GPH: TSX‐V GPHOF: OTCQX graphiteoneinc.com Graphite One 2021 Year in Review Completed Financing Totaling $30 Million; Continues to Rapidly Advance the Largest Known, Highest Grade Graphite Deposit in the United States
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Graphite One 2021 Year in Review
Completed Financing Totaling $30 Million;
Continues to Rapidly Advance the Largest Known,
Highest Grade Graphite Deposit in the United States
December 23, 2021 – Vancouver, British Columbia –Graphite One Inc.
(GPH: TSX‐V; GPHOF: OTCQX) (“Graphite One” or the “Company”) is
pleased to provide the Company’s 2021 year in review. It has been a
momentous year for Graphite One as the Company continues to rapidly
advance the largest known and highest-grade graphite deposit in the United
States.
“Despite the challenges of COVID on the business climate and all aspects of
operations, Graphite One raised more than CA$30 million in capital,
completed a successful drill program to confirm the Company’s projections of
a long mine life based on drilling just 20% of the projected trend of the
graphite mineralization, and continued to progress R&D efforts on multiple
advanced graphite materials that will serve essential renewable energy and
technology sectors,” said Anthony Huston, Graphite One’s CEO.
“Additionally, the surge in graphite demand in the EV and energy storage
sectors, coupled with new U.S. Government strategic focus on Critical
Mineral development in the comprehensive infrastructure package, plus
concern over materials supply chain disruptions is a strong signal that
momentum is shifting in a way that perfectly aligns with Graphite One’s
objectives of being an integrated supply chain solution for advanced graphite
materials.”
Commenting on recent Tesla statements on EV supply chains, Mr. Huston
added: “Elon Musk said recently there is currently no graphite anode
production in the U.S. He’s right – and our goal at Graphite One is to
change that.
I agree with Jim Farley, the CEO of Ford Motor Co., who recently said: ‘We
have to bring battery production here, but the supply chain has to go all the
way to the mines. Are we going to import lithium and pull cobalt from nation-
states that have child labour and all sorts of corruption, or are we all going to
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get serious about mining? We have to solve these things, and we don’t have
much time.’”
As Graphite One anticipates it is on track to complete its Pre-Feasibility
Study (“PFS”) in Q1 2022, the Company reports progress along the following
fronts:
2021 Financing
From January 1, 2021 to date, total gross proceeds from three financings
plus the exercise of options, warrants and broker warrants1 totaled CA$30.2
million.
2021 Drill Program
In the Company’s 2021 Drill Program, a total of 2,052 meters were drilled,
including 1,695 meters of HQ core drilling and 357 meters of sonic drilling.2
Results are expected to be released in Q1 2022 when data analysis is
completed. The drill program will generate additional information to update
the resource model and provide technical data now expected to be available
in time to be included in the PFS.
With exploration to date on only 20% of the projected trend of graphite
mineralization supporting the potential for a long mine life, the Graphite
Creek deposit continues to show potential to be an essential long-life
component of the graphite supply chain.
While all required drilling for the PFS is completed, the Graphite Creek
deposit remains open at depth and along strike both east and west. “Given
the demand growth every end-user mentions to me, and their concerns
about surety of supply,” said Mr. Huston, “we’re putting a priority on
demonstrating that Graphite Creek is a robust, low-risk source for graphite
far into the 21st Century.” The Company expects to initiate the Project’s
Feasibility Study in Q1 2022 including plans to conduct a 2022 drill program
1 See press releases - "Graphite One Announces Closing CA$10 million in Financings and Awarding
of Options" (February 23, 2021), "Graphite One Announces Closing of $10.23 Million in Private
Placement Offering" (August 12, 2021) and "Graphite One Announces Closing of Second Tranche of
$998,000 in Private Placement Offering" (September 24, 2021).
2 See press release – “Graphite One Completes 2021 Field Program at 100% Owned Graphite Creek
Deposit, Alaska (October 13, 2021).
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focused on infill drilling and step-out drilling with the aim of increasing this
long-life resource.
Advanced Materials R&D Pipeline
During 2021, further progress was seen in materials development in the
anode space as well as other markets for advanced graphite material.
“With the World Bank and International Energy Agency (IEA)3 projecting
graphite demand to rise by 25 times between 2020 and 2040 (IEA) or more
than 490% from 2020 to 2050 (World Bank)4 -- and new efforts to
simultaneously build out energy storage systems underway, multiple uses of
the same renewable battery technologies are beginning to compete for the
same material supply,” Mr. Huston noted. ““As a result, global graphite
shortfalls initially projected for 2024 or 2025 are now predicted to begin as
early as 2022.”5
Battery-Grade Anode
Graphite One’s technology development partner, American Energy
Technologies Co. of Arlington Heights, Illinois (“AETC”) continues its work on
developing battery anode-ready grade materials from the PFS concentrate
sample it received from Graphite One in June 2021.
Graphite Foam Fire Suppressant
Against the backdrop of a 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
requirement to phase out Aqueous Film Forming Foams (AFFF) by 2024,
and with commercially available PFAS-free foam (PFF) products not meeting
MIL spec MIL-F-24385F, Graphite One and AETC have worked with
NAVAIR’s Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (“NAWCWD”) at
China Lake, California, to pursue PFS-level validation of technology based
on use of expandable +80 mesh graphite from Graphite Creek – formulated
into a pigment component – to extinguish Class B fuel fires.
3https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions/mineral-
requirements-for-clean-energy-transitions
4 https://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/961711588875536384/Minerals-for-Climate-Action-The-Mineral-
Intensity-of-the-Clean-Energy-Transition.pdf
5 https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2021-12-15/china-ev-battery-makers-grapple-with-
graphite-squeeze
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Tests conducted in December 2021 by a team of firefighting professionals at
NAWCWD/China Lake showed that the foam formulation containing Graphite
Creek material can extinguish Class B fires in accordance with Mil spec
standards.
With AFFF and PFF soon unavailable for use in aircraft emergencies
involving Class B fires at military installations or airports, this represents a
possible near-term commercialization opportunity.
Graphite One Synthetic Diamond R&D
R&D work with the +100-mesh fraction of purified Graphite Creek PFS
material successfully produced synthetic diamonds suitable for use in cutting
tool applications including hard surface coatings in drill bits, cutting and
grinding discs, tips of metalworking tooling and other instruments designed
for increased abrasion wear.
After successful production of synthetic diamond dust, the Graphite One PFS
material was used to synthesize a gemstone-quality crystal, and ultimately –
doped with boron and nitrogen – to synthesize blue diamonds, which have
an increased hardness and engineered semiconductor properties.
I
In a subsequent study, this blue diamond was sliced via laser and polished
to a surface roughness radius of 2 nm to form substrates for the synthesis of
cultured semiconductor grade diamonds. A Scanning Electron Microscopy
image of the plate made from Graphite One’s PFS flake is shown below.
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Graphite One is currently working with partners including Stanford University,
Texas Tech University, Defense Logistics Agency, U.S. Navy and others to
establish several targeted technology demonstration projects with academia,
industry, and the U.S. Government to test the properties of synthetic
diamonds generated from Graphite Creek flake precursor in mechanical,
semiconductor, thermal management, and sensor applications.
Graphite One Graphene Material Produced by Yale and Emory
Universities
Graphite One submitted samples of its +50 mesh PFS material for evaluation
as a precursor to make graphene with intended use in advanced water
purification technologies. R&D teams at Yale University and Emory
University are currently involved in making graphene from Graphite One’s
PFS flake. One of the graphene samples generated from the Graphite One
material is depicted by Transmission Electron Microscopy below.
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“Our advanced graphite material work is driven by Graphite One’s
commitment to serve the broad range of tech material applications that
depend on graphite engineered to exacting specifications,” said Mr. Huston.
“Battery grade anode material for EVs and lithium-ion batteries will be the
core of our commercial value, but we know that there is even more graphite
can do to meet urgent demand in sectors ranging from environmentally-safe
fire suppression to transformational technologies in the semiconductor sector
and the new world of graphene. Each one of these product lines
underscores the value of Graphite One’s integrated supply chain solution –
as well as our belief in the mission of our Company to provide the tech
materials that drive global ingenuity.”
Grant of Options
The Company announces that the board of directors has approved an
incentive stock option grant to directors, officers and consultants of the
Company of an aggregate of 3,387,429 options of Graphite One (“Options”)
in accordance with the Company’s shareholder approved stock option plan.
Each Option is exercisable at a price of $1.39 per share, all vesting
immediately and expiring on December 22, 2026. All Options are subject to
a restricted period that expires four months and a day following the date of
issuance.
Upon the granting of the Options described above, Graphite One will have
8,352,429 Options outstanding, which represents approximately 9.8% of the
85,524,287 common shares of the Company currently outstanding. Graphite
One’s stock option plan limits the issuance of Options to no more than 10%
of the outstanding common shares.
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About Graphite One Inc.
GRAPHITE ONE INC. (GPH: TSX‐V; GPHOF: OTCQB) continues to develop
its Graphite One Project (the “Project”), whereby the Company could
potentially become an American producer of high grade Coated Spherical
Graphite (“CSG”) that is integrated with a domestic graphite resource. The
Project is proposed as a vertically integrated enterprise to mine, process and
manufacture high grade CSG primarily for the lithium‐ion electric vehicle
battery market. As set forth in the Company’s Preliminary Economic
Assessment, potential graphite mineralization mined from the Company’s
Graphite Creek Property, is expected to be processed into concentrate at a
graphite processing plant. The proposed processing plant would be located
on the Graphite Creek Property situated on the Seward Peninsula about 60
kilometers north of Nome, Alaska. CSG and other value‐added graphite
products, would likely be manufactured from the concentrate at the
Company’s proposed graphite product manufacturing facility, the location of
which is the subject of further study and analysis. The Company intends to
make a production decision on the Project once a feasibility study is
completed.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
"Anthony Huston” (signed)
For more information on Graphite One Inc., please visit the Company’s
website, www.GraphiteOneInc.com or contact:
Anthony Huston
CEO, President & Director
Tel: (604) 889-4251
Email: [email protected]
Investor Relations Contact
Tel: (604) 684-6730
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Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be forward-
looking statements. All statements in this release, other than statements of
historical facts, including the timing and completion of the Pre-Feasibility
Study, timing of the Feasibility Study, receipt of regulatory approvals,
implementation of a more established shipment program, exploration drilling,
exploitation activities, future production, establishment of a processing plant,
completion of a 2022 drill program, success of R&D efforts on multiple
advanced graphite materials, and events or developments that the Company
expects, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the
expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on
reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include
market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of
mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary
permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition, changes
in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration
and exploitation, and continued availability of capital and financing, and
general economic, market or business conditions. Readers are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is given as
of the date it is expressed in this press release, and the Company
undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking
information, except as required by applicable securities laws. For more
information on the Company, investors should review the Company's
continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedar.com.