Industrial Minerals Inc. (IMI) pursuing high-purity, high value graphite markets
Thu Apr 10, 8:01 AM
ca.news.finance.yahoo.com
TORONTO, April 10 /CNW/ - Industrial Minerals Inc. (IMI) -OTCBB: IDSM- (or "the Company") is pleased to provide its shareholders with this update on developing market opportunities for its Bissett Creek large-flake graphite property in Northern Ontario.
Over the past few months the Company has completed a series of Letters of Intent (LOI) with prospective customers requesting graphite product volumes well in excess of the planned annual 24,000 tonnes of production for the mine. These LOI's have arisen out of extensive customer discussions and meetings with companies in the graphite sector, and have originated with customers in North America, Europe and Asia. This market development effort has also confirmed growing strength in the prices of natural graphite. This growth is due to increased demand for graphite in both the traditional and emerging market sectors.
The emerging sectors in particular are revealing a wide new range of high-purity, high value applications in areas such as the exploding demand for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). With the price of oil moving consistently beyond the $100 per barrel mark there is a growing consensus that a tipping point in terms of consumer demand for HEVs is rapidly being reached. Given that virtually all of the current battery designs for HEVs use natural graphite, the Company sees an extraordinary technology-driven market opportunity developing over the next five years. That will also fit very well with the Company's timing for completion of the Bissett Creek plant in 2010.
These observations were supported in March, 2008 as the IMI management team attended the 25th Annual Battery Conference in the US. The team held invaluable discussions with major international lithium-ion battery manufacturers, and developed a series of excellent contacts within this sector. In the months ahead the Company will be providing many of these potential customers with samples of its high quality flake and will be taking all steps necessary to develop these market opportunities. As noted above, pricing in this segment is measurably stronger than traditional segments with current figures in the $10-14 per kilogram range. The Company expects to develop additional details on this growing segment when members of the management team attend the Advanced Automotive Battery and Ultracapacitor conference in May, 2008 in Tampa.
In addition to the battery sector, the Company is also engaged in discussions with firms developing high-purity natural graphite for current and future use in solar panels, semiconductors and "graphene" applications. Graphene in particular, often referred to as "the mother of all graphites", is developing as an extraordinary alternative to silicon and is already being used in commercial applications that hold the promise of dramatic changes in computing power, and a host of other products such as supertough composites, smart displays and ultra-fast transistors.
"It truly is an exciting time to be developing a new global supplier of high purity natural graphite," says Paul Cooper, Chief Operating Officer at IMI. "With increased demand, and market pressure on current supply streams of graphite out of China, we feel IMI will be able to offer a compelling competitive advantage as a new North American supplier of high-purity natural graphite."
In the weeks and months ahead IMI will follow-up with additional details on its market development opportunities, as well as further reporting on all aspects of its strategic plans for developing the world-class Bissett Creek site.
About Industrial Minerals, Inc.
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Industrial Minerals Inc. through its wholly owned subsidiary Industrial Minerals Canada Inc., headquartered in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, owns 100% of the undivided interest in the Bissett Creek Graphite patented mineral lease, containing a resource of approximately 725,000 tonnes (327,700 tonnes indicated & 397,900 tonnes inferred) of flake graphite based on approximately 7.0% of the patented mineral leases that have been drilled to date. The property is comprised of 28 claims covering an area of approximately 1,315 hectares (3,250 acres). It has been the subject of substantial earlier exploration drilling, trenching and metallurgical test work by KHD Canada, Kilborn Engineering, Pincock Alan and Holt and Cominco Engineering Services. The property is located in Maria Township in the Province of Ontario, Canada. The Company believes the property is one of the largest and purest natural flake graphite deposits in the world. Its goal is to become the leading producer of large flake crystalline graphite in North America and a prominent market participant internationally.
Forward Looking Statements
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All statements contained herein, as well as oral statements that may be made by the Company or by officers, directors or employees of the Company acting on the Company's behalf that are not statements of historical fact, constitute "forward-looking statements" and are made pursuant to the Safe-Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include our statements about future financing, future relationships with customers and operational plans that depend upon financing that we have not secured as of the date of this press release. All forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties are outlined in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2007 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management, or set forth in this news release. The Company is not obligated, and assumes no obligation, to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Cautionary Note to US Investors - The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) limits disclosure for U.S. reporting purposes to mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. The reader is cautioned that the term, "resource," is not a term that is recognized by SEC guidelines for disclosure of mineral properties. Generally, "resources" estimates do not rise to the level of certainty required by SEC guidelines. The mineralized material described above is not considered a "reserve" as that term is used in the mining industry and in SEC disclosure guidelines. The Company must undertake a feasibility study before it can estimate the value of its mineral assets. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 10-KSB, File No. 000-30651. You can review and obtain copies of these filings from the SEC's website at sec.gov.
NO STOCK EXCHANGE, SECURITIES COMMISSION, OR OTHER REGULATORY AUTHORITY
HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN.
Contacts
David Wodar
President
Industrial Minerals Inc
dwodar@industrialmineralsinc.com
Tel: (905) 829-0220
Toll free: 1-888-829-0220
www.industrialmineralsinc.com |
