National Graphite, the domestic mineral development firm focused on graphite and precious metal projects in North America, was pleased to report today that the StrataGem Electro-Magnetic Survey on the company’s flagship graphite site in northwestern Nevada (100% interest via the agreement with GeoXplor Corp. from April 24, 2012), the 400-acre Chedic/Voltaire property in Carson City, has been successfully completed.
Given the lack of natural graphite production here in the U.S. and China’s dominant role with 75% of global output (with India in second ahead of export markets like Brazil or Canada), this strategically critical resource demands domestic development and NGRC has heeded the call, committing substantial time and resources to taking Chedic/Voltaire through exploration and into production. The strategic importance of graphite in electric vehicle batteries alone is a huge vector, but the massive upswing in both NiMH (nickel–metal hydride) and Li-ion (lithium-ion) batteries needed for a wide and continually growing variety of devices, especially those in mobile computing and connectivity (like smartphones and tablets), has made graphite an indisputably vital resource moving forward.
Graphite is quite versatile and sees use in a broad array of end markets, but the importance in electric vehicle batteries cannot be stressed enough, with applications like the Nissan Leaf’s Li-ion battery requiring a whopping 40 kg (and in general a ten to one ratio of graphite to lithium is required for batteries of this type). Naturally occurring graphite cannot really be replaced by synthetics and there is virtually no overlap in end markets, facts which make domestic graphite mining essential.
These concomitant factors are what makes the developmental news at Chedic/Voltaire so compelling to investors. The retaining of Geologist, John O. Rud, M.Sc. from over at GeoXplor to run the data analysis on collected survey information is a clear sign to markets that the company is serious about domestic graphite production. The report from Rud on the survey data is anticipated within the next two to three weeks, and NGRC intends to utilize the analysis provided to pursue an aggressive drilling program, delineating the target pattern accordingly.
Driven by strong usage in batteries and with so many other uses across several industries, like as a key component in many lubricants, or in brake linings, or the material’s use in refractories/foundries, graphite has an incredibly dynamic, demand-driven future that is reinforced by a lack of alternatives which can take its place. This is a strong formula for future price metrics and NGRC shareholders stand to bring home sizeable returns, especially as developments in nanotechnology, which require precisely the kind of high-quality large-flake graphite we have in abundance here in NA, begin to press on the commodity and sector with increasing force.
Rud has also helped NGRC complete staking on the property adjacent to Chedic/Voltaire, adding another big chunk of acreage (300 acres and 15 more lode mining claims) to the company’s foothold in the state of Nevada, which has some of the richest graphite resources in all of NA. This is a strong resource position to be in for the company, especially adding in the previously purchased 9.6k acres up across the border in Quebec, property proximal to and geologically analogous with the nearby Dun Raven Mines operation, which is estimated to contain in excess of 4M tons of high quality ore at a grade of approximately 4.1% graphite.
Potential investors will be as eager to get a look at the Rud report here in two to three weeks, in addition to the company’s subsequent drilling plans for Chedic/Voltaire, with shareholders tuning in even more closely as NGRC advances the site towards production.
For more information on the report, or to learn more about National Graphite Corp. and the company’s other projects, like those focused on gold and silver, please visit the NGRC website located at: www.NationalGraphiteCorp.com
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