Great Lakes Graphite (SHG-V) March 4, '14 has signed a definitive purchase agreement with Rock Tech Lithium (RCK-V Halted) to acquire the Lochaber graphite deposit, located in the prolific Buckingham graphite region in Outaouais/Gatineau, Que.
The Lochaber graphite property comprises 151 mineral claims, in four contiguous blocks, covering 9,062 hectares in Buckingham and Lochaber townships. Two of the Rock Tech claim blocks are contiguous with the company's existing claims in the area, namely those in the Diamond and the Bell claim blocks.
The purchase agreement between the companies provides for the company to pay Rock Tech a total of $300,000 in cash and issue a total of 15 million common shares of the company to Rock Tech or to whom it may direct. The acquisition is subject to and conditional upon TSX Venture Exchange and other regulatory approvals and satisfactory due diligence, including satisfaction with the results of metallurgical testing on samples that will be supplied by Rock Tech. On completion of the acquisition Rock Tech will have the right to appoint one nominee to the board of directors of the company.
The Lochaber graphite property, considered highly prospective for large flake, crystalline graphite, has a historic record of exploration and production. Numerous flake graphite occurrences on the property are some of the oldest graphite showings in Canada, having been discovered in the late 1800s and early 1900s. There are four historical graphite occurrences (the MacLaren, Kelly North, Kelly South and Burke showings) and two past-producing graphite mines (the Mayo and Plumbago mines) located in an area of 16 square kilometres on the main claim block.
Rock Tech completed eight trenches and carried out channel sampling, ground geophysical surveys and over 7,000 metres of drilling in late 2012 in the Plumbago mine area. The exploration work delineated two areas of graphite mineralization: conductor A is 700 metres long, and 27 metres to 100 metres wide; and conductor C is 600 metres long and 29 metres to 82 metres wide. Both conductors were drill tested down to at least 150 metres below surface. A majority of the drill holes intersected graphite mineralization. Previous exploration work included over 4,000 metres of diamond drilling by previous operators during the 1980s. Rock Tech also shipped samples for metallurgical testing to determine the quality of graphite, flake size and recoverability. This testwork is in progress at Process Research Ortech Inc. in Mississauga, Ont. Preliminary metallurgical results carried out by Global Mineral Research Inc. in Burnaby, B.C., indicated the following flake size distribution:
- 48.1 per cent of the graphite concentrate being greater than 80 (Tyler) mesh (180 micrometres) in size;
- 30.5 per cent of the graphite concentrate being between 80 and 200 mesh (180 micrometres and 75 micrometres) in size;
- 21.4 per cent of the graphite concentrate passing 200 mesh (75 micrometres).
The company plans to complete a National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate based on the available exploration data. Based on the results of completed resource estimates, the company will plan preliminary economic assessment and environmental baseline studies on the property. Most of the surface rights in the area are held by private owners, therefore community consultation and access rights are an important and continuing aspect of the project.
The technical content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by John Siriunas, PEng, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. |
