NextSource Materials Secures Commercial Offtake Agreement with thyssenkrupp Materials Trading
NextSource Materials Secures Commercial Offtake Agreement with
thyssenkrupp Materials Trading
NEWS RELEASE – TORONTO, May 25, 2021
NextSource Materials Inc. (TSX:NEXT) (OTCQB:NSRCF) (“NextSource” or the “Company”) is
pleased to announce it has executed an offtake agreement (“the Offtake”) with thyssenkrupp
Materials Trading GmbH (“thyssenkrupp”), an international trading and services company
headquartered in Essen, Ger many, for a long -term commercial agreement for the sale of
NextSource’s SuperFlake® graphite products.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
• Long-term binding commercial agreement between the parties for the sale of a minimum of
35,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of SuperFlake® graphite concentrate from the Company’s
Molo mine in Madagascar.
• The term of the agreement is 10 years with an automatic 5-year extension.
• Product will be for the refractory and expandable gra phite (graphite foil) markets for sale in,
but not limited to, Europe, the United Kingdom , North America, Mexico, China and South
Korea.
• As Phase 1 initial production of the Molo mine in Madagascar will be approximately 17,000,
the requested offtake sales volumes by thyssenkrupp will be phased:
o Minimum of 7,300 tonnes per annum (“tpa”) during Phase 1 initial production , with
commissioning targeted in April 2022.
o Additionally up to 35,000 tpa to be available in Phase 2 , with targeted production by
Q2 of 2024
o The initial tonnage volume will be used by thyssenkrupp to verify run-of-mill production
of SuperFlake®, which will then trigger the much larger volume expansion of 35,000
tonnes requested.
Wolfgang Schnittker,, CEO of thyssenkrupp Materials Trading c ommented, “The trust ful
cooperation with NextSource enables us to further expand our strong presence in the international
foundry and refractories industry. It is our unique selling point to competitively serve various
industries but especially emerging industries and their highly specified requirements .”
NextSource President and CEO, Mr. Craig Scherba said, “This executed offtake agreement for the
sale of our SuperFlake® graphite was the culmination of a multi-year process and is yet another
significant milestone in the Company’s strategy in becoming a graphite producer of consequence.
We are extremely pleased to formali ze this partnership with thyssenkrupp given their expertise,
scale, and extensive global distribution network. We look forward to expanding our relationship
together as we organically expand our graphite market share over the years to come.”
Jörg Glebe , Chief Operating Officer of thyssenkrupp Materials Trading and resp onsible for the
minerals business added: “The partnership with NextSource underlines the consistent continuation
of our activities to expand our high -quality graphite supply sources outside of China. In particular,
the distribution range of the graphite flakes enables us to supply our customers ev en more in
accordance with their needs and to support them in their long-term growth plans.”
thyssenkrupp Materials Trading is an international trading and services company headquartered in
Essen, Germany. Its product range includes raw materials such as alloys, nonferrous metals,
minerals, coke, coal and ores, various raw materials for future technologies, metallurgical products
such as steel and pipes, pipe accessories, finished steel and stainless steel, as well as trading with
new and used industrial e quipment, machine tools, spare parts, and structural elements for
hydraulic steel engineering and the offshore sector, plus materials and logistics services of all kinds.
The range is rounded out by tailored offers including financing and shipment.
ABOUT THYSSENKRUPP MATERIALS SERVICES
With around 480 locations – 271 of them warehousing locations – in over 40 countries,
thyssenkrupp Materials Services is the biggest mill -independent materials distributor & service
provider in the western world. The wide-ranging capabilities offered by the materials experts enable
customers to concentrate more on their individual core business and span two strategic areas:
global materials distribution as a one -stop-shop – from steel, tubes and pipes, nonferrous metals
and specialty materials to plastics and raw materials – and tailored services in the areas of materials
management and supply chain management. An extensive omni -channel architecture offers
250,000 customers worldwide round-the-clock access to more than 150,000 products and services.
A high -performance logistics system ensures that all deliveries are integrated smoothly into
customer production processes on a just-in-time or just-in-sequence basis.
TEMPORARY SYMBOL CHANGE ON US EXCHANGE DUE TO SHARE CONSOLIDATION
Pursuant to the Company’s May 18, 2021 news release announcing the implementation of a
consolidation (reverse stock split) of its Common Shares effective May 25, 2021 , the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) announced the share consolidation will also take effect in
the US Markets under symbol NSRCF on May 25, 2021 in line with NextSource’s primary
exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”). As a result of the reverse split, FINRA will append
a “D” as the fifth character in place of the “F” for a temporary period of 20 business days. After 20
business days the symbol will revert back to NSRCF.
ABOUT SUPERFLAKE® GRAPHITE
As announced in November 2015, independent testing by various third -party end users of flake
graphite confirmed that NextSource’s SuperFlake® graphite meets or exceed s quality
requirements for all major end -markets for natural flake graphite . The major end -markets are
refractories, anode material for lithium -ion batteries , specialty graph ite foils used as essential
components in the chemical, aeronautical and fire -retardant industries, and graphene in high-end
ink and substrate applications.
As detailed in the Molo 2019 Feasibility Study, SuperFlake® graphite concentrate can achieve 98%
carbon (C) purity with simple flotation, has excellent thermal expansion, can be easily upgraded to
99.97% purity (battery grade), contains no deleterious substances and has high crystallinity.
SuperFlake® graphite concentrate has excellent flake size distribution that is well above the global
average, with 46.4 percent being classified as +80 (large), +65 (extra large) and +48 (jumbo) mesh
in flake size. Specifically, 23.6 percent of SuperFlake® graphite concentrate is +48 mesh and
greater in size.
SuperFlake® is a registered trademark in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, U.K.
and the European Union. These key jurisdictions represent the top demand markets for flake
graphite and the locations where NextSource intends to sell its SuperFlake® graphite and anode
material.
ABOUT NEXTSOURCE MATERIALS INC.
NextSource Materials Inc. is a battery materials development company based in Toronto, Canada
that is intent on becoming a fully integrated, global supplier of critical battery and technology
materials needed to power the sustainable energy revolution.
Targeting commercial production by April 2022, the Company’s Molo graphite project in
Madagascar is regarded as one of the largest and high est-quality graphite deposits globally and
the only project with SuperFlake® graphite.
With expected low-cost operations and both its mining and environmental licenses in place,
NextSource Materials has forged strategic and exclusive partnerships with key supply chain
participants to provide graphite-based anode material to international OEMs for lithium-ion and fuel
cell applications, and graphite for high-end, value-added applications where graphite is an essential
material.
The Company will enter into production in phases and utilize an all -modular build approach to
construct the Molo graphite mine. Initial production is expected to be approximately 17,000 tonnes
per annum (“tpa”) over the first two years of production , followed by a significant expansion in
production planned in year three to match market demand.
NextSource Materials is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol “NEXT” and
on the OTCQB under the symbol “NSRCF"
Please see “Molo Feasibility Study, National Instrument 43 -101 Technical Report on the Molo
Graphite Project located near the village of Fotadrevo in the Province of Toliara, Madagascar
Prepared by Erudite Strategies (Pty) Ltd” dated May 31, 2019 for certain other details and
assumptions relating to the parameters of the project, mineral resource and reserve estimates and
data verification procedures.
Mr. Craig Scherba, P.Geo., President and CEO of NextSource, is the qualified person who
reviewed and approved the technical information provided in this press release.
For further information about NextSource visit our website at www.nextsourcematerials.com or
contact us a +1.416.364.4911 or email Brent Nykoliation, Executive Vice President at
[email protected] or Craig Scherba, President and CEO
This press release contains statements that may constitute “forward -looking information” or “forward-looking
statements” ("forward -looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States
securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding statements regarding the Sales
agreement with tk, the processing plant capacity and timing for Phase 1 and any expansion plans beyond.
These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and assumptions that involve a number of
risks, which could cause actual results to vary and, in some instances, to differ materially from those
anticipated by the Company and described in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release,
including but not limited to the risks that the Molo Graphite Mine is not built on the expected time and cost
estimates, that the mineral reserve and resource estimates for the Molo Graphite Mine are incorrect, that
expected recoveries and costs to produce SPG are incorrect, and that permits and licences to operate the
Molo Graphite Mine may not be renewed or may be revoked, and other risks discussed in the Company’s
public disclosure documents. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward -
looking statements will transpire or occur or, if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive there
from. The forward -looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news
release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-
looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be
required by applicable securities laws.