
21. 2/7/18 -Zap&Go supercapacitators

22. 2/7/18 -Flexibat - thin batteries for wearable devices (£145k funding granted)?

23. 2/8/18 -Collab with a top sportswear manufacturer - footwear & textiles?

24. 20/8/18 -Collab with AXIA - composite mats & smart graphene devices (N & INKS), S Korea, smart buildings & EVs?

25. 24/8/18 -AECOM US Fortune 500, large civil engineering structures - first SOW confirmed which includes the supply of 50 kg of graphene enhanced polymer material to be delivered in early December 2018 and a further 200kg early Jan '19 for final testing.

26. 1/10/18 -Completion of acquisition and collab with Gnanomat utilising Nanene for energy storage devices for use in EVs and portable electronic devices?

27. 18/10/18 -Collab with Advanced Insulation Ltd - sub-sea insulation materials, with a view to improving their tear resistance and reducing water absorption.?

28. 4/11/18 -Agreement with Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Commerce - Q to become one of the principal places to develop VRS' market in China - Q will assist VRS to form relationships with local businesses & identify investors - Q will help form a "Sino-foreign joint venture" which may include capital contributions.?

29. 7/11/18 -MOU with Tunghsu Optoelectronic Technology Ltd - upgraded to an LOI on 14/03/19 - the companies are to work together to manufacture in China new generation graphene heaters based on the micro-flow graphene ink technology and to develop other products utilising a variety of 2d materials, including graphene-enhanced sports equipment and smart wearable devices.
?
30. 15/11/18 -Major Global Airline - order for the supply of Versarien's graphene nanoplatelets to a design and manufacturing company for use in fire retardant aircraft interior parts which have gained the necessary certification from a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified, fire testing laboratory.?

31. 19/11/18 - MOU with Jinan High-tech Financial Investment Co., Ltd - to establish a joint venture for the manufacture and sale of the Company's Nanene, Graphinks and other related graphene products in Jinan.?

32. - 04/12/18 -Polygrene launch - to enable us to offer customers an already compounded material incorporating graphene that they can use in existing production processes.
?
33. - 05/12/18 -MOU with China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co Ltd. ("CTCE"), a subsidiary of China Railway Group Limited ("CRG"). - for use in anticorrosive and fireproof coatings, heat conductive and heating materials for the temperature control of structures, sensors for the mechanical monitoring of engineering structures, special engineering plastics, rubber and asphalt.?

34. 17/12/18 -GNA patent awarded which will enable the development of the technology needed to produce commercially viable graphene enhanced batteries and other energy storage devices.?

35. 09/12/18- Collab with large state-owned Chinese Aerospace Co. Nanene and other 2d materials including Hexotene.

36. 04/02/19 -MOU signed with another of China's Fortune 500 building materials companies to use our powders and inks for in flame-retardant applications, conductive shielding applications, the development and manufacture of new generation graphene heaters using graphene inks, winter sports equipment, specifically targeted at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, smart wearable devices, including sensors and smart earphones, the incorporation of graphene into concrete, anti-corrosion coatings, 3D printing of concrete and certain rail projects, solar energy, photovoltaic cells and smart buildings and Gnanomat's proprietary nanomaterials into supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries. Nanene graphene nano platelets has been satisfactorily tested by NGSIC.?

37. 07/03/19 - MOU with a second large state-owned Chinese aerospace company focussed on developing additional innovative products incorporating Nanene in to film materials and sensors.

38. Term Sheet with Beijing Institute of Graphene Technology which envisages that BIGT will provide funding to Versarien to establish a subsidiary company in China in the form of an equity investment in the Company, providing BIGT with a holding of up to 15% of the issued share capital of the Company.

The Team:
CEO - Neill Ricketts
CFO - Chris Leigh
Head of Commerce - David Kerr
NED - Iain Gray
Consultant- Nigel Laughton
Head of International Strategy and Government Relations - Matt Walker (secondee: Dept’ International Trade)
Deputy Head of International Strategy and Government Relations - Yi Luo (secondee: Dept’ International Trade)
Head of Research - Dr Stephen Hodge
Heads of Technology - Dr Denis Koltsov and Dr Martin Kemp
Cambridge Graphene Consultant - Mark Shepherd
Cambridge graphene technology Advisor - Professor Andrea Ferrari
Nomad & Broker - Cannacord Genuity Ltd
China contact - Bruno
Korean contact - Rachel Yeong-Mee Kim
Vice President of North American Operations - Patrick Abbott

AMERICA IDENTIFIES VERSARIEN GRAPHENE first to qualify.

1 April 2019

Versarien plc

("Versarien" or the "Company")

Completion of Verified Graphene Producer Programme

Versarien plc (AIM: VRS), the advanced materials engineering group, is pleased to announce that the Company is the first graphene company in the world to successfully complete the Graphene Council's "Verified Graphene Producer" programme (the "Programme").

The US-based Graphene Council's Programme is an independent, third party verification system that involves a physical inspection of the production facilities, a review of the entire production process, a random sampling of product material and rigorous characterisation and testing by a leading, international materials laboratory. The Programme is based on the most recent developments in globally recognised graphene standards, surveys of graphene producers, researchers and users, as well as analysis of commercially available graphene products.

The Graphene Council have designed the Programme to be an important step in providing customers and end-users with a degree of confidence, that has not existed before, that they are sourcing material from a reputable supplier, bringing transparency and clarity to a rapidly changing and opaque market for graphene materials.

Terrance Barkan, Executive Director of The Graphene Council, commented: "Successful commercialisation of graphene materials requires not only the ability to produce graphene to a declared specification, but to be able to do so at a commercial scale. It is nearly impossible for a graphene customer to verify the type of material they are receiving without going through an expensive and time-consuming process of having sample materials fully characterised by a laboratory that has the equipment and expertise to test graphene.

"The Verified Graphene Producer programme developed by The Graphene Council provides a level of independent inspection and verification that is not available anywhere else.

"We are pleased to have worked with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in the UK, regarded as one of the absolute top facilities for metrology and graphene characterisation in the world. They have provided outstanding analytical expertise for the materials testing portion of the Programme."

Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien, commented: "We are delighted that Versarien is the first graphene producer in the world to successfully complete the Graphene Council's Verified Graphene Producer programme.

"This is a huge validation of our technology and will enable our partners and potential customers to have confidence that the graphene we produce meets globally accepted standards.

"There are many companies that claim to be graphene producers, but to enjoy the benefits that this material can deliver requires high quality, consistent product to be supplied. The Verified Producer programme is designed to verify that our production facilities, processes and tested material meet the stringent requirements laid down by the Graphene Council.

"I am proud that Versarien has been independently acclaimed as a Verified Graphene Producer and look forward to making further progress with our collaboration partners and numerous other parties that we are in discussions with."

Enquiries:


Versarien
Neill Ricketts, CEO
Chris Leigh, CFO +44 (0)1242 269 122
Canaccord Genuity (Nominated
Adviser and Broker)
Bobbie Hilliam
Emma Gabriel +44 (0)20 7523 8000
IFC Advisory (Financial PR
and IR)
Tim Metcalfe
Graham Herring
Heather Armstrong +44(0)20 3934 6630

About Versarien

Versarien plc (AIM:VRS), is an advanced engineering materials group. Leveraging proprietary technology, the Group creates innovative engineering solutions for its clients in a diverse range of industries. Versarien has six subsidiaries operating under two divisions:

Graphene and Plastics

2-DTech Ltd, which specialises in the supply, characterisation and early stage development of graphene products. www.2-dtech.com

AAC Cyroma Limited, which specialises in the supply of vacuum-formed and injection-moulded products to the automotive, construction, utilities and retail industry sectors. Using Versarien's existing graphene manufacturing capabilities, AAC will have the ability to produce graphene-enhanced plastic products. www.aaccyroma.co.uk

Cambridge Graphene Limited, supplies novel inks based on graphene and related materials, using patented processes to develop graphene materials technology.

www.cambridgegraphene.com

Gnanomat S.L. ("GNA"), based in the Parque Cientifico Madrid, Spain, is a company capable of utilising Versarien's graphene products in an environmentally friendly, scalable production process for energy storage devices that offer high power density, almost instant recharging and very long lifetimes for use in electrical vehicles and portable electronics products.www.gnanomat.com

Hard Wear and Metallic Products

Versarien Technologies Limited has developed an additive process for creating advanced micro-porous metals targeting the thermal management industry and supplies extruded aluminium. www.versarien-technologies.co.uk

Total Carbide Limited, a leading manufacturer in sintered tungsten carbide for applications in arduous environments such as the oil and gas industry. www.totalcarbide.com

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

END

MSCSDFESFFUSEED

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

XG global sale chief quits. Joining Versarien instead. Patrick Abbott, global sales chief at XG Sciences will head up Versarien's new base at Houston.

Versarien comes to Houston. New US base.

hTTps://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/versarien-VRS/share-news/Versarien-PLC-USA-Update/79518660

RNS Number : 5552T

Versarien PLC

21 March 2019

21 March 2019

Versarien plc

("Versarien" or the "Company")

USA Update

Versarien plc (AIM: VRS), the advanced materials engineering group, is pleased to provide an update on the Company's activities in the United States of America.

Versarien has recently established a new US corporate entity, Versarien Graphene Inc, to facilitate the Company's graphene and other 2D materials activities in the USA. The Company is additionally in the process of establishing a new office, laboratory facility and applications centre in Houston, Texas that will act as a hub for the Company's activities in North America.

Patrick Abbott has been appointed as Versarien's Vice President North American Operations to oversee these activities and he will be based at the Company's Houston facility once established. Patrick is an experienced speciality materials professional with over 20 years' experience in the sector. He is a former US Marine Corps Officer who spent over 16 years in a variety of global business development and marketing roles at BASF. In 2015 and 2016, Patrick was part of the team transitioning specific product lines to Huntsman Corporation. Subsequently he established Global Marketing Empire Solutions, a disruptive technology consulting company and joined XG Sciences, a company focussed on graphene nano technology, as their global sales manager. At XG Sciences he was tasked with assisting the executive team in transitioning the company from an academic company to full commercialisation.

The establishment of this US presence follows on from work that Versarien has been undertaking with the US National Graphene Association and various collaboration partners in the region. Further North American potential collaboration partners and customers have been identified, both through inbound enquires and proactive approaches, and it is intended that the Houston facility and additional resource will enable these to be more efficiently progressed.

The Company is pleased to be participating in the UK Government organised "UK Technology and Capability Showcase" being held at Collins Aerospace in Charlotte, North Carolina, on 25 March 2019 where the Company will be presenting its 2D materials technology to Collins Aerospace representatives.

The Company additionally looks forward to being a leading participant in the American Graphene Summit, being hosted by the National Graphene Association (NGA) in Washington DC on 21 and 22 May 2019. The summit, keynoted by Senator Roger Wicker, intends to bring together leaders of US industry and government agencies and key international figures in the graphene sector to engage in a dialogue on shaping the global architecture surrounding graphene technologies and its impact on the US and global economy.

Zina Jarrahi Cinker, Executive Director of the National Graphene Association, commented: "The establishment of Versarien's first U.S-Based application development facility in Houston, Texas is a significant step for the development of graphene and graphene technologies in the United States. Versarien is a key member the elite Graphene Industry Council and I strongly believe Versarien Graphene Inc will be well positioned to serve the North American end user markets and facilitate the integration of graphene in strategic product segments."

Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien, commented: "We are very pleased to be moving to the next stage of our development in the US with the establishment of Versarien Graphene Inc and a dedicated facility in Houston.

"We are already pursuing a number of substantial opportunities in the US, particularly through the support of the National Graphene Association, and I expect our level of activity to significantly increase in the coming months, particularly given the high number of enquires we have had for the supply of our graphene and other 2D materials from leading US companies.

"I would like to express my sincere thanks to the support and assistance we have received from the National Graphene Association and Senator Wicker to develop our business and network in the US.

"I am also particularly pleased we have secured the services of Patrick Abbott and I would like to formally welcome him to the Versarien team. His skills and experience will be invaluable as we look to build more relationships and commercialise graphene enhanced products with US companies.

"Coupled with the recent progress we have made in China and elsewhere we remain confident that we can make further rapid progress this year. I look forward to providing further updates on our US and other activities in due course."

Enquiries:


Versarien
Neill Ricketts, CEO
Chris Leigh, CFO +44 (0)1242 269 122
Canaccord Genuity (Nominated
Adviser and Broker)
Bobbie Hilliam
Emma Gabriel +44 (0)20 7523 8000
IFC Advisory (Financial PR
and IR)
Tim Metcalfe
Graham Herring
Heather Armstrong +44(0)20 3934 6630

About Versarien

Versarien plc (AIM:VRS), is an advanced engineering materials group. Leveraging proprietary technology, the Group creates innovative engineering solutions for its clients in a diverse range of industries. Versarien has six subsidiaries operating under two divisions:

Graphene and Plastics

2-DTech Ltd, which specialises in the supply, characterisation and early stage development of graphene products. www.2-dtech.com

AAC Cyroma Limited, which specialises in the supply of vacuum-formed and injection-moulded products to the automotive, construction, utilities and retail industry sectors. Using Versarien's existing graphene manufacturing capabilities, AAC will have the ability to produce graphene-enhanced plastic products. www.aaccyroma.co.uk

Cambridge Graphene Limited, supplies novel inks based on graphene and related materials, using patented processes to develop graphene materials technology.

www.cambridgegraphene.com

Gnanomat S.L. ("GNA"), based in the Parque Cientifico Madrid, Spain, is a company capable of utilising Versarien's graphene products in an environmentally friendly, scalable production process for energy storage devices that offer high power density, almost instant recharging and very long lifetimes for use in electrical vehicles and portable electronics products.www.gnanomat.com

Hard Wear and Metallic Products

Versarien Technologies Limited has developed an additive process for creating advanced micro-porous metals targeting the thermal management industry and supplies extruded aluminium. www.versarien-technologies.co.uk

Total Carbide Limited, a leading manufacturer in sintered tungsten carbide for applications in arduous environments such as the oil and gas industry. www.totalcarbide.com

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

END

MSCSEMSMFFUSEDD

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 21, 2019 03:02 ET (07:02 GMT)

DNI Metals - Signs LOI to further develop its Vanadium / Polymetallic Alberta Black Shales deposit
ACCESSWIRE ACCESSWIRE•December 18, 2018
TORONTO, ONTARIO / ACCESSWIRE / December 18, 2018 / DNI Metals Inc. (DNI: CSE; DNMKF: OTC) ("DNI" or the "Company")

DNI's focus is Graphite in Madagascar, but due to the increase in certain battery metals pricing including the value of Vanadium, V2O5, from $5.89*per pound, in 2014, to over U$27.50 the increase of Cobalt, Co, from U$14.38* per pound, in 2013, to over U$25.06, the increase in Lithium, Li2CO3, from U$ 2.82* per pound to over U$30.00, DNI Metals Inc, is pleased to announce that a number of parties have shown renewed interest in its Black Shales Polymetallic deposit in Alberta.

Note: All the mineral prices have changed, the $Can/US exchange rate has changed, and input costs may have changed .*Prices as well used in DNI's resource report dated August 27, 2013.

Dan Weir, CEO, commented, "I want to emphasize that DNI is focused on developing its Graphite deposits in Madagascar. The previous management team and board of DNI did an amazing job, developing the Alberta Black Shales deposits. Over $6.7 million was spent on developing the deposits. The new team and I were treating the Black shales as a non-core asset. It is great to see the renewed interest in the project, and the worldwide demand for Vanadium."

Highlights of DNI's Vanadium and Polymetallic Resource in Alberta.

Several studies on the resources and economic significance of the deposits have been completed and a summary of selected results is presented below. Further details can be found on SEDAR”

Vanadium - Buckton South- Inferred Resource - Lower Portion - Second White Speckled Shale Formation
Vanadium - Buckton – Inferred Resource - Lower Portion - in Second White Speckled Shale Formation
Six Mineralized zones
DNI's Polymetallic Deposits – Battery and Electric car Metals
Letter of Intent

DNI has signed a Letter of Intent ("LOI") granting a private company ("Privateco") an option to earn up to a 51% interest in DNI's Alberta Black Shales Deposit. The LOI is generally non- binding, except for matters related to, among others, exclusive dealing and confidentiality.

DNI will grant to Privateco the option to earn an initial 51% interest in the Black Shales Property as follows:

upon execution of the LOI, Privateco is paying ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND dollars (Cdn$100,000) to DNI;
on or before the date which is the earlier of 6 months from the date of the Definitive Agreement or 15 days after the date that Privateco completes an RTO/IPO transaction, Privateco would pay an additional ONE HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND dollars (Cdn$150,000) to DNI; and
by incurring exploration and development expenditures on the Property of at least ONE MILLION dollars (Cdn$1,000,000) on or before March 31, 2021.
Privateco is controlled by Jim Atkinson in trust and without personal liability for a corporation to be incorporated. This is an arm's length transaction.

Dan Weir, CEO, commented, "Completing a deal with Privateco, will allow further development of its Vanadium / polymetallic assets, without sacrificing its Graphite Assets. We look forward to working with Privateco' s professional team."

DNI has also received interest from a First Nation group to purchase one claim of its eight claims of the Alberta properties and make the area into a provincial park. This could possibly include the area where DNI has its indicated resources, the Buckton zone.

Note: DNI is aware of six mineralization zones, 3 that have been drilled, and that the 3 stretch over 30 kms apart. The 6 form an even bigger area.

Black Shales – Vanadium


DNI Metals owns a Polymetallic black shales deposit in Alberta.

Mineral resources are hosted in two near-surface stacked black shale horizons which are mineralized with recoverable Mo-Ni-U-V-Zn-Co-Cu-Li-REEs-Y-Th-Sc and are partly exposed on surface. Six mineralized systems, or zones, have been identified on DNI's Property in northeast Alberta.

Two zones, the Buckton and the Buckton South zones have inferred resources and the Buckton has in addition indicated resources.

Asphalt Mineralized Zone. Three holes were drilled over the Asphalt Mineralized Zone, in 2011. It is located approximately 30 kilometres to the south of the Buckton Mineralized Zone.

Buckton South - March 1, 2013 Technical Report

The Maiden Resource Estimate for the Buckton South Zone, SBH Property Northeast Alberta prepared by APEX Geoscience Ltd. classified an inferred resource consisting of 548 million short tons (497 million metric tonnes) of mineralized black shale extending over 3.3 square kilometres beneath less than 75m of overburden cover. This resource is hosted in the Labiche Formation and underlying Second White Speckled Shale Formation, which are two flat-lying Formations that are stacked to comprise a continuous thick zone of mineralized shale. The inferred resource is mineralized with recoverable Molybdenum (Mo), Nickel (Ni), Uranium (U), Vanadium (V), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Cobalt (Co), Lithium (Li), Scandium (Sc), Thorium (Th) and Rare Earth Elements Lanthanum (La), Cerium (Ce), Praseodymium (Pr), Neodymium (Nd), Samarium (Sm), Europium (Eu), Gadolinium (Gd), Terbium (Tb), Dysprosium (Dy) and Yttrium (Y). The Resource Study estimates that the maiden inferred resource is overlain by 122 million short tons (110 million metric tonnes) of glacial till overburden cover.

Buckton - September 9, 2013 Technical Report

The Updated and Expanded Resource Estimate for the Buckton Zone SBH Property Northeast Alberta, prepared by APEX Geoscience Ltd. expanded the inferred resource at the Buckton Zone from 3.5 billion short tons to 4.9 billion short tons, in addition to upgrading a portion of it to the indicated resource class by delineating a 300 million short ton indicated mineral resource. The inferred and indicated resources together extend over 21.9 square kilometres (approximately a 3kmx8km area), 20.4 square kilometres of which represents the aerial extent of the inferred resource.

Asphalt Mineralized Zone – Exploration Target


Three holes were drilled over the Asphalt Mineralized Zone*, located approximately 30 kilometres to the south of the Buckton Mineralized Zone*. A number of additional planned drill holes were deferred, including holes intended to upgrade a portion of the Asphalt Mineralized Zone* (previously named the Asphalt Potential Mineral Deposit*) into an inferred resource, and holes intended to verify projected extensions of the Zone* which is open in three directions.

As outlined in the SBH Technical Report, the Asphalt Potential Mineral Deposit* holds potential for hosting 109-132 million short tons of polymetallic mineralization extending over 4.5 square kilometers and is open in three directions. The Asphalt Potential Mineral Deposit* was recently renamed as the Asphalt Mineralized Zone* to harmonize nomenclature with Jun30/2011 amendments to NI-43-101. Although based on drilling and nearby outcrop exposures, the Asphalt Mineralized Zone*, as better outlined in the SBH Technical Report, is a target for further ongoing exploration, it is conceptual in nature as there has been insufficient drilling conducted over the Zone* to define a mineral resource, and it is uncertain whether further drilling will define a mineral resource over the Zone*.

DNI’s current drilling reinforces geological extrapolations which suggest good continuity of mineralization within the Asphalt Mineralized Zone*.

Details of the drilling completed over the Asphalt Mineralized Zone* (holes 11AS01-11AS03) are tabulated below, showing analytical results, as well as comparative grades from adjacent historic holes 7AS01 and 7AS02.

Hole

Depth

Zone Width** (m)

Weighted Average Grade (ppm) ***

Specific

#

(m)

From-To

Width

Mo

Ni

U

V

Zn

Cu

Co

Ag

Li

Gravity

11AS01

51.0

26.8-37.9

11.1

116

203

47

786

352

88

30

1.0

75

2.38

11AS02

106.5

95.5-106.5

11.0

65

137

30

682

281

89

23

0.9

85

2.48

11AS03

32.5

Hole Lost in overburden in bad ground @ 32.5m depth

7AS01

76.3

7.1-18.5

11.4

73

144

47

690

376

89

20

0.3

na

na

historic

7AS02

89.8

21.6-33.2

11.4

63

122

31

664

282

89

20

0.3

na

na

historic



Hole

Depth

Zone Width** (m)

Weighted Average Grade (lb/st) ***

#

(m)

From-To

Width

Mo

Ni

U

V

Zn

Cu

Co

Li

[MoO3]

[U3O8]

[V2O5]

11AS01

51.0

26.8-37.9

11.1

0.23

0.41

0.09

1.57

0.70

0.18

0.06

0.15

[0.35]

[0.11]

[2.80]

11AS02

106.5

95.5-106.5

11.0

0.13

0.27

0.06

1.36

0.56

0.18

0.05

0.17

[0.20]

[0.07]

[2.43]

11AS03

32.5

Hole Lost in overburden in bad ground @ 32.5m depth

7AS01

76.3

7.1-18.5

11.4

0.15

0.29

0.09

1.38

0.75

0.18

0.04

na

historic

[0.22]

[0.11]

[2.46]

7AS02

89.8

21.6-33.2

11.4

0.13

0.24

0.06

1.33

0.56

0.18

0.04

na

historic

[0.19]

[0.07]

[2.37]

Note: See notes attached to information tabulated above for the Buckton Mineralized Zone*.

The drilling over the Asphalt Mineralized Zone* serves to confirm historic drilling results. The results reiterate uniformity of grades between the Asphalt and Buckton Mineralized Zones* which are located some 30km apart, and continuity of bulk average grades over distances ranging 300m-760m between holes.

In addition, the recent drill results indicate that tonnages previously estimated for the Asphalt Mineralized Zone* in the SBH Technical Report, relying on historic information, are understated. While an estimated specific gravity of 2.1, per historic work records, was relied upon by the SBH Technical Report to estimate potential tonnages which might be hosted in the Asphalt Mineralized Zone*, specific gravity of the Speckled Shale as measured from the above drill core samples averages approximately 2.4 and, accordingly, revises potential tonnages estimated for the Asphalt Mineralized Zone* from 109-132 million short tons of polymetallic mineralization to 125-151 million short tons. The above specific gravity figures are consistent with results from surface sampling completed by DNI during the past two years.

NI 43-101 Disclosure


The information in this press release was taken from previous press releases and technical reports filed on Sedar between the years 2010-2014.

In 2013, the technical information had been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements by, or under the supervision of, the following independent Qualified Persons: Mr. Eugene Puritch P.Eng. (per P&E Mining Consultants Inc.), Mr. Michael Dufresne P.Geol. (per APEX Geoscience Ltd.) and Mr. Bruce Cron P.Eng. (per Cron Metallurgical Ltd.) DNI's previous Qualified Person in respect of its Alberta polymetallic black shale project is Mr. Shahé F.Sabag P.Geo., former President and CEO of DNI.

James Atkinson P.Geo, and Qualified person, has reviewed and approved the information contained in this press release. The reports prepared by the previous consultants were completed by competent, Qualified Persons and the present QP believes the information to be accurate.

Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no guarantee that all or any part of the mineral resource reported herein will be converted into a mineral reserve. An 'Inferred Mineral Resource' is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality can be estimated on the basis of geological evidence and limited sampling and reasonably assumed, but not verified, geological and grade continuity. The estimate is based on limited information and sampling gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. The metal recoveries reported represent preliminary mineral recovery testing results collated from the collective bench scale laboratory testwork completed by DNI to date and may not reflect actual process recoverability that might be achieved in a mineral production operation, all of which is the subject of ongoing studies.

DNI – CSE

DMNKF - OTC

Issued: 122,098,403

For further information, contact:

DNI Metals Inc. – Dan Weir, CEO 416-595-1195

DanWeir@dnimetals.com

Also visit www.dnimetals.com

Forward-looking Statements


https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dni-metals-signs-loi-further-113800297.html

FTMIG Interviews Warwick Smith, CEO & Director of American Pacific Mining Corp! (CNX: USGD)

https://www.ftmig.com/portfolio-view/ftmig-interviews-warwick-smith-ceo-of-american-pacific-mining-corp/

Karl Boyd is joined by guest-host Eden Broda, today to have an in-depth interview with Warwick Smith, CEO and Director of American Pacific Mining Corp! We get to find out why their new project is so exciting and what makes USGD stand out from the rest! #USGD #USGDF

LIVE STREAM of our show will be available on our FTMIG LIVE page at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/Followthemoneyinvestorgroup

TUNE IN every Wednesday from 1-3pm EST on Midas Letter (midasletter.com) where we bring you the most current interviews, special guests, T.A., and discussions on the most interesting companies in the hottest sectors.

Join our FREE membership for access to EXCLUSIVE early-round investment opportunities!

** https://www.ftmig.com/membership

Built by investors, for investors. Be in the know and FOLLOW THE MONEY!

FULL VIDEOS will also be available on our website at www.ftmig.com and don’t forget to Like, follow, and share our FTMIG LIVE page, YouTube, and Twitter for all our exclusive videos and updates!!

https://www.twitter.com/FTMInvestment

https://www.YouTube.com/Followthemoneyinvestorgroup

https://www.Facebook.com/followthemoneyinvestorgroup

https://www.ftmig.com/portfolio-view/ftmig-interviews-warwick-smith-ceo-of-american-pacific-mining-corp/

Versarien today announce global collaboration with Advanced Insulation. Today the company issued a formal stockmarket announcement of a tie-up with a company specialising in extreme protection of at-sea and below-sea oil and gas facilities worldwide.

Versarien IS the real deal for Graphene. Well done Grabster. A number of USA companies are already in collaboration & testing it. Just one large order & this share will start to motor. Bazzerp (Still in Namibia).

Nanene - is the trade name for Versarien's graphene & it's fantastic
Stuff!
Do you invest in companies were you find out twice a year what goes
On, get bored & sell?
Versarien has a dedicated, honest CEO, Neill Ricketts, who you can follow daily on Twitter.
Versarien is on the London AIM market & well worth the effort to research it.

In the UK, Investors Hub has a sister site called Advfn where there is an extremely helpful discussion thread about Versarien, titled 'VRS the world lead in real graphene (Nanene)'. The header for that thread contains a huge amount of relevant information for newcomers wishing to research this stock.

GRAPHENE PROGRESS. Versarien is the real deal. In the 14 years since graphene was first developed at Manchester University in the UK, there's been a wild-west style goldrush among companies worldwide to get it into production. Many claim to have done so. But many of those claims are false. Customers have, in many cases, been sold material purporting to be graphene, but which has not performed well. In some cases the ingredient has produced improvements, but not the exciting ones expected. Fast-forward to September 2017 when the International Standards Organization (ISO) published a long overdue definition of what can and cannot be called graphene. More than 90% of the material previously marketed as graphene fails to comply - which helps explain the disappointments experienced. In many cases the material sold has been graphene oxide or other derivatives of graphite. These do have their uses, but they are not graphene. One of the companies whose product does comply at the highest grade is small UK company called Versarien. This is no surprise to its followers, as in Sept 2017 it was the runaway winner of a UK tender in which samples were submitted to the government's Centre For Process Innovation. The company began by buying 85% of a graphene company set up by Manchester University - the birthplace of graphene. The university maintained a 15% stake in Versarien.

3 Oct 2016 - acquired plastics company Aac Cyroma
19 Jan 2017 - acquired 85% of Cambridge Graphene Ltd, the remaining 15% being retained by Cambridge University with whom Versarien have an ongoing research relationship.
8 Feb 2017 - The brand name Nanene is registered for Versarien's graphene.
19 Sept 2017 - Versarien wins UK government tender to supply graphene after submitted samples proved superior.
15 Jan 2018 - China's Jinan Province sign a Letter Of Intent for a joint venture with Versarien, to meet growing need for genuine graphene which China's own makers have failed to produce.
5 Feb 2018 - America's National Graphene Association (NGA) appoint Versarien's boss Neill Ricketts to its Advisory Board.
22 May 2018 - in an unprecedented move, the UK government announce that Matt Walker, Head of Outward Direct Investment at the UK Government's Department for International Trade ("DIT") has joined Versarien on a secondment for a minimum of 12 months. During this period he will work exclusively for Versarien and will be Head of International Strategy and Government Relations.
7 Jun 2018 - the NGA announce that Versarien has been appointed as the inaugural Industry Council member and Corporate Partner of The National Graphene Association ("NGA"), the main organisation and body in the US advocating and promoting the commercialisation of graphene.
15 Aug 2018 - UK government announce that Peter Jay, Head of Policy and Governance for Outward Direct Investment at the UK Government's Department for International Trade ("DIT") has joined Versarien on a secondment for a minimum of 12 months. During this period he will work exclusively for Versarien and will be primarily responsible for overseeing the Company's planned People's Republic of China expansion implementation.
25 Sep 2018 - Versarien buys a 62% stake in Spanish advanced battery and supercapacitor developer Gnanomat.

Check out the 'About us' page on the company website, and the 'rns' list in the 'Investors' section for details of more than two dozen active collaborations under way with partners ranging from innovative small companies to global corporations. With assistance from the UK government, the company is also finalising huge deals with China.

The company is listed on the London Stockmarket (ticker LSE:VRS) where it's stock price has climbed 12-fold in 12 months.

OTTAWA & SINGAPORE – 18 September 2018 — Grafoid Inc. (“GRAFOID”) is pleased to announce the strategic partnership with Liquinex, a company specializing in waste water engineering needs, to provide commercial scale water treatment solutions using Grafoid’s innovative MESOGRAF™ graphene- based filtration technology.
The increasing demand for clean drinking water, rising scarcity of water resources, rapid industrialization, and increasing construction activities represent real-world factors that necessitate the need for scalable water treatment solutions around the globe.
Compounded by other factors, such as the increased support from government regarding treatment and proper disposal of water, the global market for water treatment solutions is expected to grow at an annual compounded growth rate of 7.4% from 2017 to 20271.
GPURE’s Graphenegraphene- based filtration products are readily scalable to meet these commercial demands making them ideal for industrial level, niche applications such as the concentration of beverages, treatment of crude oil/water mixtures, biofuel and industrial wastewater treatments where reverse osmosis (RO) is not suitable due to the fouling tendencies when concentrated liquids are purged through RO cartridges.
Conventional filtering materials (e.g. activated carbon, zeolites, flocculants etc.,) have certain limitations of pH-sensitivity, poor efficiency and recoverability to treat a mixture of wide variety of contaminants present in the wastewater. In contrast, MESOGRAF™ graphene, being a 2D-material with high surface-area and functional-group tunability, exhibits outstanding adsorption and recyclability capabilities for a wide variety of contaminants.
Dr. Kiran Manga, Grafoid’s Engineering Manager states: “Our MESOGRAF™ surface engineered graphene derivatives have been successfully deployed to meet the specific requirements (e.g. removal of organic dyes from textile and leather industries, phenols and heavy metal ions from ore-processing industry etc.) of our industrial clients. Our GPURE technologies are able to remove up to 99.8% phenol contaminants, 99% dye removal from real-time industrial wastewater samples at neutral pH and room temperature.”
Bashir Ahmad, CEO of Liquinex Group Pte Ltd. confirmed the significance of the strategic partnership with Grafoid as a critical component to a successful roll-out by commenting, “Effective water treatment solutions require strong partnerships and alignment between both public sector, such as IPI Singapore, and private organizations to implement broad based adoption of innovative technologies – such as Grafoid – will be critical. We are empowered by this partnership with Grafoid and foresee tremendous potential.”
Gary Economo, CEO of Grafoid acknowledged the potential global impact of the partnership with Liquinex, observing that, “We know that water is an integral part of many industrial processes and increasing demand for water for industrial uses will result from increasing economic activity. We believe that our GPURE technology can play a critical role in securing the future of water treatment around the globe. ”
Liquinex and Grafoid will present their innovative water treatment solutions at TechInnovation 2018, Halls A & B, booth A6 at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Singapore from 18 to 19 September 2018. TechInnovation is a leading industry-technology matching event organized by IPI.
1 https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/06/05/1517364/0/en/Water-Treatment-Market-Poised-to-Register-7-4-CAGR-through-2027.html
* Apr 26, 2018 (marketresearch.biz via COMTEX)
About Grafoid.
Founded in 2011, Grafoid Inc. is a graphene research, development and investment company that invests in, manages and develops markets for processes that produce economically scalable graphene for use in graphene development applications by leading corporations and institutions. Grafoid’s leading investment produces application friendly, minimal-defect, high-energy density few layer graphene, utilizing a safe, non-destructive extraction process, leaving the lowest possible ecological footprint. The completely unique, proprietary process results in what Grafoid regards as a new global standard for economically scalable, high-purity graphene products — trademarked under the MesoGraf™ trade name — that can be tailored to both industrial and commercial applications.
About Liquinex.
Founded in April 2015, Liquinex is a design and engineering company specializing in environmental engineering, services and technology for the treatment and recycling of industrial and municipal wastewater. In particular, Liquinex specializes in manufacturing water treatment systems for industry using next generation ceramic membrane and proprietary membrane cleaning regime with a Registered registered Patent patent for industrial Cooling cooling Towertower/Chilled chilled Water water Treatment treatment Systemsystem.
Media Contacts
Dr Kiran Manga
Engineering Manager, Grafoid
Mobile: +65 8615 2451
Email: kmanga@grafoid.com
Bashir Ahmad
CEO, Technical Director, Liquinex Group
Mobile: 65 9741 6479
Email: bashir@liquinex.com

Focus Graphite Introduces Its New “Superfine Grade” of Coated Spherical Graphite for Lithium Batteries to the International Battery Industry





Share1Print
October 10, 2017 13:56 ET | Source: Focus Graphite Inc.
photo-release
SEM of Purified Lac Knife Flake Graphite
SEM of Purified Lac Knife Flake Graphite
SEM of Purified Lac Knife Flake Graphite
Focus Graphite Inc.
Figure 1. INITIAL GALVANOSTATIC CHARGE-DISCHARGE CURVES FOR SUPERFINE GRADE OF COATED SPG D50 = 11.9µm
Figure 1. INITIAL GALVANOSTATIC CHARGE-DISCHARGE CURVES FOR SUPERFINE GRADE OF COATED SPG D50 = 11.9µm
Figure 1. INITIAL GALVANOSTATIC CHARGE-DISCHARGE CURVES FOR SUPERFINE GRADE OF COATED SPG D50 = 11.9µm
Focus Graphite Inc.
SEM of Superfine Grade of Lac Knife Spherical Graphite
SEM of Superfine Grade of Lac Knife Spherical Graphite
SEM of Superfine Grade of Lac Knife Spherical Graphite
Focus Graphite Inc.
Figure 2. PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS OF SUPERFINE, FINE AND STANDARD GRADES OF LAC KNIFE SPG
Figure 2. PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS OF SUPERFINE, FINE AND STANDARD GRADES OF LAC KNIFE SPG
Figure 2. PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTIONS OF SUPERFINE, FINE AND STANDARD GRADES OF LAC KNIFE SPG
Focus Graphite Inc.
Table 1. COMPARISON OF THE ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFORMANCE OF THREE GRADES OF LAC KNIFE SPHERICAL GRAPHITE (SPG)
Table 1. COMPARISON OF THE ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFORMANCE OF THREE GRADES OF LAC KNIFE SPHERICAL GRAPHITE (SPG)
Table 1. COMPARISON OF THE ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFORMANCE OF THREE GRADES OF LAC KNIFE SPHERICAL GRAPHITE (SPG)
Focus Graphite Inc.
OTTAWA, Oct. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Focus Graphite Inc. (TSX-V:FMS) (OTCQX:FCSMF) (FSE:FKC) is pleased to announce the introduction of a Superfine Grade of coated spherical graphite product sourced from its Lac Knife Graphite Project at Fermont, Quebec.

The Company’s manufacturing accomplishment was achieved under the direction of Dr. Joseph Doninger, Focus’ Director of Manufacturing and Technology, and follows the Company’s original May 27, 2014 announcement of the development of its premium standard (medium) and fine battery grades, and; its subsequent August 8, 2016 announcement of the successful purification of Lac Knife’s fine grade material to 99.99% purity which is shown in the following Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) photomicrograph of a flake of purified Lac Knife graphite.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/19dd47dc-41c8-4ce1-b62a-2db97d76a1ae

Focus Graphite’s new Superfine Grade graphite product development was first presented to the 34th International Battery Symposium (IBS) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, by Dr. Doninger on March 21, 2017.

Highlights include:

Market introduction of Focus’ first Superfine coated spherical graphite
Enlarges Company’s potential customer base
Expands Focus Graphite’s value-added product range
Focus Graphite’s development and introduction of a Superfine Grade to the battery market represents a milestone in the Company’s ongoing efforts to continuously improve its products to meet industry demands and are intended for use in various lithium-ion battery applications. The first cycle Galvanostatic curves in Figure 1 show that the new Superfine Grade of spherical graphite has a very high reversible capacity of 360 mAh/g and low first cycle loss of only 1.19%.

An infographic accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/16fab8d7-641a-4f69-8050-dd479b12f773

Dr. Doninger said the main benefit of the Superfine Grade is based upon the physical reality of the graphite’s performance within the anode of a lithium ion battery.

“As the particle size decreases, so does the time it takes for the lithium-ion to transfer into the graphite structure during charging and out during discharging, thereby improving charging rates,” he said. An SEM photomicrograph of the Superfine Grade of the Lac Knife spherical graphite is shown below.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/494ef0f5-0b43-44e9-8593-6728e2c7b8b9

The particle size distribution curves for the new Superfine Grade of spherical graphite are compared with the Standard and Fine Grade curves in Fig. 2 and show that Focus now offers a wide range of particle sizes to meet the demands of the battery industry.

An infographic accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/42ef4124-58ad-4c16-9245-89b15aa59222

Dr. Doninger noted that the high Reversible Capacity of 360 mAh/g, low Irreversible Capacity Loss of 1.19% and low surface area of 0.89 m2/g for the new Superfine Grade of spherical graphite compare very favorably with the Lac Knife’s Standard and Fine grades introduced in 2014 as shown in Table 1.

A table accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8a5bd647-8eb4-4700-9f9e-5893dce130f9

The Company knows of no other junior graphite developer today with a deposit capable of competitively converting their fine flake component to battery grade production.

Focus Graphite President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Economo said the Company’s ongoing R&D and materials testing aims to position Focus as a commercially competitive and important source of new graphite products for next generation energy storage and production.

Focus is currently engaged in battery testing with more than 20 potential end-users and seven universities and government laboratories.

“The key to growth of our value-added products stems from our technology vision of investing in those in-house process developments that meet future demands of the battery manufacturing industry,” Mr. Economo said.

“In this regard, and as evidenced by the periodic publications of data in support of our progress, Focus remains committed to achieving its long-held goal of unlocking shareholder value from that technology vision,” Mr. Economo said.

As a technology graphite developer, Focus is deeply engaged in R&D and development of graphite concentrate and value added products for a low carbon economy.

Focus has established a recent history of technological successes by designing processes leading to superior performing coated spherical graphite for use in battery anodes and high performing expanded graphite for use in Li-Ion battery cathodes.

The Company’s proprietary, low temperature process, developed by a Focus Graphite technical team headed by Dr. Doninger, is believed to be more efficient than very high temperature thermal purification and is suitable for the removal of specific types of impurities found in the Lac Knife graphite deposit.

Focus' low temperature process versus conventional very high temperature purification processes obviates the use of large amounts of energy - one of the largest single cost components of graphite purification.

Focus Graphite has acquired an intimate understanding of both the future needs of the battery manufacturing sector and trends in that sector as a long-standing Board Member of Chicago-based NAATBatt International (the National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Batteries).

Holding the ability to purify Lac Knife's fine flakes expands the company's potential to sell substantially more of the graphite extracted from Lac Knife into high-value, high-tech applications instead of approximately 30 percent being sold for lower value industrial applications.

The path from graphite product development to the battery manufacturers' testing labs is a lengthy, multi-step process.

Staged R&D testing is a prerequisite to the sale, or offtake, of any manufactured graphite for use in lithium-ion, alkaline and lead-acid batteries in the automobile, consumer, medical equipment, tools, hand-held industrial devices and aviation manufacturing industries or with military equipment suppliers.

Qualified Person

Dr. Joseph Doninger, Focus Graphite's Director of Technology and Manufacturing is the Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects - and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release. Dr. Doninger is an internationally recognized graphite processing expert and himself, the inventor of a number of patents and an author of over 27 technical papers and presentations related to graphite processing and the use of graphite in energy storage systems. Dr. Doninger is a co-editor on the NATO Science Series book titled "New Carbon Based Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems." Dr. Doninger is also an Honorary Professor at the Department of Chemistry from the Kiev National University of Technologies and Design.

About Focus Graphite

Focus Graphite Inc. is an advanced exploration and mining company with an objective of producing graphite concentrate at its wholly-owned Lac Knife flake graphite deposit located 27 km south of Fermont, Québec. In a second stage, to meet Quebec stakeholder interests of transformation within the province and to add shareholder value, Focus is evaluating the feasibility of producing value added graphite products including battery-grade spherical graphite. Focus Graphite is a technology-oriented graphite mining development company with a vision for building long-term, sustainable shareholder value. Focus also holds a significant equity position in graphene applications developer Grafoid Inc.

For more information about Focus Graphite, please visit www.focusgraphite.com.

Forward Looking Statement

This News Release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Generally, such forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: (i) volatile stock price; (ii) the general global markets and economic conditions; (iii) the possibility of write-downs and impairments; (iv) the risk associated with exploration, development and operations of mineral deposits; (v) the risk associated with establishing title to mineral properties and assets; (vi) the risks associated with entering into joint ventures; (vii) fluctuations in commodity prices; (viii) the risks associated with uninsurable risks arising during the course of exploration, development and production; (ix) competition faced by the Company in securing experienced personnel and financing; (x) access to adequate infrastructure to support mining, processing, development and exploration activities; (xi) the risks associated with changes in the mining regulatory regime governing the Company; (xii) the risks associated with the various environmental regulations the Company is subject to; (xiii) risks related to regulatory and permitting delays; (xiv) risks related to potential conflicts of interest; (xv) the reliance on key personnel; (xvi) liquidity risks; and (xvii) the risk of potential dilution through the issue of common shares.

Forward-looking information is based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made, including but not limited to, continued exploration activities, no material adverse change in metal prices, exploration and development plans proceeding in accordance with plans and such plans achieving their stated expected outcomes, receipt of required regulatory approvals, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information has been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's business, operations and exploration plans and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is made as of the date of this News Release, and the Company does not undertake to update such forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

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 accuracy of this release.

CONTACT:

Focus Graphite Inc.
Mr. Gary Economo
Chief Executive Officer
+1 613-241-4040
geconomo@focusgraphite.com
www.focusgraphite.com??

Bob Moriarty Writes up DNI Metals Graphite project

http://www.theenergyreport.com/pub/na/dni-delivers-profitable-graphite

It starting to happen. Any day soon the drill will be turning up high grade graphite samples and the graphite space will see what DNI has under the hood. Its about that time, I speculate that DNI will start climbing up the graphite developer list making its assent to the top any day.

No better value in the graphite space right now. This is going to get some traction as they execute.
http://dnimetals.com/presentations/

Planes will be made from wonder material graphene 'in 10 years'
plane
Sir Richard Branson is encouraging the use of graphene in the construction of planes
James Quinn, in seattle
28 MARCH 2017 • 12:00PM
Sir Richard Branson has raised the prospect of planes being made entirely from the so-called wonder material graphene within 10 years, as the airline industry battles a 50pc increase in fuel in the last 12 months, sparking a desperate need for ever lighter fleets.

The Virgin Atlantic president, who founded the airline in 1984, described the super-lightweight material as a 'breakthrough technology', which he said could help revolutionise the airline industry and transform its cost base.

Speaking in Seattle, where the British airline has just begun flying on a daily basis for the first time, Sir Richard said: "Graphene is even lighter [than carbon fibre], many times lighter and many times stronger.

Sir Richard Branson
Sir Richard Branson
"Hopefully graphene can be the planes of the future, if you go 10 years down the line. They would be massively lighter than the current planes, which again would make a difference on fuel burn."

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms forming a regular hexagonal pattern, and is extracted from graphite. It has a litany of uses and is said to be as light as a feather yet stronger than steel.

The entrepreneur likened the push for graphene planes to his previous encouragement of Airbus and Boeing to make planes from carbon fibre, a battle he eventually won. Boeing's latest 787 Dreamliner planes, which Virgin is flying on the London Heathrow-Seattle route, are made from 50pc carbon fibre and other composite materials, as opposed to the traditional 100pc aluminium. As a result, they use 30pc less fuel than a standard alternative.


Sir Richard said the airline was still committed to reducing its carbon footprint through using cleaner fuels.

Virgin Atlantic is working with US-based clean fuels specialist Lanzatech on a biological process to convert carbon waste from manufacturing processes into ethanol, which in turn can be converted into jet fuel.

Although the product has yet to be scaled, Virgin bosses are hopeful it could revolutionise the way the fleet consumes fuel.

Graphene would be massively lighter than the current planes, which again would make a difference on fuel burn
Sir Richard Branson
"If you take all the steel plants and all the aluminium plants around the world and take all the s*** that goes up the chimneys, and then you turn that into jet aviation fuel, something like 30-40pc could be powered that way," he went on.

"The question is: are they going to be able to scale it up enough to really make a difference?"

His comments come a day after Virgin Atlantic chief executive Craig Kreeger admitted the airline was forecast to make a loss this year due to higher fuel costs, and lower revenues because of sterling's weakness.

The airline made a £23m profit in 2016, up £500,000 on 2015.

Sir Richard owns a 51pc stake in Virgin Atlantic through his Virgin Group.

$DMNKF $DNI.C Madagascar natural jumbo/large flake graphite

(Also imports Brazilian graphite powder for their wholesale division)

DNI Metals Inc. March 2017 Presentation: (24-page PDF)

http://graphitewholesale.com/DNI_Metals_Inc_Presentation_March_2017.pdf

Explosions used to make large quantities of graphene
By Ryan Whitwam on January 31, 2017 at 1:01 pm

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/243644-explosions-used-make-large-quantities-graphene

Grafoid Introduces GrafeneX - a Cost-Effective Graphene Adherent, Tunable and Multi-Functional Coating Technology for Large Surface Industrial Applications
A Novel Platform for Industrial Scale Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Ultra-Thin Graphene Coatings for Metal, Glass, Polymer, Ceramic and Other Substrate Applications
KINGSTON, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jan. 31, 2017) - Grafoid Inc., a world leading graphene R&D and investment company announced today its entry into the global industrial coatings market with the introduction of its patent pending GrafeneX graphene coatings technology.
GrafeneX is a novel technology that creates a platform for the deposition of Graphene and chemically functionalized Graphene coatings.
This enabling process provides Grafoid with the capability to apply its diverse graphene-based coatings to many different types of material substrates with controllable levels of surface coverage, thickness etc. to meet precise end user requirements.
One of the key obstacles to graphene's broad, universal industrial acceptance is the absence to date of low-cost, high performing graphene applications that can be successfully adapted for use across all industrial sectors. BCC Market Research reports the global market for paints and coatings is anticipated to rise to $164.1 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate of 4.4% from 2016-2021.
Other market research indicates even higher revenue values.
Grafoid President and CEO Gary Economo described the GrafeneX technologies as a cost-effective way of laying down graphene coatings on large surface areas.
"Demand exists for advanced multifunctional technologies capable of successfully disrupting existing business models," Mr. Economo said. "We believe our novel, low-cost, coating technologies will encourage interest from those industries developing next generation materials and products."
About GrafeneX
The GrafeneX process applies Graphene based coatings to substrate materials including polymers, glasses, most metals and refractories (See Figure 1).
To view Figure 1, click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/4476f1.pdf
GrafeneX is applied using a proprietary, room temperature, top-down process, designed as an inline continuous surface conversion process compatible with most conventional industrial coil-to-coil and roll-to-roll coating facilities.
In its typical embodiment, the process sequence would include: surface preparation (cleaning & activation), graphene oxide application, removal of a benign carrier and conversion to a Graphene based surface coating.
To the greatest degree, the GrapheneX process uses commonly available conversion coating technologies, has a straightforward modular design with a compact footprint that is scalable with production speed. A GrafeneX line can either be retrofitted to existing finishing lines, or function as a stand-alone finishing system.
Mr. Economo said that the GrafeneX line of technologies and services are consistent with Grafoid's business model for long-term growth and revenue sustainability through joint venturing, licensing and fees for services.
"As of today, with near zero competition, our GrafeneX technologies position our Company us as a front-runner for large area graphene coatings development," Mr. Economo said.
GrafeneX enabling characteristics and properties include:
The ability to coat large surfaces on metals, semiconductors, ceramics, polymers and glass and the ability to coat fibers, rods and bars
Designed for coil-to-coil and conveyor applications from batch to continuous process
Environmentally safe to benign, flexible technology in terms of coatings uses for: hydrophobic, hydrophilic, super hydrophobic, oleophobic and oleophilic applications
Variable coating thickness (from monolayer to few layer)
Many of the physical/chemical properties are tunable (Figure 2)
Good adhesion to substrates (as tested using the ASTM E-335 on aluminum foil) (Figure 3)
GrafeneX coating technology may be used in various industrial, consumer, military, marine, avionics, energy storage, packaging, building materials, electronics, transportation, environmental remediation, intelligent fabrics, sporting goods and medical industries.
Four versions of GrafeneX coatings labeled A to D are available, namely:
GrafeneX (A) which serves many sectors as a precursor coating with hydrophilic properties.
GrafeneX (B) are electrically conductive, hydrophobic coatings, or with tunable electric conduction and may be used for :
Li-ion battery electrode materials, or other energy storage devices
Supercapacitors
EMI shielding applications
Transparent and flexible electronics
Nanoelectronics
Nanogenerators
Solar cells
Fuel cells and hydrogen storage
Photodetectors
Organic LEDs (OLEDs) and displays
Corrosion protection
GrafeneX (C) are super-hydrophobic coatings which may be used as:
Water-repellant and anti-fouling coatings
Self-cleaning surfaces
Anti-icing and anti-fogging coatings for:
Windows
Eyeglasses
Corrosion protective coatings for a variety of industries, including:
Automotive
Marine
GrafeneX (D) coatings have hydrophilic properties and may be used as:
Paint primers and pre-treatments
Adhesion-promoting coatings for joining two dissimilar materials, such as attaching polymers to metals (example: automotive industry)
More intensive applications can potentially include:
Surface modification of implants or scaffold materials in tissue engineering
Drug delivery & cancer therapy
Bio-sensors, electrochemical biosensors
Other types of sensors, such as: Contact sensors, nanoelectromechanical sensors, chemical sensors, non-contact sensors, etc.
About Grafoid Inc.
Grafoid is focused on three areas of graphene-related technology development seen as "low-hanging fruit" for industrial adoption.
They are graphene based materials for energy creation, storage and transmission; graphene based polymers and; graphene coatings for all industrial sectors.
Grafoid is a world leading graphene R&D and investment company. The company provides expertise as well as product and processes for transformative, industrial-scale graphene applications in partnership with leading corporations and institutions around the world.
A privately held Canadian corporation, Grafoid invests in graphene applications and economically scalable production processes for graphene and graphene derivatives from raw, unprocessed graphite ore. Focus Graphite Inc. holds a significant interest in Grafoid Inc.
Incorporated in 2011, Grafoid's global enterprise platform includes 17 subsidiary companies engaged in the development of Mesograf™ materials and products, and GrafeneX ultra-thin graphene industrial coatings and commercialization development services. They include, but are not limited to: Mesograf™ lithium batteries for electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and industrial energy storage; polymers, plastics, rubber, elastomers, and composite materials; fiber science including aluminum alloys; lubricants; fire retardant materials; thermal management solutions; EMI/RFI/EMP shielding; solar solutions, and analytical testing; and laboratory services.
Grafoid's research is supported through the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) of the National Research Council of Canada, and, on February 20, 2015, Grafoid received an $8.1 million investment from the SD Tech Fund™ of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) to develop a technology that will automate Mesograf™ graphene production and end-product development. SDTC is mandated by the Government of Canada to support clean technology companies as they move their technologies to market.
For more information about Grafoid, please visit http://www.grafoid.com.
To view Figure 2, click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/4476f2.pdf
To view Figure 3, click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/4476f3.pdf

Revolutionary battery tech for electric cars, includes lower cost graphene

http://www.businessinsider.com/henrik-fisker-is-using-revolutionary-battery-tech-for-electric-car-2016-10

Show to bring auto enthusiasts together`

http://www.thewhig.com/2016/08/25/show-to-bring-auto-enthusiasts-together

Car lovers across Ontario and Quebec are polishing up their pride and joy this week in time for a major car show in Kingston on Saturday.

It will be the first time such a large-scale show has been held in Kingston, said Liam Burtt, who works in business development for Braille Battery Inc., which is sponsoring and hosting the event.

Called the Union Autofest, it will be held from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, behind the company’s offices at 945 Princess St. on the old Alcan property.

Braille is a main supplier of high-performance lithium ion batteries and supplies the motorsports and powersports industries. Its batteries start cars at the Daytona 500, Le Mans 24-hour race, NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar events.

Braille is based in Florida and is a subsidiary of Grafoid Inc. The complex at 945 Princess St. houses Braille’s logistics, labs and offices for Canada.

Helping organize the meet is the Limestone Street Scene, a local car club. Also involved are online parts distributors Teknotik.com and Trackwerks.

The show is bringing in auto enthusiasts from the Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto regions. They will be showcasing everything from classic cars to high-performance rides and more exotic vehicles.

“There are going to be a lot of cool, different things. Everyone from all walks of life in the motorsport, powersport community are going to come and show off their car and have a great day,” Burtt said.

There will be vendors on site, including parts dealers. There will also be a barbecue and music.

The Ontario Hockey League’s Kingston Frontenacs will be involved, bringing activities for kids.

“There has been a lot of support from the Kingston community,” Burtt said.

There are already approximately 200 cars pre-registered and Burtt expects the number to climb before Saturday.

“You could see 250 to 350 cars on display.”

Car owners can also just show up on the day of the event and display their vehicle.

There is no charge to bring a car for showing or to come as a spectator. That may change in subsequent years, however.

“We really just want to get some exposure and have people enjoy the event,” Burtt said.

He said the show is an introduction for Braille to the Canadian consumer market. Car enthusiasts in the race-crazy southern United States know the company well, but it hasn’t been as visible north of the border.

“Over the past 10 months, Braille has been making a real push to get involved in the grassroots scene, not only in Ontario but in Quebec and the eastern Atlantic provinces,” he explained.

“We figured, what better way to kick things off than host a major car meet. A lot of these people may be racers themselves, but they are also enthusiasts. They put a lot of time and effort and money into their vehicles.”

It won’t be like other car shows in one aspect, Burtt said.

“This isn’t a classic car show where we have people gunning for top prize or best vehicle. This is just a show and tell.”

That may also change in future years, but for now there will only be a viewer’s choice award, where people can vote for their own choice for best in show.

He explained the idea for the car show originated from a large-scale car meet that was once held in the Toronto area but is now defunct.

“There has been a real desire to have something of this scale happen again.”

People wanted it to be held in a centralized location, so if they didn’t have a trailer, they wouldn’t have to drive their vehicles too far.

So Kingston seemed like the obvious choice, Burtt said. The word “Union” in the event’s name signifies it is bringing together car lovers from Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. They will make this the area’s largest meet, he claimed.

Many cities have car clubs that gather in a handy parking lot each week to show off their rides.

“That’s usually 40 to 50 people and they are all buddies.”

And the cars are often the same each time.

“This is a large-scale car meet where there are people from across the province putting their cars on display,” Burtt said. “So it’s not going to be the same people, the same cars you see all the time at these little gatherings. There is going to be a wide variety of cars, makes, people. That’s what’s drawing a lot of people to this. They are going to see some pretty unique things and have the opportunity to show off their prize possession, their baby.”

Local car lovers already have a “tight-knit community,” he said, but this will give them the chance to meet enthusiasts from further afield.

“It’s a great opportunity for people to grow relationships.”

He is hoping this will be the first of an annual series of shows.

It was all put together in a little over five weeks because they wanted to get it done before the summer ended and people started putting their vehicles away, he said.

“It will just grow year by year and hopefully we will have a larger budget and more time to plan things.”

More information is available online at www.braillebattery.com.

mlea@postmedia.com

Focus Graphite's Proprietary Process Purifies Fine Flake Graphite to 99.99% Level for a New Generation of Lithium-Ion Batteries

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 8, 2016) - Focus Graphite (TSX VENTURE:FMS) (OTCQX:FCSMF) (FRANKFURT:FKC) (or "the Company") is pleased to announce it has successfully purified fine flake graphite - sourced at its wholly owned Lac Knife, Quebec deposit - from 95% to 99.99% purity using a proprietary energy efficient purification process.

Attaining a 99.99% purity level from fine graphite flake is significant. Focus now has the technology to economically purify low value fine flake graphite or, "fines" to a high value material needed for the production of lithium-ion batteries.

To view Figure 1. Before purification, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/fms_fig1.jpg

To view Figure 2. After purification, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/fms_fig2.jpg

Goldman Sachs Equity Research projects an emerging global low carbon economy that will produce 25 million hybrid and pure electric vehicles by 2025.

Other next generation renewable energy markets include portable electronic devices, utility scale energy storage, urban transportation, rail, marine, aviation and clean energy applications for the military.

Focus Graphite is at an advanced stage in testing high purity level graphite for use in battery and other high-tech applications.

Within the last 26 months, Focus has published the results of four successive independent test results highlighting the superior performance of Lac Knife graphite in short-term and long-term lithium-ion battery cycling. These tests are mandatory before customers can use any new materials in battery chemistry.

"We now have the technological capabilities to provide customers with a full range of battery-grade products to meet their specifications - from fine to large flake. We believe our novel process will further secure our competitive advantage in global markets," said Focus Graphite Chief Executive Officer Gary Economo.

"Given our relationships with end users and knowledge of our industry, we know of no other junior graphite developer today with a deposit capable of competitively converting their fine flake component to battery grade production," Mr. Economo said.

The traditional purification process involves heating the graphite to in excess of 2000C and essentially distilling off the impurities. There is a high-energy cost and some loss of graphite.

The Focus process reacts the graphite at a much lower temperature (less than 1200C) with gaseous chlorine compounds. The impurities are converted to chlorides which distill off at much lower temperatures, lower energy and no loss of graphite. Chemicals used are recycled and are relatively inexpensive.

The Company has invested in a long-term research program aimed at discovering the potential for transforming a fine flake graphite source to a high value material suitable for use in lithium-ion batteries.

The purpose of the Company's R&D fine flake production process program is to meet battery manufacturers needs for a novel, high-grade, high purity graphite that increases performance while reducing their input costs.

Focus Graphite's high-grade deposit's fine flake distribution is unique in that impurities are located mainly on the surface of the material, resulting in processing cost efficiencies.

Approximately one-third of the Lac Knife deposit is comprised of small and fine flakes suitable for processing to lithium-ion battery grade specifications.

"As a company currently engaged in battery testing with more than 20 potential end-users and seven universities and government laboratories, we see our latest processing breakthrough as a catalyst to encourage that industry to create new, lightweight battery designs enabled by our fine flake anode materials," said Mr. Gary Economo.

The fines that are produced during the flotation process can now be substituted for the large and medium flakes being purified for use in battery manufacturing, leaving the large and medium flakes for sale into higher value applications.

Focus Graphite has acquired an intimate understanding of both the future needs of the battery manufacturing sector and trends in that sector as a long-standing Board Member of Chicago-based NAATBatt International (the National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Batteries).

As such, holding the ability to purify Lac Knife's fine flakes expands the company's potential to sell substantially more of the graphite extracted from Lac Knife into high-value, high-tech applications instead of approximately 30 percent being sold for lower value industrial applications.

Focus Graphite will continue to explore its Lac Tetepisca, Quebec property for graphite material to fulfill the Company's "Polymer Offtake" agreement with Grafoid Inc. in addition to other potential customers.

Focus has established a recent history of technological successes by designing processes leading to superior performing coated spherical graphite for use in battery anodes.

Laboratory scale testing during the first half of 2016 involved approximately 30 trial runs using Lac Knife fine flake (-200 mesh to +400 mesh) graphite at the Grafoid Global Technology Centre in Kingston, Ontario.

The proprietary, low temperature process, developed by a Focus Graphite technical team, is believed to be more efficient than very high temperature thermal purification and is suitable for the removal of specific types of impurities found in the Lac Knife graphite deposit.

Focus' low temperature process versus conventional very high temperature purification processes obviates the use of large amounts of energy - one of the largest single cost components of graphite purification.

Customer Engagement

The path from graphite product development to the battery manufacturers' testing labs is a lengthy, multi-step process.

Staged R&D testing is a prerequisite to the sale, or offtake, of any manufactured graphite for use in lithium-ion, alkaline and lead-acid batteries in the automobile, consumer, medical equipment, tools, hand-held industrial devices and aviation manufacturing industries or with military equipment suppliers.

As a technology graphite developer, Focus is deeply engaged in R&D and development of graphite concentrate and value added products for a low carbon economy.

With some individual variations, the graphite sales process begins with the execution by the customer of a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). This is followed by supplying the customer with small quantities of samples for initial testing in coin cells, followed by life cycle testing in both larger and full sized batteries, followed by the signing of offtake agreements. This process can take anywhere up to 24 months.


Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/companies/bullboard/v.fms/focus-graphite-inc#SRhlSWUwwQPo5zbm.99

Blake Fuller Sets Pikes Peak Record In Tesla Model S In EV Production Class

Blake Fuller, the driver who we previously announced as a contender for Pikes Peak record for production electric cars, has accomplished his task and set a new record.

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/blake-fuller-sets-pikes-peak-record-in-tesla-model-s-in-ev-production-class-108879.html#

Blake Fuller's Tesla Model S for Pikes PeakThe 100th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb took place last weekend, and Blake Fuller drove a Tesla Model S on the course in 11 minutes and 48 seconds, beating the previous record by over a minute.

While the vehicle was registered in the Electric Production class, it did feature a few modifications. First of all, like any car that is entered in a competition, it featured a roll cage.

Secondly, Fuller's Model S had a battery which was lighter than the original, and came without the failsafe which could have limited power in certain situations.

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has had its 100th running this year, and the configuration of the course remains full tarmac.

In case some of you have forgotten, we are talking about 156 corners on a 12.42-miles course (19.99 kilometers).

Just like in regular hill climb events, the PPIHC does not feature a co-driver, so each pilot is forced to memorize the course, unlike rallying, where a co-driver is mandatory. Most races of this type have a course that is half the length of Pikes Peak. However, this is the challenge of the “Race To the Clouds.”

Roy Richards set the previous record in the Electric Production class, with a time of 12 minutes and 55 seconds. Meanwhile, in the Electric Modified class, the record set in 2015 by Rhys Millen was 9 minutes and 7 seconds. Even after this year’s race, Sebastien Loeb’s compelling record, set in 2013 aboard a Peugeot 208 T16, still stands.

Blake Fuller has been competing in hill climb events since he was 18 years old. He is currently the owner of Go Puck and Braille Battery, and has experience in tuning lithium-ion batteries for motorsport applications. So an entry with an electric vehicle in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb should have not surprised anyone, especially since the pilot is not a stranger to the Colorado event.

Good for you, doesn't turn me on.

All new technology is first implemented in either military, f1 or high end applications.

This is a good sign.

OK, misread, but no bike fan so have at it. To me graphene better get more critical than bike frames or who gives a damn.

Start by Reading the post its for high end bikes

Graphene frames are coming, and they could weigh just 350g
Nick Busca July 14, 2016
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/product-news/dassi-graphene-frame-260002

UK bike manufacturer Dassi claims to have created the world's first ever bike frame containing graphene

image: http://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/07/DSC0376-630x420.jpg

_DSC0376
Revolutions don’t come along that often in cycling, but Dassi, a UK bike manufacturer focusing on bike customisation, claims to have started one with the presentation of the world’s first bike frame containing graphene.

Launched yesterday from the company’s headquarters in Hartley Wintney in Hampshire, the company’s frame weighs 750g, although it claims that this could be more than halved to just 350g at some point in the future.

image: https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/07/DSC0389-e1468480238636.jpg

_DSC0389
UK manufacturer Dassi just launched the world’s first bike frame that contains graphene

What exactly is this frame made of?

Is the frame made completely from graphene? Well, no. The frame contains just a minimum 1 per cent of the material, which is hooked together with an epoxy resin and later layered with one level of carbon-fibre. Is it the lightest frame we’ll ever see? Not this one, as the first frame presented weighs around 750 grams, which is actually the same weight as the frame of the Pinarello Dogma F8Xlight that Chris Froome is riding at the Tour de France.

At the presentation of the new graphene frame, Dassi CEO and founder Stuart Abbot (a former aerospace design engineer for Rolls Royce) said that the weight of the frame could go down of a further 200 grams in the future. And further down the line, Dassi claims that it could be able to present a 350g frame, but there are issues with the layering process that need to be ironed out (the graphene sheets were narrower than expected and harder to work with) meaning that for now their frames composed of six layers of graphene composite material on the inside, and one layer of carbon-fibre on the outside.

image: https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/07/DSC0381-e1468481659789.jpg

_DSC0381
The Dassi frame is composed with one outside layer of carbon fibre and six layers of graphene composite on the inside

What you see on the outside of the frame is a carbon-fibre layer that has the same design has the other Dassi models, while the graphene material lies underneath.

image: https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/07/DSC0409-e1468480317173.jpg

_DSC0409
Dassi CEO and founder Stuart Abbot presented their first graphene bike at Dassi HQ in Hartley Wintney, Hampshire

Other than the frame’s low weight, Abbot stressed the other properties of the material, its stiffness, its great electric conductivity and its flexibility. And even though the graphene percentage in the frame will be very low (good news for your wallet as 1g of graphene costs £50, which is more expensive than gold), the properties of the material will be maintained and the frames will all feature aero tubing and geometry.

>>> Is graphene cycling’s next game-changer?

Also, Dassi won’t just be making frames from graphene, but also other parts of its bikes such as stems, seatposts, and seatclamps.

image: https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/07/DSC0379-e1468483265732.jpg

_DSC0379
The graphene frame presented by Dassi weighs 750 grams

By the end of the year, Dassi claims it will offer to their clients not only the graphene frame, but also a test frame that will feature a wireless system of data collection in order to build the custom frame according to each rider’s personal reactions and movement on the bike. Riders’ data like acceleration, deceleration, frame-twist while cornering and pedaling will be collected by sensors and circuits built into the test frame and later analysed by Dassi. The customer’s own graphene frame will then be customised to build the ultimate tailored bike.

>>> The top 10 road bike innovations

The graphene bikes will be layered by Brick Kiln Composite in Banbury, Oxfordshire. We visited the layering of the first ever graphene bike in exclusive and we’ll present you the whole process, which is similar to the one to produce carbon-fibre frames, in the coming weeks.

image: https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/07/DSC0353-e1468483313432.jpg

_DSC0353
The outside of the frame is in carbon fibre while the graphene core is underneath it

The graphene sheet has been produced in Germany and Wales, while the carbon-fibre is produced by the UK firm SHD composites. The frame you see here will be now be shipped in Germany (at the EFBe Prueftechnik) for testing, and after the two-week process of structural testing, the bike will be back in the UK for potential improving and production. Dassi thinks it will be ready to be sold in September.

But what is graphene?

image: https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/07/DSC0419-e1468483382646.jpg

_DSC0419
Also other spare parts of your bike can incorporate graphene to make them lighter and stiffer

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a planar (flat) hexagonal latice. Graphite, the material used in pencils and tennis rackets, is many layers of graphene combined together. Isolating a single layer of graphite (graphene) was first achieved in 2004 at the University of Manchester by Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov. The two scientists isolated the one-atom thick layer using 3M Scotch tape on a block of graphite. Although scientists theorised its existence for many years, no one was able to isolate graphene until Geim and Novoselov, work that subsequently saw the pair be awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Graphene has huge potential in a wide range of applications. It is flexible, transparent, can conduct electricity, is lightweight and can filter water molecules. On a molecular level, it is also 300 times stronger than steel.

image: https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/07/DSC0336-e1468483495582.jpg

_DSC0336
The graphene bike should retain graphene properties: lightweight, stiffness, and great electric conductivity

Aerospace, automotive, electronic and sports are the industries that are among the industries mostly interested in the development of graphene. In these industries, graphene is currently used with composites as it’s expensive and hard to get a full sheet of pure graphene. Also Vittoria, the Italian manufacturer that invested a lot in the last years on graphene for their tyres, still uses a material that contains graphene. Not pure graphene.

Apart from the mechanical exfoliation of graphene (that is the original method Geim and Novoselov used to isolate graphene for the first time), the other way to obtain a graphene products are the liquid exfoliation, the electrochemical exfoliation of and the chemical vapour deposition (CVD).

image: https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/07/DSC0360-e1468483614837.jpg

_DSC0360
The aluminium component added to the graphene frame like the bottom bracket entry are actually giving the frame the most of the weight

image: https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/07/DSC0364-e1468483560524.jpg

_DSC0364
Like the other Dassi frames, also the graphene one will feature an internal cable routing system

Dassi was founded in 2012 and in 2016 announced the full UK manufacturer of its bikes (from the carbon-fibre composition to the final painting). It now produces and sells a road model (The Road), a time trial one (The TT), both in carbon-fibre: the Toray 800, 900 and Unidirectional Carbon for the former, the Toray 800 for the latter.

You can place a request online at Dassi’s website; The Road has got a price of £3,995 for just the frame and the fork and The TT a price of £3,750). The standard procedure is then to get an appointment at Dassi’s headquarters for a further bike fit and a tailored design. As Abbot says: “buying a Dassi is an experience”.


Read more at http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/product-news/dassi-graphene-frame-260002#vFi9425qyYFfJ07q.99

I wonder if they can use a Graphene membraine?

Clean Energy Breakthrough Could Turn Estuaries Into Power Stations

http://europe.newsweek.com/scientists-generate-electricity-salt-water-unparallel-efficiency-480049

excerpt
The potential of the new system is huge, with the researchers calculating that a 1m² membrane would be able to produce enough electricity to power 50,000 standard energy-saving light bulbs.
Before this technology can be scaled up in this way, however, scientists need to find a way to make relatively uniform pores.

DNI Metals (DNI.CN/DMNKF) Cash Flow Generation Strategy

DNI Metals is focusing on developing a vertically integrated graphite extraction, refining, and wholesale business, by using a three-pronged cash flow generation strategy

1.) Wholesale graphite business shipping material from high-quality producers in Brazil to North America.

DNI has a current agreement to provide Great Lakes Graphite (GLK.V & GLKIF) 34,000 tonnes of –100 mesh +95 graphitic carbon over a five year period.

http://www.greatlakesgraphite.com/2015/03/23/great-lakes-graphite-announces-graphite-supply-agreement-with-dni-metals/

http://investorintel.com/technology-metals-intel/great-lakes-graphite-going-value-added/?print=pdf

2.) Fully operating commercial mining-related laboratory

Currently being used by mining and clean tech companies for assay work, pilot plant modeling, technical studies and environmental work. More than 62 Canadian & US patents have been developed at this facility. The company has not made the name public yet - due to confidentiality obligations, since the lab is currently private - but with all the DD I have done, I can tell you that it is:

Process Research ORTECH Inc. ( http://www.processortech.com/ )

Making up approximately 87% of the acquisition value, are hard assets comprised of a 37,000 square foot, two story high facility, located in the Greater Toronto Area. All the equipment needed to operate Pilot Plants and Laboratories, that are used to complete metallurgical, clean technology, and environmental testing will now be owned by DNI upon completion of the transaction.

A building mortgage and VTB (Vendor Take Back) will account for 75% of the acquisition cost. 20% of the building is rented out at competitive rates, already generating income. This acquisition will add about C$ 3.5 million of hard assets to DNI's balance sheet, which I should point out has no long-term or toxic debt.

3.) 100% owned Vohitsara Graphite Property in Madagascar

Their flagship project. Initial exploration results have indicated the presence of a reasonable quantity, quality and tenor of flake graphite mineralisation consistent with the generally high quality of flake graphite found in central eastern Madagascar. The property has a full mining permit, and further development and drilling are scheduled to commence later this year. DNI plans to start output at 12,000 tpa, which will enable the company to be extremely competitive in the current graphite market owing to its lower capex and opex costs as the ore can go straight into the flotation process following excavation - The Saprolite Advantage.

http://dnimetals.com/the-saprolite-advantage/

Samples of strong graphitic carbon head-grade results (3% to 13.14% Cgr) from 4 trenches covering a strike length of 700 metres, averaging 300 to 400 meters in width, at Vohistara, yielded the following results:

Flake Distribution, Description, and Size

29.5% Jumbo +50 Mesh / +297 Microns
25.3% Jumbo +30 Mesh / +595 Microns
16.9% Small -140 Mesh / -105 Microns
12.6% Large +70 Mesh / +210 Microns
9.9% Medium +100 Mesh / +149 Microns
5.8% Small +140 Mesh / +105 Microns

NI 43-101 Report: http://dnimetals.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/REPORT-NI43-101_Transaction_Vohitsara-v.160301_FINAL-1_SIGNED.pdf

Video Tour of Vohitsara Property:

Focus Graphite: Graphite Mine to Market

http://business.financialpost.com/news/mining/small-cap-news/focus-graphite-graphite-mine-to-market


Focus Graphite: Graphite Mine to Market

In the graphite space finding a graphite deposit is not the hard part. The hard part is finding the right sort of graphite, understanding how to make it ready for sale and recognizing that graphite is the precursor of the miracle material, graphene.

Focus Graphite (V.FMS) has known for several years it has a significant graphite deposit at its 100%-owned Lac Knife Graphite Project in the Province of Quebec. This is a high grade, natural flake graphite deposit and is widely acknowledged as a world class graphite mine prospect.

However, for Gary Economo, CEO of Focus, the Lac Knife deposit is the beginning of a much larger story. On the one side there is the promise of the booming Li-ion battery world. Here, pure spherical graphite is in increasing demand as the Tesla battery gigafactory nears completion and other huge Li-ion battery facilities come online. (People often forget that there is six times more graphite in a Li-ion battery than there is lithium.) On the other side there is a huge opportunity in the graphene space as more and more applications are commercialized for this extraordinary material.

For Economo, keeping the publically traded Focus Graphite aimed squarely at securing the offtake agreements required to make the Lac Knife deposit into viable graphite mine is a priority. So is leveraging the technology embedded in the Focus investee private company Grafoid Inc.

On March 23 Focus announced a Memorandum of Understanding had been reached between Grafoid and Xiamen Tungsten, a Chinese company with revenues of 1.55 billion a year derived from its position as one of China’s leading tungsten and other non-ferrous metals firms. Xiamen also has substantial interests in the rare earths space as well as significant exposure to the supply of battery materials. Per the MOU, Xiamen will acquire up to a 20% equity position in Grafoid and, as part of that transaction, will purchase up to 7,000,000 Grafoid common shares currently held by Focus Graphite.

In the press release announcing the MOU Economo stated:

“In addition to providing Grafoid with a strategic partner, Grafoid’s MOU with Xiamen, has benefits for Focus Graphite. When finalized, it will provide additional funding to allow us to advance our overall mine and transformation plant financing, and potentially open the China market to Focus Graphite for additional offtake partners and the sale of value added graphite products.”

“Specifically, this injection of funding could enable Focus Graphite to advance our Lac Knife detailed engineering and finalize the environmental permitting process. And, it enables us to move to the next stage in assembling our mine CAPEX financing.”
In our interview Economo explained the background to the proposed transaction. “The Chinese government is moving towards making the commercialization of graphene a national priority. At the same time the government wants China to get out of graphite and into graphene.”

“Grafoid and Focus have been approached by over a dozen Chinese companies. They like the Grafoid model of “mine to market”. We’re not just making graphene, we’re making end user products.” said Economo. “For Xiamen an investment in Grafoid makes sense. The world market for tungsten is getting softer as incandescent light bulbs are being replaced with LEDs. They see graphene as the way to go.”

“We hope to close this deal in the next couple of months.” explained Economo. “It has two main parts: the financing element which will let Focus move forward and the commercialization of graphene applications in China and worldwide.”

“We see three main areas for graphene and battery graphite commercialization: energy, coatings, and polymers. One the energy side we are looking at supplying battery grade natural graphite and we are looking at supercapacitors.”

“Coatings involve using graphene’s amazing properties in specific applications. For example, the electrical properties of graphene make it ideal for use in high voltage electrical transmission lines. It has significant promise in solar cells where we are seeing graphene enabled solar panels operating at 2.5 time the efficiency of normal panels.”

“Graphene’s conductive and thermal properties are widely known. What is less talked about is its hydrophobic nature. Graphene repels water. Which makes it ideal as a window coating. A transparent graphene film on a skyscraper window would effectively eliminate the expensive and dangerous need to clean that window. Or it can be used in aquariums where it will work as an antibacterial layer. Or on boats and ships to prevent fouling.” said Economo.

“Mixing graphene with polymers is another huge application.” said Economo. “You can use graphene polymer composites and make materials 100 to 300 percent stronger.”

“And now we are making a sponge with a sort of graphene foam. We can weave that material and the sponge will absorb oil but repel water. Ideal for oil spills or land reclamation.”

“The fact is graphene has already revolutionized the world. In the last five years there have been hundreds of applications brought to market and thousands of patents filed. But it takes years for a new technology to find wide market acceptance. Look at the cell phone. It took thirty years for everyone to have one in their pocket.”

While Economo loves to talk about the blue skies of graphene development, as CEO of Focus he keeps his feet firmly on the ground with both the Lac Knife graphite project and a rare earths opportunity at Kwyjibo, Quebec. Focus just completed the first tranche of private placement had raised over 1.5 million in flow through funds.

“We’ll be using those funds to advance the Kwyjibo rare earths project as well as some other graphite projects and Lac Knife. Kwyjibo is a world class project and having the expertise of Xiamen Tungsten – which is extensively involved in rare earths in China – will move the project forward.”

“Getting this financing was not hard. We’ve proven that our manufacturing process is first class. We’ve shown that our battery grade graphite is first class. We have three off take agreements – the only Canadian junior graphite company with any off take agreements.” said Economo. “And in the next five years the graphite production from Lac Knife may well be spoken for.”



At time of writing Focus Graphite was trading at $0.22 with 143 million shares outstanding and a market cap of $31.4 million.

Focus Graphite Introduces a High Conductivity Graphite for Cathodes in Lithium-Ion Batteries
V.FMS, FCSMF | 3 days ago
Tests Support That Cathodes Using Lac Knife's Expanded Graphite Exhibit Twice the Conductivity of Cathodes with Standard Grades of Synthetic and Natural Flake Graphites Used Commercially in Lithium Ion Batteries
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - March 31, 2016) - Focus Graphite Inc., (TSX VENTURE:FMS)(OTCQX:FCSMF)(FRANKFURT:FKC) is pleased to report that independent testing of expanded natural flake graphite from its Lac Knife, Québec Project demonstrate nearly double the electrical conductivity over standard grades of synthetic and natural graphite used in Li-Ion battery cathode applications.

The two-year project, involving the preparation and testing of intercalated*, expanded** and delaminated*** Lac Knife graphite was supervised by Dr. Joseph E. Doninger, Focus' Director of Manufacturing and Technology.

Testing was performed between 2014 and 2016 under three contracts with a highly reputable and recognized international firm, with additional scientific investigations using Ramen microscopy provided by a well-known U.S. university laboratory. The names of the internationally recognized facilities were withheld for commercially competitive reasons.

The project began with the development of a modified ASTM C 611 Four Point Resistivity Tester in 2014 to compare the conductivity of different grades of Lac Knife graphite with competitive graphites followed by the development of processes and equipment for the intercalation, expansion and delamination of Lac Knife graphite for use in Li-Ion and alkaline batteries.

The project concluded in a presentation by Dr. Doninger to the 33rd International Battery Seminar and Exhibition in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on March 23, 2016.

A PDF version of Dr. Doninger's technical presentation entitled "Long Term Cycling Performance and Conductivity Enhancement Characteristics of Lac Knife Flake Graphite from Quebec, Canada" is available here: http://focusgraphite.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/battery-presentation-fms.pdf

Expanded graphite is a form of processed natural crystalline flake, featuring dramatically improved electrical conductivity in electrode matrixes. Delaminated expanded flake is also preferable to conventional air-milled flake and/or premium quality synthetic graphites when higher conductivity properties are desired.

To view Figures 1 and 2, please click the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/FGFigs1-2.pdf

Due to its added-value benefits, expanded graphite typically commands larger revenue margins due to higher selling prices than the competitive grades of flake and synthetic graphite now being used for this application.

Niche markets that use expanded graphite include: specialty paints and coatings, cathodes of alkaline Zinc/Manganese Dioxide primary batteries, cathodes of zinc-air batteries and negative electrodes of lead-acid batteries.

Dr. Doninger said the test results lead to a number of potentially advantageous conclusions for using Lac Knife graphite in both the anodes and cathodes of Li Ion batteries to enhance overall battery efficiencies, including increased power, higher capacity, longer battery life and increased utilization of cathode active materials.

Current commercial pricing for these purified grades of synthetic and expanded flake graphite, said Dr. Doninger, varies from producer to producer, within a range of US $14,000 per metric tonne to upwards of US $30,000 per MT. The higher end of the price range is for a premium grade of synthetic graphite published in the Department of Energy-Argonne National Laboratory Annual Review report for the FreedomCAR Program in 2003.

"These data support our opinion that our value added expanded graphite products could leave Focus Graphite well positioned to compete successfully in international markets," said Dr. Doninger.

"And these high prices for graphites in the cathodes for Li Ion batteries, such as the Focus Lac Knife expanded graphite, creates an opportunity for continuing our research to achieve even greater conductivity enhancement additives," he added.

On May 27, 2014 the Company announced the potential for high value added sales in the Li-ion battery sector following battery coin cell tests performed on Spherical Graphite ("SPG") produced from the Lac Knife graphite concentrate for use in the anodes of Li Ion batteries and exhibited high reversible capacities and low first cycle capacity losses. Subsequent test results were published on February 26, 2015 showing that the Lac Knife SPG exceeded the performance of commercially available grades of synthetic graphite in coin cells and on November 25, 2015 announced that the Lac Knife SPG showed excellent long term cycling performance with essentially zero capacity loss after 110 cycles. These news releases are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under focus Graphite Inc.

* Intercalation of graphite is the process introducing chemical compounds in between the individual layers of flakes of graphite either chemically or electro-chemically as a necessary first step in the process to produce expanded graphite.

** Expanded graphite is the product produced by heating the intercalated graphite to 850C to form the expanded graphite worms.

*** Delamination of graphite is the process of separating individual thinner flakes from the expanded graphite worms in such a way as to preserve the flake structure of the individual separated flakes.

Qualified Persons:

Dr. Joseph E. Doninger, PhD, the Company's Director of Manufacturing and Technology; an Honorary Professor at the Kiev National University of Technologies and Design; an internationally recognized expert and author of numerous publications; a patent holder of various graphite production technologies and methodologies, and; a Co-Editor of the NATO Science Series Book entitled "New Carbon Based Materials for Energy Storage Systems," has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release relating to the preparation and testing of intercalated*, expanded** and delaminated*** Lac Knife graphite and to the interpretation of the test results.

Mr. Marc-André Bernier, M.Sc, P.Geo (Québec and Ontario), a Director of the Company and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release relating to the Lac Knife project mineral resource estimates and feasibility study report.

About Focus Graphite

Focus Graphite Inc. is an advanced exploration and development mining company with an objective of producing graphite concentrate at its Lac Knife deposit located south west of Fermont, Québec. In a second stage, to meet Quebec stakeholder interests of transformation within the province and to add shareholder value, Focus is evaluating the feasibility of producing value added graphite products including battery-grade spherical graphite.

The Lac Knife project hosts a Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate* of 9.58 million tonnes grading 14.77% graphitic carbon (Cg) (432,000 tonnes Measured @ 23.66% Cg and 9,144,000 tonnes Indicated @ 14.35% Cg) as natural flake graphite with an additional Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate* of 3.1 million tonnes grading 13.25% Cg. Focus' goal is to assume an industry leadership position by becoming a low-cost producer of technology-grade graphite concentrate.

The Feasibility Study filed with SEDAR on August 8, 2014 for the Lac Knife Project indicates the project is economically viable and has the potential to become a low cost graphite concentrate producer based on 7.86 million tonnes of Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves** grading 15.13% Cg included in the Mineral Resource (429,000 tonnes Proven @ 23.61% Cg and 7,428,000 tonnes Probable @ 14.64% Cg).

On May 27, 2014 the Company announced the potential for high value added sales in the Li-ion battery sector following battery coin cell tests performed on Spherical Graphite ("SPG") produced from the Lac Knife graphite concentrate. Testing measured the performance metrics and confirmed Focus' capability to tailor lithium ion battery-anode-grade graphite and value added products to meet the most stringent customer specifications.

Focus Graphite is a technology-oriented graphite mining development company with a vision for building long-term, sustainable shareholder value. Focus also holds a significant equity position in graphene applications developer Grafoid Inc.

* Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability

** The Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are inclusive of those Mineral Resources modified to produce the Mineral Reserve. The reference point for the Mineral Reserve Estimate is the mill feed.

For more information about Focus Graphite, please visit www.focusgraphite.com.

Forward Looking Statement

This News Release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Generally, such forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: (i) volatile stock price; (ii) the general global markets and economic conditions; (iii) the possibility of write-downs and impairments; (iv) the risk associated with exploration, development and operations of mineral deposits; (v) the risk associated with establishing title to mineral properties and assets; (vi) the risks associated with entering into joint ventures; (vii) fluctuations in commodity prices; (viii) the risks associated with uninsurable risks arising during the course of exploration, development and production; (ix) competition faced by the Company in securing experienced personnel and financing; (x) access to adequate infrastructure to support mining, processing, development and exploration activities; (xi) the risks associated with changes in the mining regulatory regime governing the Company; (xii) the risks associated with the various environmental regulations the Company is subject to; (xiii) risks related to regulatory and permitting delays; (xiv) risks related to potential conflicts of interest; (xv) the reliance on key personnel; (xvi) liquidity risks; and (xvii) the risk of potential dilution through the issue of common shares.
Forward-looking information is based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made, including but not limited to, continued exploration activities, no material adverse change in metal prices, exploration and development plans proceeding in accordance with plans and such plans achieving their stated expected outcomes, receipt of required regulatory approvals, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information has been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's business, operations and exploration plans and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is made as of the date of this News Release, and the Company does not undertake to update such forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

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 accuracy of this release.

Focus Graphite Inc.
Mr. Gary Economo
Chief Executive Officer
+1 613-241-4040
geconomo@focusgraphite.com
www.focusgraphite.com
image: http://at.marketwire.com/accesstracking/AccessTrackingLogServlet?docid=1049004001&sourceType=1


Marketwired (Canada)
March 31, 2016 - 1:05 PM EDT
Tags: INDUSTRIAL METALS & MINERALS

Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/news/press-releases/2016/03/31/focus-graphite-introduces-a-high-conductivity-graphite-for-cathodes-in-lithium#YTlUqsfZA5Fc3Sdl.99

GRAPHITE INVESTING
Grafoid Expands into China with Xiamen Tungsten Joint Venture
Gary Economo explains what the MOU means for Grafoid and why it will also impact Focus Graphite.

« Canada Carbon: Uniting Ma…
Charlotte McLeod • March 23, 2016
Add Comment
3000
Grafoid, a private graphene R&D and investment company, took a big step forward on Wednesday by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China’s Xiamen Tungsten (SSE:600549). Under the MOU, the companies will take several strategic measures to introduce Grafoid’s clean energy technologies to the Chinese market.

Speaking to the Investing News Network, Gary Economo, CEO, director and founding partner of Grafoid, emphasized that the deal makes sense for both companies. “It’s a terrific fit for both companies based on mindset and model,” he said, noting that Grafoid and Xiamen, a leader in the smelting, processing and export of tungsten and other nonferrous metal products, follow similar mine-to-market models.

Grafoid’s press release lays out exactly how the MOU will work to bring Grafoid’s technologies to China, highlighting its three key components. Here’s a brief overview:

Equity investment: Xiamen will acquire up to a 20-percent equity stake in Grafoid through the purchase of common shares, including Grafoid common shares held by Focus Graphite (TSXV:FMS,OTCQX:FCSMF).
Joint venture (JV) plan and CAPEX for production facilities: Grafoid and Xiamen will set up a JV in China under which they will produce Grafoid’s Mesograf™- and Amphioxide™-based products.
JV plan and CAPEX for graphene applications: In addition to producing those graphene-based products, Grafoid and Xiamen will set up a JV to develop graphene applications for the Chinese market.
Jeffrey York, chairman and founding partner of Grafoid, is also pleased with the MOU, and in Wednesday’s release said that it represents Grafoid’s “first expansionary step into China.” He added, “[t]his future alliance bodes well for Grafoid and Xiamen, our affiliates and our shareholders.”

Graphite Cover small
Who Might Be Tesla's Graphite Supplier?
Get the professionals’ forecasts for graphite in this exclusive report: Graphite Mining in the US: Best Graphite Stocks
Based on the above statements from Economo and York, it’s clear that the MOU is a big step for Grafoid. However, it’s worth noting that Grafoid’s Wednesday news will also impact Focus — as mentioned, Xiamen will be acquiring a 20-percent equity stake in Grafoid, in part by taking control of Grafoid common shares held by Focus.

Focus explains what that means in a separate press release, noting that the MOU will provide it “with a portal in China for the sale of value added graphite products.” Perhaps more notably, the deal will also help Focus fund its Lac Knife graphite project in Quebec. The company plans to use the money gained through the sale of its Grafoid common shares to move forward with development at the project.

“[T]his injection of funding could enable Focus to advance our Lac Knife detailed engineering and finalize the advance work required for permitting,” Economo, who’s also CEO and director at Focus, explained. “And, it enables us to move to the next stage in assembling our mine CAPEX financing.” That, of course, is also positive for Grafoid, which has two definitive, 10-year offtake agreements with Focus for graphite from Lac Knife.

In the more immediate future, Economo said that Grafoid and Xiamen will look to set up shop in China and identify graphene applications that are ready to be commercialized. Already, he said, the companies have five applications in mind, three of which will be ready to go in the immediate future.

“The key thing is to let the investment community know that our vision of an integrated mine-to-market energy business is coming together as planned,” Economo concluded. “The pieces are falling into place and it’s going well. Opportunities are growing every single day, and Grafoid is positioned to capture a lot of business going forward.”

The multimillion-dollar deal is expected to close at the end of May.

Connect with our Featured Graphite Stocks to receive the latest news and investor presentations.

Focus Graphite Announces Pending Sale of Grafoid Shares and Other Benefits Tied to Grafoid's MOU With China's Xiamen Tungsten Co.
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - March 23, 2016) - Focus Graphite Inc., (Focus Graphite or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE:FMS)(OTCQX:FCSMF)(FRANKFURT:FKC) is pleased to announce its affiliate, Grafoid Inc., and Xiamen Tungsten Co. Ltd. (Xiamen), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the establishment of a strategic joint venture partnership.

The MOU establishes terms for Xiamen's acquisition of up to a 20% equity position in Grafoid through the purchase of common shares - including up to 7,000,000 Grafoid common shares currently held by Focus Graphite and; it provides Focus Graphite with a portal in China for the future sale of value added graphite products through its strategic partnership with Xiamen. Focus Graphite, with 7.9 million shares, is the largest shareholder in Grafoid.

In summary, the MOU between Grafoid and Xiamen sets out parameters for actions that meet both parties' immediate and long-term business objectives through a joint venture arrangement. They include:

Xiamen's desire to build a clean energy technology platform and introduce those technologies to the China market
Grafoid's goals for developing industrial applications to open the China market for the commercialization of its suite of Mesograf™ and Amphioxide ™ graphene based products
The fulfillment of Focus Graphite's desire to move forward with the development of the company's Lac Knife, Québec natural flake graphite project, and supply global markets with high purity, value-added, cost-competitive graphite products while supporting the next generation battery development platform of Grafoid, Focus Graphite, Stria Lithium Inc., and Braille Battery Inc.
The establishment of Xiamen's business office at the Grafoid Global Technology Center in Kingston, Ontario to provide Xiamen with a North American base for future business expansion, and; the establishment of a Grafoid business office in China
A due diligence process will be concluded by May 22, 2016.

A publicly traded company listed on the Shanghai Exchange, Xiamen Tungsten is China's leader in smelting, processing and export of tungsten and other non-ferrous metal products; the operation of rare earth business interests, and; the supply of battery materials. It has annual revenues in excess of 10.143B CNY ($1.55B US).

Advancing the Lac Knife Graphite Project

Focus Graphite CEO and Director Gary Economo said the proceeds from the pending sale of Grafoid shares held by Focus Graphite will be applied to the company's continuing efforts to bring the Lac Knife Project into production.

"In addition to providing Grafoid with a strategic partner, Grafoid's MOU with Xiamen, has benefits for Focus Graphite. When finalized, it will provide additional funding to allow us to advance our overall mine and transformation plant financing, and potentially open the China market to Focus Graphite for additional offtake partners and the sale of value added graphite products," Mr. Economo said.

"Specifically, this injection of funding could enable Focus Graphite to advance our Lac Knife detailed engineering and finalize the environmental permitting process" said Mr. Economo. "And, it enables us to move to the next stage in assembling our mine CAPEX financing."

Focus Graphite continues its graphite testing. Customer requirements will come from battery manufacturers and from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers in North America, Asia and Europe associated with the 2015 Focus-Grafoid "Energy" and "Polymer Offtakes."

"The agreement leaves us potentially well positioned to provide a secure and reliable source of graphite feedstock for the Grafoid-Xiamen joint venture," Mr. Economo said.

"With regard to our green energy development focus," said Mr. Economo, "Grafoid's agreement with Xiamen Tungsten encourages our continued collaborative efforts with Grafoid, Stria Lithium Inc., and Braille Battery Inc. to expand our efforts in China and Asia for next generation battery development."

On September 25, 2015, Focus Graphite announced it had concluded two definitive, 10-year offtake agreements in a related party transaction with Grafoid for the purchase of Lac Knife graphite concentrate.

The first offtake agreement (the "Graphene Offtake," commits Grafoid to acquire, at its discretion, up to an annual maximum of 1,000 tonnes of high-purity (98.3% total carbon "Ct")(1) large flake (+80 mesh) graphite concentrate annually from the Lac Knife Project for 10 years, representing up to 6.8% of the projected annual production of 14,606 tonnes of high-purity large flake concentrate. (Taken from Technical Report on The Lac Knife Graphite Feasibility Study, available at www.sedar.com under Focus Graphite Inc)

(1) 98.3% Ct purity is the average of 6 pilot plant runs. The pilot plant program was completed in 2013 by SGS Canada Inc., located in Lakefield, Ontario. See news release dated August 21, 2013.
The second offtake agreement (the "Polymer Offtake") commits Grafoid to acquire, at its discretion, up to 25,000 tonnes of 97.8% Ct (average concentrate grade for all flake sizes) graphite concentrate annually from the Lac Knife Project for 10 years, representing up to 56.4% of the projected total annual production of 44,300 tonnes (all flake sizes). (Taken from Technical Report on The Lac Knife Graphite Feasibility Study.)

About Xiamen Tungsten

Xiamen Tungsten Co., Ltd. is China's largest producer and exporter of tungsten products. Its investment in technology upgrades and metallurgical innovation have narrowed the East-West gap in product quality compared to foreign enterprises and, the company is currently expanding its investments in clean energy technologies to move in lockstep with China's march toward a low carbon economy.

It has annual revenues in excess of 10.143B CNY ($1.55B US).

During the last decade, with a view to upgrading its competitive position in global markets, Xiamen, through acquisition and investment has expanded its business from a tungsten company to a technology oriented conglomerate in control of its complete manufacturing chains.

Xiamen Tungsten is listed on the Shanghai Exchange under the numerical symbol: 600549.

For more information about Xiamen Tungsten, please visit http://www.cxtc.com/

About Grafoid Inc.

Grafoid is a complete solutions graphene company. The company provides expertise as well as product and processes for transformative, industrial-scale graphene applications in partnership with leading corporations and institutions around the world.

A privately held Canadian corporation, Grafoid invests in graphene applications and economically scalable production processes for graphene and graphene derivatives from raw, unprocessed graphite ore. Focus Graphite holds a significant interest in Grafoid.

Incorporated in 2011, Grafoid's global enterprise platform includes 17 subsidiary companies engaged in the development of Mesograf™, Amphioxide™ and GrafeneX materials and products, and development services. They include, but are not limited to: Mesograf™ lithium batteries for electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and industrial energy storage; additive manufacturing materials including metal alloy and graphene polymer powders for 3D printing; polymers, plastics, rubber, elastomers, and composite materials; fibre science including aluminum alloys; coatings and lubricants; fire retardant materials; thermal management solutions; EMI/RFI/EMP shielding; solar solutions, and analytical testing; and laboratory services.

Grafoid's research is supported through the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) of the National Research Council of Canada, and, on February 20, 2015, Grafoid received an $8.1 million investment from the SD Tech Fund™ of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) to develop a technology that will automate Mesograf™ graphene production and end-product development. SDTC is mandated by the Government of Canada to support clean technology companies as they move their technologies to market.

About Focus Graphite Inc.

Focus Graphite is an advanced exploration and development mining company with an objective of producing graphite concentrate at its Lac Knife deposit located south west of Fermont, Québec. In a second stage, to meet Québec stakeholder interests for transformation within the province and to add shareholder value, Focus Graphite is evaluating the feasibility of producing value added graphite products including battery-grade spherical graphite.

The Lac Knife project hosts a Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate* of 9.58 million tonnes grading 14.77% graphitic carbon (Cg) (432,000 tonnes Measured @ 23.66% Cg and 9,144,000 tonnes Indicated @ 14.35% Cg) as natural flake graphite with an additional Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate* of 3.1 million tonnes grading 13.25% Cg. Focus' goal is to assume an industry leadership position by becoming a low-cost producer of technology-grade graphite concentrate.

The Feasibility Study filed with SEDAR on August 8, 2014 for the Lac Knife Project indicates the project is economically viable and has the potential to become a low cost graphite concentrate producer based on 7.86 million tonnes of Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves** grading 15.13% Cg included in the Mineral Resource (429,000 tonnes Proven @ 23.61% Cg and 7,428,000 tonnes Probable @ 14.64% Cg).

On May 27, 2014 the Company announced the potential for high value added sales in the Li-ion battery sector following battery coin cell tests performed on Spherical Graphite ("SPG") produced from the Lac Knife graphite concentrate. Testing measured the performance metrics and confirmed Focus Graphite's capability to tailor lithium ion battery-anode-grade graphite and value added products to meet the most stringent customer specifications.

Focus Graphite is a technology-oriented graphite mining development company with a vision for building long-term, sustainable shareholder value. Focus also holds an 18% equity position in graphene applications developer Grafoid Inc.

* Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability

** The Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are inclusive of those Mineral Resources modified to produce the Mineral Reserve. The reference point for the Mineral Reserve Estimate is the mill feed.

For more information about Focus Graphite, please visit www.focusgraphite.com.

Qualified Person

Mr. Marc-Andre Bernier, M.Sc, P.Geo (Québec and Ontario), a Director of the Company and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

China’s Xiamen Tungsten to take 20% equity stake in Kingston’s Grafoid Inc.
MARCH 23, 2016 BY TERRY DAWES 0 COMMENTS

Share this:
0


Grafoid's Global Technology Centre in Kingston
Grafoid’s Global Technology Centre in Kingston
Kingston, Ontario’s Grafoid Inc. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the establishment of a strategic joint venture partnership with China’s largest producer and exporter of tungsten products, Xiamen Tungsten Co. Ltd., which will see Xiamen take up to a 20% equity stake in privately held Grafoid, pending the completion of due diligence which is set to conclude on May 22, 2016.
Xiamen’s equity position in Grafoid was negotiated through its parent company, Ottawa’s Focus Graphite Inc. (TSX VENTURE:FMS) (OTCQX:FCSMF) (FRANKFURT:FKC), through the purchase of up to 7 million Grafoid common shares currently held by Focus Graphite.
“In addition to providing Grafoid with a strategic partner, Grafoid’s MOU with Xiamen, has benefits for Focus Graphite. When finalized, it will provide additional funding to allow us to advance our overall mine and transformation plant financing, and potentially open the China market to Focus Graphite for additional offtake partners and the sale of value added graphite products,” said Focus Graphite CEO and Director Gary Economo.
“Specifically, this injection of funding could enable Focus Graphite to advance our Lac Knife detailed engineering and finalize the environmental permitting process” said Economo. “And, it enables us to move to the next stage in assembling our mine CAPEX financing.”
Last September, Grafoid and Focus Graphite finalized two offtake agreements for obtaining graphite concentrate from a mining project at Lac Knife in Quebec for the next 10 years, one of the priorities of the Quebec government’s Plan Nord initiative.
Focus Graphite, with 7.9 million shares, is currently Grafoid’s largest stakeholder.
The MOU will also see the establishment of Xiamen’s business office at the Grafoid Global Technology Center in Kingston, providing Xiamen with a North American base for future business expansion, as well as the establishment of a Grafoid business office in China.
Grafoid’s path to commercialization lies in its patented product, a high-quality graphene trading under the name Mesograf.
Other terms of the MOU include the desire of Xiamen to introduce a clean energy technology platform and associated technologies to the Chinese market, and the opportunity for Grafoid to bring its suite of Mesograf and Amphioxide graphene based products to China.
With the Lac Knife project moving forward, Grafoid is well positioned to supply global markets with with high purity, value-added, cost-competitive graphite products while supporting the next generation battery development platform of Grafoid, Focus Graphite, Stria Lithium Inc., and Braille Battery Inc.
With annual revenue surpassing 10.143B CNY ($1.55B US), Xiamen, a publicly traded company listed on the Shanghai Exchange (SHA:600549), is a major player in that country’s smelting, processing and exporting of tungsten and other non-ferrous metal products, the operation of rare earth business interests, and the supply of battery materials.
Grafoid currently has 17 joint partnership ventures with industrial and academic partners, including Japan’s Mitsui & Co., Hydro Quebec, Rutgers University, the University of Waterloo, and Phos Solar Systems in Greece.
Last February, Grafoid received an $8.1 million investment from the SD Tech Fund of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) to help automate the production of Mesograf and end-product development.
Earlier this month, Professor Aiping Yu of the University of Waterloo’s Chemical Engineering department received a $450,000 Strategic Partnership Grant through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to help Grafoid develop an advanced graphene fiber based wearable supercapacitor.

The Realistic Environmentalist’s North American Tesla Tour

March 18, 2016

Focus Graphite Inc., Grafoid Inc., Stria Lithium Inc., and Braille Battery Inc., are pleased to announce their sponsorship of author Gianni Kovacevic’s “The Realistic Environmentalist's North American Tesla Tour” during its 25-city driving program.

Gianni Kovacevic is a modern energy thinker and author. An avid proponent of realistic environmentalism, he has enlightened audiences around the world into wide ranging topics – from the ramifications of a changing energy mix to a greater appreciation for new spending class consumers.

Gianni is driving his Tesla S electric vehicle from Boston to Palo Alto, California to promote his book “My Electrician Drives a Porsche?”

You can find out more about Gianni, his book and the Tesla tour at his website: http://www.realisticenviro.com/ or https://twitter.com/realisticenviro

You can also listen to a recent interview with Gianni on Palisade Radio: http://palisaderadio.com/gianni-kovacevic-a-big-increase-in-the-number-of-electric-cars-means-big-demand-for-key-commodities/

As members of a green technology business alliance committed to a clean energy future, our quartet of companies sits at the forefront of shaping a dynamic energy technology network. We proudly support Gianni’s efforts in educating and encouraging investment in businesses seeking to tap the enormous potential of a clean energy future.

Professor Aiping Yu (Chemical Engineering) with Grafoid Inc.

Waterloo researchers awarded $3.9 million to partner with industry

Waterloo - Seven researchers at the University of Waterloo are receiving more than $3.9 million to collaborate with Canadian-based companies and government organizations on strategic research projects.

The funding for Strategic Partnership Grants announced today by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) helps bring expertise from academia and industry together to collaborate on research that will lead to innovation and commercialization. Waterloo has a long history and reputation for successful industry partnerships, and was ranked second in Canada for collaboration with industry by the CWTS Leiden Ranking 2015.

“Strategic Partnership Grants are excellent opportunities for researchers to develop partnerships with industry, and for industry to benefit from academic research,” said D. George Dixon, vice-president, university research at Waterloo. “These early-stage projects lead to new products and technologies that support innovation worldwide and further enhance the Canadian economy.”

The researchers who will receive funding through Strategic Partnership Grants are:

Professor Slim Boumaiza (Electrical and Computer Engineering) with BlackBerry Ltd. and Skyworks Solutions Inc: Digitally-assisted analog/RF circuits for enhancing the performance of 5G millimeter-wave massive MIMO transceivers ($581,844).

Professor Jean Duhamel (Chemistry) with EcoSynthetix: Hydrophobically modified thermoresponsive starch nanoparticles for use in oil recovery of oil sands ($574,220).

Professor Karim S. Karim (Electrical and Computer Engineering) with Teledyne DALSA: High resolution, hard X-ray digital imagers for non-destructive testing applications ($597,000).

Professor Hyung-Sool Lee (Civil and Environmental Engineering) with AMEC Foster Wheeler: Innovative technologies for controlling dissolved methane and nitrogen in anaerobic wastewater treatment ($567,300).

Professor John Long (Electrical and Computer Engineering) with Sidense Corp. and Skyworks Solutions Inc: 2D material thin-film transistors and components for RF/mixed-signal applications ($633,613).

Professor Sriram Narasimhan (Civil and Environmental Engineering) with the City of Guelph, C3Water, Terepac Corporation, Toronto Water and Eramosa Engineering Inc: A novel monitoring and decision support system to manage water loss in urban water distribution systems ($503,448).

Professor Aiping Yu (Chemical Engineering) with Grafoid Inc. and Microbonds Inc:Advanced graphene fiber based wearable supercapacitor ($450,000).
The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, made the announcement in Toronto today.


Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/companies/bullboard/bullboard/v.fms/focus-graphite-inc#dOvVZ8piPT7Dlg3x.99

Graphite: What iPhones, NASCAR and Tesla have in common

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/2016/02/29/graphite-what-iphones-nascar-and-tesla-have-common
By The Gold Report

February 29, 2016 • Reprints





Focus Graphite CEO and Director Gary Economo says the tipping point is coming for natural flake mining developers—even during a depressed commodities cycle. This optimistic view is based on the urgent necessity of manufacturers today to source those critical materials and technologies needed to meet globally mandated CleanTech targets in advance of a 2020 deadline. Focus, says Economo, is on strategic trajectory to capitalize on global change with his company's Lac Knife, Quebec, high-purity graphite deposit.

The Gold Report: Focus Graphite Inc. was an early entrant into the graphite mining development space in 2010. It currently sits near the development stage and has ambitions to move into the highly profitable technology graphite space. What leads you to believe Focus can break out of the commodity doldrums?

Gary Economo: Focus has positioned itself perfectly as a future niche supplier of technology graphite. A high purity deposit affords us the advantages of being able to project very competitive operating costs with the potential to further mitigate our manufacturing costs for value-added, highly refined technology graphite.

From a management perspective, however, Focus remains the keystone to a global technology business platform with graphene applications developer Grafoid Inc., technology-focused Stria Lithium Inc. and Braille Battery Inc.

This relationship platform is unique in the world and unique to the junior mining sector. It has enabled us to extend our marketing efforts into those sectors with the greatest potential for growth from demand during the next decade, including China.

We anticipate continued growth in demand for electronic devices, novel polymer composites used by the automotive and construction material supply industries, and continued growth and expansion of the electric vehicle market. More, the emergence of graphene-based materials makes a compelling case for the restoration of investor confidence in the North American graphite development sector.

TGR: Can you provide a specific example of where you see demand causing you to be optimistic about a graphite market turnaround?

GE: I can answer that in two parts. First, some recent historical context. At the Paris climate conference in December 2015, 195 countries adopted the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal. The agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C. The agreement is due to enter into force in 2020.

Goldman Sachs Global Market Research's "The Low Carbon Economy" report says low carbon regulation is coming. Period. Graphite and lithium are the two key critical raw materials destined to feed next generation renewable energy manufacturers' demands for the foreseeable future. But time is short – 50 months—and those transformative technologies required for mass production need to be sourced today. For example, Goldman Sachs predicts sales of grid-connected vehicles—pure electric and plug-in hybrids—will grow from $12 billion in 2015 to $88 billion by 2020 and to $244 billion by 2025.

The two key industrial markets we've positioned ourselves to supply into are the automotive and the lithium-ion battery manufacturing sectors. And we see the added impetus from a global emissions mandate as cause for some economic optimism not only for Focus, but also for our industry as a whole. Supplies of technology lithium currently cannot meet demand.

The automotive sector is engaged in perpetual R&D. It constantly seeks to lower input costs from material solutions that lead to lighter, stronger, more fuel-efficient products. Carbon polymers present an opportunity for the transportation industry to meet both mandated emission reductions and customer needs for more efficient, environmentally sustainable vehicles.

Focus sees itself as a stable, reliable supply source of high-purity carbon graphite to the transportation sector. Toward that end in 2015, Focus entered into two long-term supply contracts with Grafoid Inc. for potentially up to nearly 50% of Lac Knife's future production.

The first supply contract is specific to carbon polymers while the second clean energy-related supply contract is specific to the needs of developers of next generation lithium-ion batteries.

TGR: Your platform partner, Grafoid Inc., has a long-standing graphene battery application development partnership with Hydro-Quebec. If this is the type of technology market you're looking to capture, how does it benefit the platform as a whole?

GE: One of the key markets we're pursuing with some vigor is the battery-manufacturing sector because there is a natural fit. We are all members of Chicago-based trade organization NAATBatt International, the National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Batteries, and Grafoid is represented in part by our wholly owned subsidiary company Braille Battery Inc. of Sarasota, Florida.

I should mention that Braille Battery is a principal supplier of lightweight, high-energy lithium-ion starting batteries for NASCAR, Formula I and Indy Racing and virtually all international motorized sports.



Braille's NASCAR carbon li-ion batteries are 70% lighter than conventional AGM batteries.

Lithium and graphite are two of the key components in lithium-ion battery chemistries. In the case of our development partnership with Hydro-Quebec, one of the world's leading developers of battery chemistries, the graphene used is derived from Focus' Lac Knife graphite deposit.

So I believe you can see how and why this relationship between and among the Focus platform partners is significant. It is unique in the world and it forms a powerful, technology supply chain. As a business innovator, this alliance meets one of our long-held corporate goals of leadership in our niche commodity sector.

TGR: That's a very interesting, if not visionary business structure. Does the market see it that way?

GE: Our corporate vision, from the outset—primarily because of the high-purity of our Lac Knife graphite resource—was to avoid the aphorism of becoming hewers of wood and drawers of water. We saw the value-added potential under our feet and made our decision to look to those future technology markets with the greatest potential for long-term, sustainable growth.

The graphite market itself, for decades, has operated below the radar of the big board market players. Time changes everything. Environmental sustainability and clean technologies have become the hashtag of corporate social responsibility. The market focus has shifted to those material suppliers capable of producing and operating in lockstep with the needs of the automotive and energy sectors, to name but two.

On that basis, my sense is that we've reached the tipping point—the point where markets see the value of investing in an organization poised to benefit from its support of those major industrial players in adapting to the global environmental reality.

TGR: You're focused on two key growth markets for graphite. Are there other technology applications with the potential to invite market interest?

GE: Indeed. Graphite, and expanded graphite, in particular, plays a key role in everyone's daily life. Without graphite, we could not exist in today's connected world. It is something we all take for granted, and that is the heat shield in your smartphone, your tablet and your portable computer. Without those lightweight layers of graphite to spill off heat generated by our phones' operating system, we would be at risk of serious burns to our hands, face and ears.

Even more intense, however, is the heat generated by institutional computing and switching and control systems. As demand grows for faster, better-performing industrial systems to meet consumer demand, so too the need for advanced thermal management solutions.

Perhaps one of the most important and exciting technology markets for Focus is the rapidly developing graphene sector. We are now starting to see graphene applications emerge on a small scale in consumer products. Given our close relationship with Grafoid, we see growth—and demand for graphite—through broader, industrial-scale commercial graphene applications.

Grafoid, as evidenced by its many joint venture application development relationships with some of the world's largest industrial players, is a pioneer and a leader in the graphene revolution.



Grafoid Global Technology Centre. Photo courtesy of Grafoid Inc.

There are perhaps more than 100 applications for graphite but we saw greater commercial advantages by positioning and focusing our business operations on supplying into next generational material markets.

TGR: So what are your next moves? In the midst of a commodities sector meltdown, investors are loath to invest until there are some signs of a global demand recovery. You have a portion of the $165 million financing requirement to construct the Lac Knife mine and processing plant; can you secure interest at this time to bring your production on-line?

GE: After five years of mining development work, we've nearly reached that stage required for the issuance of our environmental and construction permitting. Once permitted we'll be in a better position to finalize our financing. Of note, however, is that our graphite mining project is considered a priority project for development by the Government of Quebec. Quebec announced the revival in 2015 of its massive Plan Nord social, environmental and commercial development program for Northern Quebec. Our high-technology export-oriented vision fits nicely into the provincial government's future plans for mining.

We have been in discussions with potential backers to complete our financing needs for some time now and continue to maintain interest. Given the lead time to production, an investment today could bring us into production at about the same time as an anticipated recovery in global markets and demand needs of major players in the green economy.

TGR: What would you say to an investor in these timid markets?

GE: Well, I would have two messages, one to current shareholders and one to investors who are thinking of investing in the graphite space.

To shareholders I would say, thank you for having put your faith in us, the tipping point is coming. It has taken longer than we all thought but the fundamental reasons you invested in Focus to begin with are still the same.

To potential investors I'd say, the time is right to invest. Valuations in the sector are low, and Focus is moving forward with its plans and has put together a derisked corporate development strategy and hedged itself by investing in tomorrow's green economy—it's the largest shareholder in Grafoid Inc., with a $US39 million equity position.

TGR: Thank you and good luck with your endeavors.

GE: Thank you.



About the Author
The Gold Report, by Streetwise Reports, features the leading investment coverage of gold, silver, platinum, and other precious & base metals. Visit www.TheAuReport.com to read more and sign up for our free e-newsletter.

DNI.v DNI Metals +120% (Graphite developer, wholesaler and almost with BANK FINANCED lab facility. Still at about a $3 Million Market cap set to bump cash flow and profits.

I spoke with mgt and was impressed with the character, knowledge and experience the mgt has (check). They laid out a plan and have followed it to a tee and then some (check). Plenty of shares have been available at a $ 2Million (Canadian$) market cap valuation.

DNI has 3-4 current and coming revenue sources.

1) DNI METALS INC. (DNI : TSX-V)
FOR RELEASE – March 23, 2015
DNI Metals Inc. (“DNI”) announces today that it has entered into an 5 year supply agreement of natural flake graphite concentrate, to Great Lakes Graphite Inc. (“GLK”)
What other North american graphite company is selling graphite now? And from a $2Million MC valuation. More offtake agreements/revenue should be forth coming here. These relationships will pave the way to off takes from their Madagascar property.

2) DNI was able to buy mining claims in Madagascar, then get full mining permits and began to develop the asset. The project is 50 kms from a world-class port on a paved road. The graphite is hosted in loose material called Saprolite. The capex is much lower (maybe 90% lower) than hard rock projects found in North America. The Opex will also lower. Negative strip ratio. Dynamite crushing and grinding steps are skipped. Labor is pennies per hour. Already ahead of all the other wannabees in North America? This could happen fast.

3) DNI is working with another company that has a team of sales people, DNI sources the graphite and gets paid as middleman/wholesaler. In 2015 DNI shipped 22 tonnes, the goal for 2016 is 3,500 tonnes and for 2017 the goal is 10,000 tonnes.

4) DNI acquisition: fully permitted 37K SgFt Lab and Test Facilities, will save DNI time and money plus can be used to upgrade DNI and other customers graphite to produce micronized or battery grade spherical grade graphite. Currently cash flowing with lots of spare capacity. Should close before the end of December. Best part, because your waiting for the dilution your not going to see. This was 75% financed by a major bank and lender take back (check check check) What $1.5M USD MC company finances nearly twice its MC without equity financing?. There is currently a non dilutive extra $3 Million offering for working capital and upgrades.

Ive been DDing this for about 9 months. Lot of progress coming. DNI is systematically and strategically building an industrial minerals mining company. Nobody knows this company yet. These guys are sharp and going to get it done. Graphite traders going to be asking, where did DNI come from? 2016 going to have a lot more progress. Mark it.


http://dnimetals.com/presentations/

http://www.newswire.ca/news/dni-metals-inc


Checkmate28

Do your DD
JMHO

FCSMF Shareholder Update Nov 26th 2015

November 26, 2015


Focus Graphite’s Project Development Continues with Achievements in Battery Testing; Run of Mine Process Testing; Customer Analyses of High Purity Graphite; Offtake Discussions, and; Mine and Plant Financing Discussions


Dear Shareholders and Friends,

On November 17, 2015, the Government of Quebec revealed that overall mining investment in the province in 2014 declined 35% to $3 billion with an anticipated further decline of 8.2% in 2015.

Quebec, considered to be one of the world’s best mining jurisdictions, exemplifies current global market conditions and stands as an economic barometer as commodity producers tread water in anticipation of demand recovery.

Against that unflattering investment backdrop, Focus’ management continues to advance efforts on a number of key development activities necessary to bring our Lac Knife graphite project to production.

Advancing Offtake Discussions

With three offtake agreements in hand to date, we are engaged in ongoing materials testing discussions with some 30 potential customers as we continue our own internal tests of Lac Knife Run of Mine concentrates to meet specific customer needs.

Different grades of concentrate recovered during pilot plant tests conducted at SGS Labs in 2013 are being upgraded so that we can continue to supply potential customers with larger samples of graphite for application in a variety of markets including thermal management, energy, automotive and other sectors.

And, we have increased our capabilities to produce large samples of thermally purified Lac Knife graphite samples while we continue to improve our spheronization and carbon coating techniques.

Excellent Results from Battery Testing

On November 25, 2015, we published initial testing results from our long-term battery cycling performance testing. They showed there was zero capacity loss after more than 100 cycles of a lithium-ion battery coin cell – the standard for laboratory testing.

To the best of our knowledge, we are unaware of any competitor or graphite processor achieving similar results.

Highlights of the tests included:
Coin cell tests run on purified uncoated and coated standard grades of Lac Knife spherical graphite (SPG) showed that both grades exhibited essentially no loss in capacity up to the limit of the tests of 110 cycles
Coin cell tests run under the same formulation and conditions showed that the two commercial grades of coated flake graphite exhibited capacity losses of 4.35% and 6.43% up to the limit of the tests of 110 cycles.
According to Dr. Joseph Doninger, our Director of Manufacturing and Technology, who supervised the testing, himself, a global expert in graphite processing and product development, said the data suggests the excellent long-term stability achieved using Lac Knife graphite in Lithium-Ion batteries should ultimately result in an increase in the range of electric vehicles before they have to be re-charged.

A more robust longer-term testing program is being planned for 2016.

The news release is available on our website at www.focusgraphite.com

Meanwhile, we continue to meet our scientific obligations that require us to provide potential customers with detailed technical analyses of materials produced from pilot plant samples and from our purified battery grade graphites for their evaluation.

Focus Graphite-Grafoid Offtakes

On September 25, 2015, Focus was pleased to announce the signing of definitive agreements with Grafoid Inc. for two significant Lac Knife graphite offtakes.

The “Graphene Offtake” is intended to supply Grafoid’s needs for a range of next-generation graphene-based automotive batteries, batteries for consumer electronics, and energy storage applications.

Focus estimates that the Company could record approximately US$17.2 million in revenue under the first 10-year term of the agreement, if fully exercised.

The second and larger “Polymer Offtake” agreement is intended to supply Grafoid’s needs for a range of graphite-based polymer applications for the automotive and aerospace industries.

This particular area of commercial application development holds considerable promise for Focus and Grafoid, as OEMs are looking for lighter and stronger composite materials to replace expensive carbon fiber that ultimately reduce cost, increase fuel savings and build longer life into those components used in transportation industries.

A patented graphite-polymer process was developed by Grafoid’s wholly owned subsidiary, Graflow Inc., in partnership with Rutgers University’s AMIPP Advanced Polymer Center.

We estimate the Company could record approximately US$385.4 million in revenue under the first 10-year term of the agreement, if fully exercised.

Carbon Reinforced Plastics

The timing of the Polymer Offtake is supported by market research provided by Lux Research, an independent and reputable market research group.

Their report, entitled, Scaling Up Carbon Fiber: Roadmap to Automotive Adoption, claims carbon fibre-reinforced plastics (CFRPs) are on the verge of garnering widespread adoption for automotive “lightweighting” over the next decade, driven largely by faster-than-expected technology development.

“Current trends strongly indicate significant mainstream automotive adoption of CFRPs in the mid-2020s, and companies throughout the value chain must position themselves to take advantage of the coming shifts,” report author Anthony Vicari said.

“However, long-term mega-trends towards urbanization, connectivity and automation suggest that there could be a limited time window beyond that for penetrating the automotive space.”

The information contained in the report bodes well for both companies. The trickle down benefit for Focus resides with Grafoid’s unique, value-added graphite-polymer process.

Grafoid has assumed an early position with various automotive manufacturers for the development of next generation graphite-polymer components.

That process liberates small quantities of graphene that both strengthen and lighten the weight of the polymer applications. The estimated total value of the carbon polymer market in 2014 was approximately $15 billion.

Financing & Project Permitting

Those offtake agreements underscore Lac Knife Project’s development mission, in particular, our immediate goal of meeting our mine and concentrator financing needs of some $165 million.

While we have identified or committed a significant portion of our debt requirement we continue with our discussions on finalizing funding for the equity portion.

Those discussions include the potential sale of Grafoid shares currently held by Focus. Focus remains the largest single shareholder in Grafoid Inc. holding 7,800,000 Grafoid common shares valued at US$39 million.

Under the terms of the two above mentioned offtake agreements, Focus is committed to divest between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 common shares, the proceeds from which will be applied to ongoing development costs of the Lac Knife Project.

Our administrative mine development efforts also remain on track. We are currently at the analysis phase of the permitting process for the mine site and concentrator facilities with provincial authorities.

Essentially, this is when the government asks for details regarding the project that is presented within the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment.

The project is ready to start the detailed engineering phase, and follows the filing of both the Lac Knife Mineral Project Feasibility Study and the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment in 2014.

Our Strategy

Our immediate goals are to bridge the gap between preparedness and future market needs, and; to be as ready-as-possible to meet the return of market-driven demand.

Focus Graphite continues to advance it’s regulatory mine development, line-up its financial partners, and engage its potential customers.

An active strategy of waiting is what is required now. Market moves by major green economy players will propel the critical material producers. The key is to be patient and ready.

Sincerely,

Gary Economo
President and Chief Executive Officer

Focus Graphite Reports Zero Loss in Lithium-Ion Battery Capacity in Long-term Cycling Performance Testing of its Lac Knife High Purity Coated Spherical Flake Graphite
Lac Knife High Purity Spherical Graphite Holds Potential to Extend Range in Lithium-Ion Cell Powered EVs


http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/focus-graphite-reports-zero-loss-lithium-ion-battery-capacity-long-term-cycling-performance-tsx-venture-fms-2077023.htm

November 25, 2015 11:31 ET


OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov. 25, 2015) - Focus Graphite Inc. (TSX VENTURE:FMS) (OTCQX:FCSMF) (FRANKFURT:FKC) ("Focus" or the "Company") is pleased to announce excellent results from independent laboratory tests conducted to compare the long term cycling performance of Lac Knife surface coated spherical crystalline fine flake graphite with two commercial grades of coated crystalline flake graphite in the anodes of CR2016 coin cells.
The results presented are a follow up from data presented in Focus' February 26, 2015 news release where similar tests were run on "as-is" minus 200 mesh fines of Lac Knife graphite which also showed to have excellent long term cycling performance.
Testing was conducted at a globally recognized laboratory in Europe. The name of the laboratory is being withheld because of commercial and competitive confidentiality.
Highlights:
Coin cell tests run on purified uncoated and coated standard grades of Lac Knife spherical graphite (SPG) showed that both grades exhibited essentially no loss in capacity up to the limit of the tests of 110 cycles
Coin cell tests run under the same formulation and conditions showed that the two commercial grades of coated flake graphite exhibited capacity losses of 4.35% and 6.43% up to the limit of the tests of 110 cycles.
Focus Graphite is the sole owner of the high purity Lac Knife natural flake graphite project in the Côte-Nord region of northeastern Québec.
The Company's aim is to become one of the lowest cost producers of high-purity technology graphite. The purpose of its ongoing battery materials testing efforts is to validate the commercial viability of the high purity crystalline flake graphite recovered from its Lac Knife deposit, and to demonstrate that Lac Knife graphite holds the potential to improve the performance of anodes in Lithium Ion batteries. (See May 27th, 2014 and February 26th, 2015 News Releases).
The properties of the flake graphite recovered from the Lac Knife high quality and high carbon content graphite deposit, allow for the recovery of concentrate that grades 98% C even in the finer size fractions down to 200 mesh (75 microns) that are usually the most difficult products to sell. This holds the potential for Focus to create a high-margin business opportunity by providing customers with a finer grade, lower cost, value-added graphite product.
The Company's material testing program is supervised by Dr. Joseph E. Doninger, Focus' Director of Manufacturing and Technology, and a global expert in graphite processing and product development.
"Of particular note is that these new results showing that the Lac Knife graphite exhibits excellent long-term stability, adds to the results reported in our February 2015 news release," said Dr. Doninger.
"That previous data," he said, "presented Lac Knife's graphite as exhibiting very high reversible capacities and very low first cycle capacity losses.
"Combined, these improved properties would make Lac Knife graphite an excellent replacement for both the synthetic and natural flake graphites currently being used in the manufacture of Lithium-Ion batteries," said Dr. Doninger.
Battery manufacturers require a cost competitive alternative to current sources of synthetic and natural flake graphite. China produces the majority of the world's purified SPG, using methods generally regarded as environmentally unsustainable.
Presentation of Data:
All Lac Knife flake graphite materials tested were purified, spheronized and sized for application in the anodes (negative electrodes) of Lithium-Ion batteries. The anodes for all samples tested consisted of 90% graphite, 7% PVDF binder and 3% carbon black and a copper coil current collector with a thickness of 20 microns. All cells were assembled and tested in a CR2016 coin cell configuration prepared with 1M LiPF6/EC/DMC electrolyte and lithium foil counter electrodes. The coin cells were then cycled between 0.003 and 1.5 volts. Formation was carried out with C/10 current density and cycling was carried out with the same voltage limits at C/10. To evaluate the cycling performance, half cells made with the lithium metal counter electrode were charged and discharged at a relatively low current density and cycled galvanostatically at a C/10 rate until the limit of the test was reached.
Figure 1 below compares the long-term cycling performance of both the spheronized uncoated and surface coated standard grade of purified Lac Knife graphite. The standard sizing of the Focus Graphite's Lithium-Ion coated graphite has a d50 in the range of 23 to 29 micrometers. The surface area of the uncoated SPG was 5.25 m2/gram which actually is too high and not suitable for use directly in Lithium-Ion batteries.
The use of high surface area graphites have been known to contribute to thermal runaways and fires in Lithium-Ion batteries. It was this material that was coated with a passivating surface coating which reduced the surface area to less than 2.0 m2/gram to produce the standard grade of coated SPG and make it suitable for use in the anodes of Lithium-Ion batteries.
Figure 1. Long-term cycling performance of Lac Knife Purified Spheronized Standard Grade of natural crystalline flake graphite with and without surface coating (CR2016 cells, Li/Li+ counter electrode; C/10 cycling rate; reversible capacity only shown). http://file.marketwire.com/release/fms1125.jpg
As shown both the uncoated and coated standard Lithium-Ion grade of the Focus graphite exhibited essentially no capacity loss after 105 and 110 cycles, respectively which effectively was the end of both tests. What is important here is that, although the surface coating applied to the SPG is critical to the safety of Lithium-Ion batteries, it is the high quality of the Lac Knife graphite that provides the long term cycling stability to the Lithium-Ion battery. The data also show that the surface coating improves the reversible capacity of the Lac Knife SPG in the cell.
Figure 2 compares the long term cycling performance of the Lac Knife standard grade of coated SPG with two commercial Lithium-Ion grades of purified coated crystalline flake graphite. As noted previously both of these commercial Lithium-Ion grades were tested in CR2016 half cells under the same formulation and conditions of the Lac Knife cells.
Figure 2. Long-term cycling performance of Lac Knife Purified Spheronized Coated Standard Grade of natural crystalline flake graphite compared to two commercial grades of purified coated spheronized natural flake graphites (CR2016 cells, Li/Li+ counter electrode; C/10 cycling rate; reversible capacity only shown). http://file.marketwire.com/release/fms21125.jpg
The long term cycling performance of the standard grade of coated SPG is the same as that in Figure 1 which showed that there is essentially no capacity loss after 110 cycles. Although the cells made with all three graphites start out with a reversible capacity of around 350 mAh/g (Figure 2), only the cell made with the Lac Knife standard grade of coated SPG showed essentially no loss in capacity after 110 cycles and the conclusion of the test. The long term cycling tests of the first commercial grade of Lithium-Ion grade flake graphite ended up with a reversible capacity of 335.16 mAh/g after 110 cycles and a capacity loss of 4.35%. A similar loss in performance is observed with the second commercial Lithium-Ion grade of flake graphite ending up with a reversible capacity of 322.84 mAh/g and a 6.43% capacity loss after 110 cycles.
The fact that the Lithium-Ion half-cells made with the standard coated grade of Lac Knife SPG showed essentially no loss in capacity after long term cycling is critical to the performance of Lithium-Ion batteries for all applications in the field. For example, these data suggest that the excellent long-term stability achieved in half cells with the use of Lac Knife graphite in Lithium-Ion batteries should ultimately result in an increase in the range of electric vehicles before they have to be re-charged.
Qualified Person
Joseph E. Doninger, PhD., M.Sc., B.Sc. (Chemical Engineering) and Focus' Director of Manufacturing and Technology, a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.
About Focus Graphite Inc.
Focus Graphite Inc. is an advanced exploration and development mining company with an objective of producing graphite concentrate at its Lac Knife deposit located south west of Fermont, Québec. In a second stage, to meet Quebec stakeholder interests of transformation within the province and to add shareholder value, Focus is evaluating the feasibility of producing value added graphite products including battery-grade spherical graphite.
The Lac Knife project hosts a Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate* of 9.58 million tonnes grading 14.77% graphitic carbon (Cg) (432,000 tonnes Measured @ 23.66% Cg and 9,144,000 tonnes Indicated @ 14.35% Cg) as natural flake graphite with an additional Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate* of 3.1 million tonnes grading 13.25% Cg. Focus' goal is to assume an industry leadership position by becoming a low-cost producer of technology-grade graphite concentrate.
The Feasibility Study filed with SEDAR on August 8, 2014 for the Lac Knife Project indicates the project is economically viable and has the potential to become a low cost graphite concentrate producer based on 7.86 million tonnes of Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves** grading 15.13% Cg included in the Mineral Resource (429,000 tonnes Proven @ 23.61% Cg and 7,428,000 tonnes Probable @ 14.64% Cg).
On May 27, 2014 the Company announced the potential for high value added sales in the Li-ion battery sector following battery coin cell tests performed on Spherical Graphite ("SPG") produced from the Lac Knife graphite concentrate. Testing measured the performance metrics and confirmed Focus' capability to tailor Lithium-ion battery-anode-grade graphite and value added products to meet the most stringent customer specifications.
Focus Graphite is a technology-oriented graphite mining development company with a vision for building long-term, sustainable shareholder value. Focus also holds a significant equity position in graphene applications developer Grafoid Inc.
* Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability
** The Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are inclusive of those Mineral Resources modified to produce the Mineral Reserve. The reference point for the Mineral Reserve Estimate is the mill feed.
For more information about Focus Graphite, please visit www.focusgraphite.com.
Forward Looking Statement
This News Release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Generally, such forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: (i) volatile stock price; (ii) the general global markets and economic conditions; (iii) the possibility of write-downs and impairments; (iv) the risk associated with exploration, development and operations of mineral deposits; (v) the risk associated with establishing title to mineral properties and assets; (vi) the risks associated with entering into joint ventures; (vii) fluctuations in commodity prices; (viii) the risks associated with uninsurable risks arising during the course of exploration, development and production; (ix) competition faced by the Company in securing experienced personnel and financing; (x) access to adequate infrastructure to support mining, processing, development and exploration activities; (xi) the risks associated with changes in the mining regulatory regime governing the Company; (xii) the risks associated with the various environmental regulations the Company is subject to; (xiii) risks related to regulatory and permitting delays; (xiv) risks related to potential conflicts of interest; (xv) the reliance on key personnel; (xvi) liquidity risks; and (xvii) the risk of potential dilution through the issue of common shares. Forward-looking information is based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made, including but not limited to, continued exploration activities, no material adverse change in metal prices, exploration and development plans proceeding in accordance with plans and such plans achieving their stated expected outcomes, receipt of required regulatory approvals, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information has been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's business, operations and exploration plans and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is made as of the date of this News Release, and the Company does not undertake to update such forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Cautionary notes related to the industrial transformation plant project
Feasibility studies on any value-added industrial projects are not the same as feasibility studies for mineral projects as defined under NI 43-101 and CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. Although Focus continues to work towards its objective of developing value-added products using graphite concentrates to be produced at the Lac Knife project or obtained from other graphite concentrate producers, the Corporation reiterates its primary objective of advancing the Lac Knife mineral project towards production of large, medium and fine flake graphite concentrate as demonstrated in the Lac Knife Feasibility Study dated August 8, 2014 (a copy of which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com). The feasibility of a transformation plant for value-added products remains to be demonstrated and could be determined to be uneconomical and therefore not feasible for the Corporation. It is therefore possible that Focus might never move forward with such a transformation plant despite its corporate objective to do so. Readers are therefore cautioned against undue reliance on this corporate objective given its uncertainty at the present time. Focus intends to put the Lac Knife deposit into production despite any potential negative decision on the fabrication of value-added products.
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 accuracy of this release.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Focus Graphite Inc.
Mr. Gary Economo
Chief Executive Officer
+1 613-241-4040
geconomo@focusgraphite.com
www.focusgraphite.com

Good work!

New mesograf Graphene Patent submited By Dr Chiu. in October
Abstract:


An all graphene battery is disclosed. The battery is designed into a form of a belt and can charge multiple portable electric devices simultaneously. The battery has a graphene based anode, a graphene composite based cathode. The electrolyte of the battery is gel like functionalized graphene oxide. The device of this disclosure may use thermoelectric effect to charge itself. The battery of this disclosure is safe, and has a high capacity, high energy density and long life time. The battery includes no liquids and is light weighted.
nternational patent application publication WO2013/089642 for National University of Singapore which is incorporated herein by reference discloses a process for forming expanded hexagonal layered minerals and derivatives from graphite raw ore using electrochemical charging. Mesograf® is large area few layered graphene sheet manufactured by the method disclosed in WO2013/089642. These few layered graphene sheets are made in a one step process from graphite ore have an area of 300-500 µm2 on average. Mesograf® is the preferable few layered graphene used in this invention and it is obtainable from Graphite Zero Pte. Ltd., Singapore. However, graphene made by other methods can be used as well for the device of this disclosure.

Read more: http://www.patentsencyclopedia.com/app/20150311569#ixzz3qZbt4NYj
Read more: http://www.patentsencyclopedia.com/app/20150311569#ixzz3qZbUJwjh

http://www.patentsencyclopedia.com/app/20150311569

Read more at http://www.stockhouse.com/companies/bullboard/bullboard/v.fms/focus-graphite-inc#edS0KGrvuZ70QqWR.99

graphene-is-here-to-stay


Posted on October 19, 2015 by Dr. Luc Duchesne
http://investorintel.com/graphite-graphene-intel/graphene-is-here-to-stay/#sthash.bdf0fX0V.dpuf

Scientists and entrepreneurs attended the Graphene Canada meeting in Montreal from October 14-16, 2015 in a valiant effort to promote the commercialization of graphene. Thirteen months earlier I had attended first Graphene World Summit, which took place September 15-16, 2014 in Berkeley, California.

Attendance in Berkeley was a mixture of onlookers, scientists and start-ups. Attendance in Montreal was heady mix of scientists and big business.

The contrast between these meetings taught me that graphene is here to stay. Here is why.

After three days of lectures in Montreal, at 18:15 on a Friday night, the room was still full of attendees, sitting quietly after the closing address. “These people could stay here the entire evening”, explained Dr Antonio Correia of Phantoms Foundation of Spain. Ever since I began grad school in 1983 I have never seen a group of more dedicated scientists.

Subscribe here to receive free daily InvestorIntel updates
Enter Email
Sign Up
I should point out that they weren’t talking about theoretical stuff; they were working on the commercial application of graphene.

Graphene is no longer a theoretical wonder material. The presentations in Montreal also showed that many, including some of the largest companies in the world such as Samsung and Lockheed Martin are working toward developing commercial applications.

This gives us a clue that graphene innovation will emerge out of the Gartner’s trough of disillusionment.

Let me explain Gartner’s Hype Cycle (http://www.gartner.com/technology/research/methodologies/hype-cycle.jsp).

Gartners Hype CycleThe Hype Cycle is a branded graphical presentation developed and used by the American IT research and advisory firm Gartner for representing the maturity, adoption and social application of specific technologies.

We certainly witnessed the Peak of Inflated Expectations in the graphene sector as early publicity produced a number of success stories in the laboratory and scores of failures. Graphene was labelled the new wonder material. But its commercial emergence is lagging. For this reason we entered the Through of Disillusionment.

The interest of the general public is waning as some of targeted innovation is coming online slower than expected. As an explanation, consumers don’t care much about graphene. But they care very much about the price points of the goods they purchase. In fact, the bane (as well as the salvation) of innovation is that the most significant decisions in innovation are made at Wal-Mart on Saturday morning and are based on price point. In short, the gravitation of price point decisions is negated by consumer decisions.

Breaking from this gravitational pull will put graphene up the slope of enlightenment where more instances of how the technology can benefit the enterprise start to crystallize and become more widely understood. We should expect second- and third-generation products appear from technology providers. More enterprises will fund pilot projects while conservative companies will remain cautious.

Mainstream adoption of graphene will start to take off when we hit Plateau of Productivity. At that point the criteria for assessing provider viability will be more clearly defined. The technology’s broad market applicability and relevance will clearly pay off.

The Graphene Canada conference showed that the graphene sector is about to hit the slope of enlightenment.


Print pagePDF pageEmail page
Copyright © 2015 ProEdge Media Corp. All rights reserved. More & Disclaimer »
This entry was posted in Graphite & Graphene Intel and tagged graphene by Dr. Luc Duchesne. Bookmark the permalink.
Dr. Luc Duchesne
About Dr. Luc Duchesne

Dr. Luc C. Duchesne is a Speaker and Author with a PhD in Biochemistry. With three decades of scientific and business experience, he has published 85 scientific papers, and has recently published his first novel, "The Moose Motel: A Tale of Golden Revenge". The Founder and CEO for GSN DreamWorks Inc. based in Ottawa, Luc is a regular columnist for InvestorIntel.
View all posts by Dr. Luc Duchesne ?
- See more at: http://investorintel.com/graphite-graphene-intel/graphene-is-here-to-stay/#sthash.bdf0fX0V.dpuf

Focus graphite insiders buying shares


FilingDate TransactionDate Insider Name OwnershipType Securities Nature of transaction Volume or Value Price Oct 2/15 Sep 30/15 Economo, Gary Direct Ownership Common Shares 11 - Acquisition carried out privately 769,231 $0.130 Oct 2/15 Sep 30/15 York, Jeffrey Direct Ownership Common Shares 11 - Acquisition carried out privately 1,923,077 $0.130 - See more at: https://www.canadianinsider.com/company?menu_tickersearch=FMS%20%7C%20Focus%20Graphite#sthash.SG4bZsfO.dpuf

Patents by Inventor Gordon Chiu
In Situ Exfoliation Method to Fabricate a Graphene-Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composite (G-PMC)
Application number: 20150267030
Abstract: A method for forming a graphene -reinforced polymer matrix composite is disclosed. The method includes distributing graphite microparticles into a molten thermoplastic polymer phase; and applying a succession of shear strain events to the molten polymer phase so that the molten polymer phase exfoliates the graphite successively with each event until at least 50% of the graphite is exfoliated to form a distribution in the molten polymer phase of single- and multi-layer graphene nanoparticles less than 50 nanometers thick along the c-axis direction.
Type: Application
Filed: March 14, 2013
Issued: September 24, 2015
Assignee: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Inventors: Thomas Nosker, Jennifer Lynch, Justin Hendrix, Bernard Kear, Gordon Chiu, Stephen Tse
Molecular Filter
Application number: 20150209734
Abstract: A molecular filter is provided where the filter comprises of sheets of few layered graphene, few layered oxidized graphene and edge-functionalized graphene oxide. The water molecules are drawn into the filter based on the different hydrophobic and hydrophilic characters of the layers. The water molecule travels through the layers and gaps between the sheets and the direction can be modified based on the arrangement and ratios of the sheet materials.
Type: Application
Filed: January 28, 2015
Issued: July 30, 2015
Inventor: Gordon Chiu
HYDROPHOBIC AND OLEOPHILIC SPONGE-LIKE COMPOSITIONS
Application number: 20150194667
Abstract: Hydrophobic and oleophilic compositions are provided. The compositions may be used for absorption of oil from water or organic solvents from water or oil/solvent from any emulsion. The compositions could also have high conductivity and may be used as supercapacitors. Methods to make the compositions are also provided.
Type: Application
Filed: January 7, 2015
Issued: July 9, 2015
Inventors: Gordon Chiu, Aiping Yu
Method and system for reducing the effect of component aging
Patent number: 9058436
Abstract: Methods, systems and circuits for reducing aging of at least one component of a data path are disclosed. First data transmitted over a data path may be monitored in an active state to allow generation of second data, where the second data may be transmitted in an inactive state over the data path to improve the balance of any imbalance in the static probability of one logical state versus another caused by transmission of the first data. Portions of data to be transmitted over a data path may be compared to previously-transmitted portions of data to determine a respective data bus inversion (DBI) setting each portion of data, where the DBI settings may be used to increase the toggling of bits of the data path and improve the balance of the static probability of one logical state versus another.
Type: Grant
Filed: November 20, 2012
Issued: June 16, 2015
Assignee: ALTERA CORPORATION
Inventors: Gordon Chiu, Navid Azizi
Method and system for reducing the effect of component recovery
Patent number: 9047215
Abstract: Methods, computer-readable mediums and systems for reducing transistor recovery are disclosed. Data which toggles at least one bit may be periodically communicated over a data path, where toggling of at least one bit may effectively reset the recovery period for any transistors in the data path associated with the at least one bit. Timing uncertainty associated with a given transistor may be reduced by limiting the amount of recovery experienced by the transistor. Accordingly, recovery of transistors in a data path may be limited to predetermined amount by toggling bits of the data path at a predetermined frequency, thereby reducing timing uncertainty and allowing a smaller system margin and/or higher data transmission speeds.
Type: Grant
Filed: November 20, 2012
Issued: June 2, 2015
Assignee: ALTERA CORPORATION
Inventors: Gordon Chiu, Navid Azizi
Artificial intelligence and methods of use
Patent number: 9017244
Abstract: A device that provides a unique surrogate experience by utilizing artificial intelligence and polymeric materials which enables surrogate exchange and/or interaction with the biology of the user. The device may be fit on to the penis of a user to provide stimulation and via sensory wave feedback from an electromusculography system (EMG) have the stimulation varied accordingly. The stimulation may include vibrations, heating, cooling, expanding, or contracting of the device as necessary.
Type: Grant
Filed: December 29, 2011
Issued: April 28, 2015
Assignee: Biological Responsibility, LLC
Inventor: Gordon Chiu
BIOTHERAPEUTICS FOR THE TREATMENT OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Application number: 20140350063
Abstract: An occlusive dressing made with an elastomeric gel and one or more active agents is described. The elastomeric gel contains a plasticizing oil phase and a block copolymer agent. Methods of preventing, treating, curing or mitigating an infectious disease and methods of making the dressings are also disclosed.
Type: Application
Filed: August 11, 2014
Issued: November 27, 2014
Assignee: Biological Responsibility, LLC
Inventor: Gordon Chiu
Biotherapeutics for the treatment of infectious diseases
Patent number: 8846740
Abstract: An occlusive dressing made with an elastomeric gel and one or more active agents is described. The elastomeric gel contains a plasticizing oil phase and a block copolymer agent. Methods of preventing, treating, curing or mitigating an infectious disease and methods of making the dressings are also disclosed.
Type: Grant
Filed: January 4, 2012
Issued: September 30, 2014
Assignee: Biological Responsibility, LLC
Inventor: Gordon Chiu
Trend Analysis using Network-Connected Touch-Screen Generated Signals
Application number: 20140278765
Abstract: A method of identifying and analyzing a trend is disclosed. A signal created on a network-connected touch-screen by actively filtering content is received by a programmed data processor. The processor creates a signal-vector by mapping the signal to two or more vector-dimensions, one being a location of origination of the signal. This is repeated for more signals. A trend is identified as a cluster of signal-vectors having a size that exceeds a predetermined threshold. One use of identifying and analyzing trends is to then influence the trend. Advertising is one form of influencing a trend.
Type: Application
Filed: March 18, 2014
Issued: September 18, 2014
Assignee: Zuse, Inc.
Inventor: Gordon Chiu
Process for forming expanded hexagonal layered minerals and derivatives using electrochemical charging
Application number: 20140027299
Abstract: Processes for forming expanded hexagonal layered minerals (HLMs) and derivatives thereof using electrochemical charging are disclosed. The process includes employing HLM rocks (20) as electrodes (100) immersed in an electrolytic slurry (50) that includes an organic solvent, metal ions and expanded HLM (24). The electrolysis introduces organic solvent and ions from the metal salt from the slurry into the interlayer spacings that separate the atomic interlayers of the HLM rock, thereby forming 1st-stage charged HLM that exfoliates from the HLM rock. The process includes expanding the electrochemically 1st-stage charged HLM by applying an expanding force.
Type: Application
Filed: November 22, 2012
Issued: January 30, 2014
Inventors: Kian Ping Loh, Junzhong Wang, Gordon Chiu
Portable Brain Activity Monitor and Method
Application number: 20130035578
Abstract: The current invention discloses a portable brain-activity monitor for recording a subject's EEG while he/she is listening to music. The brain-activity monitor includes an earphone connected to a portable audio player as well as an EEG sensor. The EEG sensor is connected to EEG electrodes that are shaped and sized to fit within the auditory canal. Suitable electronic processing circuitry, located in close proximity to the electrode, amplify the EEG signals in a range of 0.5 Hz to 100 Hz, perform an analogue-to-digital conversion, filter the output and deliver it to a recording device. A cable connected to the subjects earlobe provides the ground for the EEG sensor. The monitor is preferably Bluetooth enabled to allow it to connect to computing devices such as PCs and smart phones.
Type: Application
Filed: July 31, 2012
Issued: February 7, 2013
Inventors: Gordon Chiu, Larry Douglas Reid
Biotherapeutics For the Treatment of Infectious Diseases
Application number: 20120172342
Abstract: An occlusive dressing made with an elastomeric gel and one or more active agents is described. The elastomeric gel contains a plasticizing oil phase and a block copolymer agent. Methods of preventing, treating, curing or mitigating an infectious disease and methods of making the dressings are also disclosed.
Type: Application
Filed: January 4, 2012
Issued: July 5, 2012
Inventor: Gordon Chiu
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND METHODS OF USE
Application number: 20120172661
Abstract: The invention relates to a device for a unique surrogate experience utilizing artificial intelligence and polymeric materials which enable surrogate exchange and/or interaction with the biology of the user. Medical utility and benefits are also discussed.
Type: Application
Filed: December 29, 2011
Issued: July 5, 2012
Inventor: Gordon Chiu
Systems and methods for mapping arbitrary logic functions into synchronous embedded memories
Patent number: 7797666
Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for mapping logic functions from logic elements (“LEs”) into synchronous embedded memory blocks (“EMBs”) of programmable logic devices (“PLDs”). This technique increases the amount of logic that can fit into the PLD. Where area savings are significant, smaller PLDs may be selected to implement a particular circuit. One aspect of the invention relates to methods for identifying sequential cones of logic that may be mapped into synchronous EMBs. After the sequential logic cones are identified for mapping into a synchronous EMB, the logic cone may be selected, expanded, restructured, and retimed, as necessary, to implement the mapping. Another aspect of the invention relates to techniques for handling architectural restrictions of synchronous EMBs, such as the inability to implement the asynchronous behavior of synchronous logic.
Type: Grant
Filed: October 2, 2008
Issued: September 14, 2010
Assignee: Altera Corporation
Inventors: Gordon Chiu, Deshanand Singh, Valavan Manohararajah, Stephen Brown
Systems and methods for mapping arbitrary logic functions into synchronous embedded memories
Patent number: 7444613
Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for mapping logic functions from logic elements (“LEs”) into synchronous embedded memory blocks (“EMBs”) of programmable logic devices (“PLDs”). This technique increases the amount of logic that can fit into the PLD. Where area savings are significant, smaller PLDs may be selected to implement a particular circuit. One aspect of the invention relates to methods for identifying sequential cones of logic that may be mapped into synchronous EMBs. After the sequential logic cones are identified for mapping into a synchronous EMB, the logic cone may be selected, expanded, restructured, and retimed, as necessary, to implement the mapping. Another aspect of the invention relates to techniques for handling architectural restrictions of synchronous EMBs, such as the inability to implement the asynchronous behavior of synchronous logic.
Type: Grant
Filed: April 21, 2006
Issued: October 28, 2008
Assignee: Altera Corporation
Inventors: Gordon Chiu, Deshanand Singh, Valavan Manohararajah, Stephen Brown
Visual debugger for dynamic XSL transformations
Application number: 20060129993
Abstract: The present invention provides a visual debugger for dynamic XLS transformations. A method for real time debugging of mixed Java and Extensible Stylesheet Language Transform (XSLT) code comprises sending debug events from Java and XSLT debug sub-adapters to a debug super adapter, filtering the debug events received from the Java and XSLT debug sub-adapters, generating debug events representing a consolidated view of the received debug events, and sending the debug events to a debug user interface (UI).
Type: Application
Filed: November 21, 2005
Issued: June 15, 2006
Inventors: Ella Belisario, Gordon Chiu, Erin Harris, Christina Lau, Peter Nicholls, Ilene Seelemann, Henry Zongaro
VISCOMETER
Application number: 20060065044
Abstract: A viscometer including a thermal block, a thermo device to control temperature of the thermal block, a temperature sensor to sense temperature of the thermal block, a capillary tube embedded in the thermal block such that the capillary tube is in thermal contact with the thermal block, an entrance tube connected to the capillary tube and embedded in the thermal block, a velocity tube connected to the capillary tube and embedded in the thermal block and at least two flow sensors aligned along the velocity tube adapted to measure velocity of the test specimen in the velocity tube.
Type: Application
Filed: September 28, 2004
Issued: March 30, 2006
Assignee: PHASEPSL INSTRUMENT INC.
Inventors: Charles Tsang, Gordon Chiu, Jonathan Gosling, Stephen Gosling
CLOUD POINT MONITORING DEVICE
Application number: 20050053116
Abstract: A cloud point monitoring device which includes thermal conductive surface, cooler, temperature sensor, detection volume, detection wall unit, fiber optic cables for transmitting light, lighter emitter, light detector, and a data acquisition and control unit. The cloud point monitoring device provides an instrument to accurately measure the cloud point of diesel fuel indicate the approximate level of crystallization in diesel fuel that has been chilled beyond its cloud point and indicate the approximate energy content of diesel fuel. The cloud point monitoring device design allows it to be made small enough to be mounted in a fuel system of a vehicle.
Type: Application
Filed: August 26, 2004
Issued: March 10, 2005
Assignee: PHASE TECHNOLOGY
Inventors: Charles Tsang, Gordon Chiu