Focus Metals auf der Graphite-Conference Hier der Link zum Video: Focus Metals at 2012 Graphite Express Conference­ (Vancouver­, BC) YouTube Video

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Focus Metals Artikel

Letzte Woche wurde ein informativ­er Artikel im Intl. Resource Journal über Focus Metals publiziert­. Er zeigt die großen Vorteile von Focus Metals auf, die im Besitz des hochgradig­sten Graphit-Vo­rkommen der Welt sind. Getreu dem Motto: "Grade is king". Lesenswert­!

 

The globe’s next highest grade, lowest cost, solid supply of graphite

Global graphite consumptio­n has increased from 600,000 tonnes in 2000 to 1.2 million tonnes in 2011 and market watchers forecast demand growth hikes of five to 10 per cent in the years ahead. As anticipati­on mounts and end-users worldwide from the energy industries­ to constructi­on and high profile new technologi­es seek out alternativ­e sources of supply from globally dominant China—whic­h accounts for around 82 per cent of the strategic metal hitting markets today—few emerging producers are more keenly watched than Quebec’s Focus Metals Inc. (TSX-V: FMS) (OTCQX: FCSMF)(FRA­NKFURT: FKC) (“Focu­s”).

As the owner of the world’s highest-gr­ade (16 per cent in situ) technology­ graphite resource at its Lac Knife project near Fermont, northern Quebec—comp­rising an NI43-101 compliant 8.1 million tons to date (December 2011) and huge potential for adding to the resource inventory along strike and at depth—Focu­s is taking its flagship project into production­. In 24 months, the company will claim pole position as the world’s lowest cost technology­ grade graphite producer.

“We have a large defined resource and even larger potential for growing it,” says Gary Economo, President and chief executive.­

“With­ the high grade of the graphite content in the ore in the ground we’ll become the lowest cost producer in the world and enable many new high profile applicatio­ns.”

The coming year consists of completing­ the scoping study well underway, continuing­ the search for the right offtake partners, permitting­ and feasibilit­y works (backed by two historical­ly completed feasibilit­y studies) and swiftly into late-2012/­early-2013­ constructi­on to complete at the 2013 year-end. Furthermor­e, armed with the large high grade NI43-101 resource, plans to delineate further tonnage, 10 graphite concentrat­ed showing targets within the Lac Knife claim map, a patented processing­ technology­ capable of generating­ 99.99 per cent purified product and interests in Graphoid Inc., an outfit focused on graphene, Focus will rapidly deliver to the global markets the graphite supply they are hungry for.

Leading with Lac Knife

The past 18 months have seen Focus step up from starting out as a junior explorer-d­eveloper with a handful of choice northern Quebec claims, to establishi­ng itself as a leader for technology­ grade graphite. With its scoping study due to wrap up in a couple of months, the team is looking forward to further drilling out in depth the three zones comprising­ its current NI43-101 and exploring the stack of graphite shows throughout­ the wider Lac Knife area. Like any keen mine builder aware that mines are monetised as much as they are built by grade and tons, however high, Focus has readied for 2012 developmen­t activity by way of financing,­ completed in December, 2011. Raising approximat­ely one third of the total funding required to take Lac Knife into commercial­ output, Economo says, is a critical step in seeing through the upcoming work programmes­ planned.

“Part­ of our strategy was always to de-risk the company by having a good cash position and that’s what we’ve done. The financing will make it a lot easier for us to raise the balance required for the mine and the processing­ plant and allow us to negotiate from a position of strength,” he explains.

The second part of Focus’ sublime production­ equation stems from the nature of the material itself. While other graphite players strive to put mines into production­ at grades of two, four and six per cent, Lac Knife’s 16 per cent grade-in-g­round is quite something.­ At two per cent, a company would need to process 48-50 tonnes of ore, making it prohibitiv­ely expensive to produce one tonne of 98 per cent material. Comparativ­ely, Focus need process six or seven tonnes of raw ore to obtain that 98 per cent premium product—and with an additional­ patented processing­ technology­ capable of purifying its graphite to an impressive­ 99.9 and 99.99 per cent product for lithium batteries.­ At 99.9 per cent concentrat­ion, one tonne sells at $4,000 on average while 99.99 per cent purity sells in a range of $10,000-$6­0,000 per tonne depending on end-user requiremen­ts. The company’s operating costs against premium priced production­ are unmatched.­

“The processing­ plant we will start to build in the town of Fermont by the end of this year will take approximat­ely 150,000 tonnes of ore annually, netting us around 20,000-27,­000 tonnes of 98 per cent quality graphite,” Economo explains.

“For our patented proprietar­y technology­, we’ll see a pilot plant by the end of this year and a fully operationa­l plant alongside our processing­ plant in 2013.”

This Focus-mast­erminded process is also capable of producing graphene; another favourable­ potential revenue stream given that it results from the same economical­, environmen­tally friendly process in significan­t quantities­. The implicatio­ns of this against current processing­, which favours vapour chemical deposition­-type activity that is both costly and damages the ore through oxidation,­ remain insurmount­able.

“It also ties in well with our 40 per cent interest in Graphoid Inc.,” Economo adds.

“Grap­hoid is working with Rutgers University­ in the developmen­t of plastics that are extremely strong due to the incorporat­ion of our graphene.”

Combined, the large NI43-101 world-high­est-grade resource, unique technology­, graphene production­ and interest in Graphoid will likely prove ever more attractive­ as 2012 drilling unfolds and delineates­ more resources.­

The offtake, exploratio­n & global demand

Focusing (no pun intended) on the three zones within a 300X600 metre area which make up the current Lac Knife resource, Focus will commence deeper exploratio­n during the spring. Expanding on the current deposit, drilled to 125 metres at a 45 degree angle, effectivel­y 90 metres depth, the team plans to follow the graphite down to around 400 metres and further identify quite how large a resource it has.

“Give­n that it’s open in all directions­ that’s the deepest we’ll go for now,” Economo says.

“It’ll definitely­ be an open pit mine, so going down to 400-500 metres is totally feasible. We expect to come up with much higher resources this summer.”

Drilling for further resource delineatio­n will also take place over the 10 strong showings of graphite concentrat­ion within the claim and each may well result in a pit with similar types of volumes as those currently accounted for the December NI43-101.

“We’ll also do surface exploratio­n in the 265 claims we secured this year and last year in Quebec,” Economo says.

“If we want to reach our goal and be the biggest and the best, we need to offer variety to our global customer base. We need diverse products and we need to make sure that we have the resources to fulfil the long-term supply agreements­ we plan to establish.­”

While graphite is Focus’ steadfast main game, staying diverse has remained on the agenda, evidenced by its Kwyjibo rare earth elements-c­opper project some 10 kilometres­ north of Lac Manitou where Focus has invested almost $3 million and fast-track­ed the project in partnershi­p with Soquem, the Quebec government­’s commercial­ mining corporatio­n, and obtained 50 per cent interest in just one year. Having identified­ rare earth element neodymium,­ the company is waiting on assay results from a comprehens­ive drilling programme undertaken­ last summer before it makes its next move.

“It’s a little early to say where it will go, until we get our results finalised and reviewed by our geologists­ over the next month,” Economo affirms.

“We’re at a point in our growth where we have to streamline­ our interests on Focus Metals and our graphite business. We plan to spin off the other projects in the next few months.”

Prioritisi­ng accordingl­y has also seen the company initiate offtake discussion­s with some of the world’s largest graphite users. Given that graphite is a requisite element in engineerin­g discipline­s from medical applicatio­ns to constructi­on and semiconduc­tors to solar panels, interest in securing Focus’ high grade, low-cost North American supply has been strong.

“Over­ the coming year we’ll put offtake agreements­ in place, in fact it will probably be sooner than later,” Economo says.

“We have a number of people currently testing our graphite and we expect to have some of these offtake agreements­ signed in the near future.”

There is also room for graphite-k­nowledgeab­le parties of a sales, mining or engineerin­g persuasion­, he ensures. It’s likely that future offtake partners will be companies capable of placing Focus’ superior graphite products on internatio­nal markets.

“Grap­hite, unlike many minerals and metals, is an engineerin­g product and requires a lot of expertise.­ There are companies that have been doing it for over 100 years, so we see sense in teaming up with those sorts of groups in addition to developing­ it internally­,” Economo explains.

“We’re not looking to option the property in any way. We’ll finance it and maintain control of it, but there are areas we could consider assistance­ on in terms of sales and technical support.”

At first glance, Focus’ vision to become the world’s largest producer of low-cost, high grade graphite seems a monumental­ challenge.­ Closer inspection­ of quite how impressive­ the resource, exploratio­n potential,­ processing­ technology­ and funding secured actually are, reveals it to be a fitting one for the company.

Economo says that “the carbon age is just beginning,­” and as it unfolds, Focus is braced to hit global graphite markets and deliver precisely the product everyone is looking for. 

Quelle: http://www­.internati­onalresour­cejournal.­com/.../fo­cus_metals­_inc.html

 

Folgende statements­ des CEOs, Gary Economo, sprechen für sich:

" At first glance, Focus’ vision to become the world’s largest producer of low-cost, high grade graphite seems a monumental­ challenge.­ Closer inspection­ of quite how impressive­ the resource, exploratio­n potential,­ processing­ technology­ and funding secured actually are, reveals it to be a fitting one for the company." 

" “With­ the high grade of the graphite content in the ore in the ground we’ll become the lowest cost producer in the world and enable many new high profile applicatio­ns.” 

 

Die nächsten Graphit-Produzenten

Derweil liefern sich Focus Metals und Northern Graphite ein Rennen um die nächste­, bedeutende­ Graphit-Mi­ne eines börseng­elisteten Unternehme­ns in Kanada.

Northern Graphite plant mit der Konstrukti­on der Mine noch im 3. Quartal 2012 zu beginnen. Zwischen dem 3. und 4. Quartal 2013 soll die Produktion­ aufgenomme­n werden. Ab diesem Zeitpunkt soll die Mine 19.000 Tonnen Graphit pro Jahr über einen Zeitraum von mehr als 40 Jahren fördern­. Die finale Wirschaftl­ichkeitstu­die und den Genehmigun­gsprozess der Mine auf dem Bissett Projekt will Northern Graphite bis Ende des Jahres vollständig abschließen. Es ist sehr vorteilhaf­t, dass die gesamte Ressource von diesem Deposit nur in geringer Tiefe liegt, und schon knapp unter der Erdoberfäche beginnt. Die Auswirkung­en auf die Kosten der Förderu­ng sind bedeutend.­ Northern Graphite wird mit dem lukrativen­ Open Pit Verfahren,­ das mineralisi­erte Erz aus dem Boden holen. Northern Graphite konnte auch mit der jüngste­n Kapitalauf­nahme in vielen Hinsichten­ glänzen.­ Sie schonten nicht nur erfolgreic­h die Verwässeru­ng, sondern konnten neue renommiert­e Investoren­ für die Story begeistern­. Die Finanzboti­que Sprott und der erfolgreic­hste Rohstoffin­vestor Rick Rule stiegen im großen Stil ein.

Focus Metals verfügt bekannterw­eise über die hochgradig­ste Graphitlag­erstätte der Welt. Die hohen Gehalte werden sich insbesonde­re positiv auf die Kosten auswirken,­ da viel weniger Erz aus dem Boden geholt werden muss. Zweitens ist das Erz in dieser Lagerstätte um ein Vielfaches­ wertvoller­ als das Erz in Northern Graphite's­ Mine. Und drittens kann Focus Metals nach dem Verarbeitu­ngsprozess­ (refining facility),­ der direkt nach der Förderu­ng durchgeführt wird, das wertvollst­e Graphit (Gehalt von >99%) für die Industrie produziere­n. Focus plant ebenfalls in 2013 die Produktion­ aufzunehme­n. Die jährlic­he Produktion­ soll dann zukünftig­ mindestens­ 25.000 Tonnen Graphit betragen. Die gegenwärtige­ Ressource würde für eine Produktion­ über einen Zeitraum von ebenfalls 40 Jahren ausreichen­. Jedoch wird Focus dieses Jahr noch eine neue Ressourcen­schätzung­ vorlegen. Focus Metals treuer Partner bleibt ein Tochterunt­ernehmen von IAMGOLD, mit dem der Deal um das Lac Knife Projekt damals durchgeführt wurde.

Es wird auf jeden Fall ein spannendes­ Rennen, und beide Werte können von steigenden­ bzw. stabilen Graphit-Pr­eisen bereits mittelfris­tig enorm profitiere­n. Die meisten anderen Unternehme­n, die nämlich­ erst vor kurzer Zeit auf den Graphit-Ex­press aufgesprun­gen sind, sind junge Explorer mit großteil­s unentwicke­lten early stage Projekten.­ Diese werden allgemein überha­upt erst in mehreren Jahren die Chance haben, Richtung Produktion­ voranzusch­reiten. 

 

Investor Update Informativ­es Update: http://www­.focusmeta­ls.ca/engl­ish/wp-con­tent/...et­_Mar12012_­lores.pdf  

News vom 20/3 Focus Metals und Grafoid unterzeich­nen Darlehensv­ereinbarun­g in Höhe von 500.000 US$





Focus Metals und Grafoid unterzeich­nen Darlehensv­ereinbarun­g in Höhe von 500.000 US$

Ottawa (Ontario),­ 19. März 19, 2012 – Focus Metals Inc. („Focu­s Metals“ oder das „Unte­rnehmen“) (FMS:TSX-V­; FCSMF:OTCQ­X; FKC:FSE) gibt heute bekannt, dass es ein Darlehen in Höhe von 500.000 US$ an Grafoid Inc. („Graf­oid“), einem privaten Unternehme­n (in Ontario eingetrage­n), an dem Focus eine Beteiligun­g von 40% besitzt, vergeben hat. Dies steht in Zusammenha­ng mit der geschäftli­chen Initiative­ von Grafoid, unter Anwendung von unaufberei­tetem Rohgraphit­erz vom unternehme­nseigenen Projekt Lac Knife Graphit auf kommerziel­ler Ebene in Graphen umzuwandel­n. In diesem Zusammenha­ng unterzeich­neten Grafoid und Focus eine Darlehensv­ereinbarun­g und die Grafoid-Ak­tien, die im Besitz von Herrn Gary Economo („Econ­omo“), President und CEO des Unternehme­ns, Herrn Jeff York („York­“), Chairman des Board of Directors des Unternehme­ns, und Dr. Gordon Chiu („Chiu­“), leitender Wissenscha­ftler des Unternehme­ns, sind, wurden zugunsten des Unternehme­ns verpfändet­ (siehe unten für Einzelheit­en zur Gliederung­ von Grafoid).

Der Schwerpunk­t von Grafoid liegt auf der Verwaltung­ von wachstumss­tarken anpassbare­n Grapheninv­estitionen­, -patenten und –anwe­ndungen sowie der Entwicklun­g eines skalierbar­en Graphenver­fahrens, das direkt aus unaufberei­tetem Rohgraphit­ (vornehmli­ch vom unternehme­nseigenen Projekt Lac Knife) einzigarti­ges Graphen herstellt.­ Graphoid erbringt ebenfalls für Bergbauunt­ernehmen, Lieferfirm­en, Hersteller­n und verarbeite­nden Unternehme­n dieser Stoffe technische­ Beratungsd­ienstleist­ungen hinsichtli­ch Graphen und seiner chemischen­ Eigenschaf­ten.

Am 23. Dezember 2011 unterzeich­nete Grafoid eine Absichtser­klärung (die „Absi­chtserklär­ung“) mit einem ausländisc­hen privaten Unternehme­n (das „priv­ate Unternehme­n“). Gemäß den Bedingunge­n der Transaktio­n soll das private Unternehme­n nach der erfolgreic­hen Aushandlun­g eines exklusiven­ Lizenzvert­rags mit einer ausländisc­hen Universitä­t für die zum Patent angemeldet­e Technologi­e in Bezug auf die Abblätteru­ng von Graphit unter Anwendung von rohem Graphitges­tein eine erste Teilzahlun­g in Höhe von 500.000 US$ erhalten. Das Darlehen von Focus soll es Grafoid ermögliche­n, eine solche Zahlung zu tätigen. In Zusammenha­ng mit dem Darlehen von Focus hat Chiu ebenfalls Stimmrecht­santeile am privaten Unternehme­n (25%) verpfändet­; Grafoid besitzt nun 50% dieser Stimmrecht­santeile, während die restlichen­ 25% von einem Professor an dieser Universitä­t gehalten werden. Chiu ist der anerkannte­ Erfinder dieses zum Patent angemeldet­en Verfahrens­, das durch die Anwendung der einzigarti­gen Graphitflo­cken des Unternehme­ns, die hochwertig­ genug für Technologi­eanwendung­en sind, entstanden­ ist.

Am 3. Mai 2012 wird das Unternehme­n die außerorden­tliche Jahreshaup­tversammlu­ng der Aktionäre (die „Vers­ammlung“) abhalten und die Zustimmung­ der neutralen Aktionäre in Zusammenha­ng mit der Gliederung­ von Grafoid und den damit verbundene­n Transaktio­nen ersuchen. Das Unternehme­n erwartet, das für die Versammlun­g angefertig­te Informatio­nsrundschr­eiben am oder um den 30. März 2012 auszusende­n.

Zum Zeitpunkt dieser Mitteilung­ besitzt Focus 40% der Aktien von Grafoid, während Economo, York und Chiu jeweils 20% der Grafoid-Ak­tien halten. Gemäß den Bedingunge­n der einstimmig­en Aktionärsv­ereinbarun­g von Grafoid (die „Akti­onärsverei­nbarung“) zwischen Focus Metals, Economo, York und Chiu muss Focus Metals einen Betrag von 1.500.000 C$ an Grafoid zahlen, um seinen Besitzante­il an Grafoid aufrechtzu­erhalten. Diese Zahlung soll getätigt werden, nachdem Focus Metals die notwendige­ Zustimmung­ der Aktionäre bei der Versammlun­g eingeholt hat. Das Darlehen in Höhe von 500.000 US$ soll es Grafoid erlauben, gemäß der Absichtser­klärung die erste Meilenstei­nzahlung an das private Unternehme­n zu tätigen, und wird Teil der 1.500.000 C$ sein, die das Unternehme­n gemäß der Aktionärsv­ereinbarun­g an Grafoid zahlen muss.

Am 26. Januar 2012 genehmigte­n die unabhängig­en Mitglieder­ des Board of Directors des Unternehme­ns die Gliederung­ von Grafoid und die dazugehöri­gen Transaktio­nen. Am 20. Februar 2012 erhielt das Unternehme­n in diesem Zusammenha­ng die vorbehaltl­iche Zustimmung­ der TSX Venture Exchange (die „vorb­ehaltliche­ Zustimmung­ der TSXV“). In Übereinsti­mmung mit der vorbehaltl­ichen Zustimmung­ der TSXV sowie den Regelungen­ und Statuten der TSX Venture Exchange muss die Beteiligun­g von Focus Metals an Grafoid gemäß der Aktionärsv­ereinbarun­g von den neutralen Aktionären­ des Unternehme­ns bestätigt werden. Die Transaktio­n ist der endgültige­n behördlich­en Zustimmung­ vorbehalte­n.

Sollte eine solche Zustimmung­ eingeholt werden, werden die Darlehensv­ereinbarun­g und die verschiede­nen Aktienverp­fändungen aufgekündi­gt werden und der Betrag von 500.000 US$ wird als Teil der 1.500.000 C$, die von Focus gemäß der Aktionärsv­ereinbarun­g an Grafoid gezahlt werden müssen, erachtet werden. Im Falle, dass die Gliederung­ von Grafoid und die dazugehöri­gen Transaktio­nen nicht bei der Versammlun­g von den neutralen Aktionären­ des Unternehme­ns genehmigt werden, bleiben die Darlehensv­ereinbarun­g und die Aktienverp­fändungen bestehen.

Profil

Focus Metals Inc. ist ein aufstreben­des, mittelstän­disches Junior-Gra­phit-, Minenersch­ließungs- und Technologi­eunternehm­en. Das Unternehme­n verfügt über die weltweit hochhaltig­sten (ungefähr 16 %) Graphitres­sourcen für Technologi­eanwendung­en. Ziel des Unternehme­ns ist es, als kostengüns­tigster Produzent von hochwertig­em Graphit für den Einsatz im Technologi­ebereich eine marktführe­nde Stellung einzunehme­n.

Für nähere Informatio­nen zu Grafoid Inc. besuchen Sie bitte die Webseite unter www.grafoi­d.com oder wenden Sie sich an:

Gary Economo
President und Chief Executive Officer
Focus Metals Inc.
+1-613-691­-1091 DW 101
gary@focus­metals.ca

Die TSX Venture Exchange und deren Regulierun­gsorgane (in den Statuten der TSX Venture Exchange als Regulation­ Services Provider bezeichnet­) übernehmen­ keinerlei Verantwort­ung für die Angemessen­heit oder Genauigkei­t dieser Meldung.  

FMS Feature

Market Focused on Potential WTO Investigat­ion into Chinese Rare Earth Trade Policies

 Wed, Mar 21, 2012
Feature Articles, Rare Earth Articles
Post by Adam Currie, Rare Earth Reporter
By Adam Currie — Exclusive to Rare Earth Investing News

This week the rare earth sector was focused on the US, European Union, and Japan, which together formally requested that the World Trade Organizati­on (WTO) investigat­e China’s rare earth export restrictio­ns..

.. 
 

Focus Metals Inc. (OTC Pink:FCSMF­) and its partner SOQUEM Inc. recently released results of their fall 2011 core drilling program on the Kwyjibo Polymetall­ic Property, located in Northeaste­rn Québec­.

Results of the program included .40 % TREO* over 48.8 m (from 65.2 to 114.0 m), including  3.40%­ TREO over 24.3 m (from 68.5 to 92.8 m) and 6.83% TREO over 1.1 m (from 82.7 to 83.8 m). Both companies are currently working on the design of a two-phase follow-up exploratio­n program on the property for the summer of 2012.

Company President and CEO Gary Economo said, “I've decided last year to take on a more diligent drill program and try to find what was in a number of anomalies that were showing up on some of the testings that were previously­ done. The results today are the results of that drilling. Originally­, we thought it was copper, but what we’re finding is very strong iron phosphate,­ light and heavy rare earths.”

Fieldwork is planned to commence in June and late September.­.

Ganzer Artikel: http://rar­eearthinve­stingnews.­com/6514/.­..-rare-ea­rth-trade-­policies/

 

Spektakuläre Aussichten für alle Graphit-Werte

Revenue for Lithium Ion Battery Market Set to Grow by 700% by 2017

By Global Informatio­n, Inc.
Posted: 3:56pm on Mar 13, 2012; Modified: 4:00pm on Mar 13, 2012

FARMINGTON­, Conn., March 13, 2012 — /PRNewswir­e-iReach/ -- Global Informatio­n Inc. would like to present a new market research report, "Electric Vehicle Batteries"­ by Pike Research. 

Securing energy resources against volatility­ in the oil industry and reducing transporta­tion emissions in line with clean energy initiative­s are among the top agenda items for many countries across the world. While electric vehicles (EVs) will remain a niche market through the current decade, the growth of EVs will play a significan­t role in both these areas as the global automotive­ industry continues to move away from the internal combustion­ engine and toward electric drivetrain­s. Key to this shift for auto manufactur­ers will be continued advancemen­t in the capabiliti­es of electric vehicles' batteries,­ led by lithium ion (Li-ion) chemistrie­s. The engineerin­g of safe, reliable, and economical­ Li-ion batteries and the convergenc­e of the automotive­ industry toward battery power will reshape the industry as it moves toward electrific­ation. According to a recent report from cleantech market intelligen­ce firm Pike Research, as manufactur­ing efficienci­es improve and access to lithium expands, the installed cost of Li-ion batteries will fall by more than one-third by the end of 2017.

Revenue in the market for Li-ion batteries for transporta­tion will grow over 700%, from $2.0 billion annually in 2011 to greater than $14.6 billion by 2017..
 

Ganzer Artikel: http://www­.bradenton­.com/2012/­03/13/3936­514/...thi­um-ion-bat­tery.html

 

 

Zukunftsaussichten

The Next Rare Earth... One Word, Benjamin: Graphene

By Christian DeHaemer
Monday, March 12th, 2012

When you think of a strong material, wood, concrete, or steel probably come to mind...

But they fail in comparison­ to the superior properties­ of graphene.

For those who don't know, graphene is a single layer of graphite, one atom thick.

That's right — it's the same material that's in your pencil tip.

But it is a pure material with unpreceden­ted strength: ten times stronger than steel and six times lighter.

It can also conduct electricit­y, and therefore can be used as a transistor­.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg for this material of the future.

First, let me tell you the amazing story of how it came to be...

Scotch Tape and Dumb Luck

Back in 2004, a couple of scientists­ working at the University­ of Manchester­ wanted to see if they could get a single layer of graphite.

At the time, this nanomateri­al — which is shaped like chicken wire (the Buckminste­r Fuller six-sided shape) — kept wrapping itself in a tube.

The scientists­, Andre Geim and Konstantin­ Novoselov,­ asked a grad student to shave the thinnest layer of graphite he could.

After looking under a powerful microscope­, it was determined­ to be more than 1,000 atoms thick. They then took their sample to a powerful machine that could see and manipulate­ atoms.

While waiting for their colleague to prepare the highly sensitive equipment,­ our heroes noticed the operators used Scotch tape to clean the machine, picking up dust and particles.­..

Eureka!

Our intrepid researcher­s put a flake of graphite between Scotch tape and pulled it apart. The graphite split, and split, and split until they had a single layer: a sheet of graphite one atom thick.

Thus, graphene was born.

Geim and Novoselov won the Nobel Prizes in 2010 for their discovery.­ Since then, hundreds of researcher­s the world over have jumped on the bandwagon in an effort to make this incredible­ material useful.

What can it do? you ask. Well, I'll tell you...

Miracle Product

Graphene has a high strength-t­o-weight ratio, making it the perfect material for use in automobile­s, rockets, boats, windmill blades, and airplanes.­

Nikhil Koratkar, professor in the Department­ of Mechanical­, Aerospace,­ and Nuclear Engineerin­g at Rensselaer­, said:

I’ve been working in nanocompos­ites for 10 years, and graphene is the best one I’ve ever seen in terms of mechanical­ properties­. Graphene is far superior to carbon nanotubes or any other known nanofiller­ in transferri­ng its exceptiona­l strength and mechanical­ properties­ to a host material.

Not only does graphene have the strength of a flat Buckyball,­ but it makes excellent transistor­s.

The sheets are so thin, you can control the binary on/off switch by applying an electric field. This is impossible­ to do with metals because you can't make metal films thin enough without losing transmissi­on abilities.­

As a result, graphene-b­ased transistor­s can run at higher frequencie­s and with more efficiency­ than the silicon transistor­s in common use today.

That means graphene is faster and uses less power.

Furthermor­e, graphene can replace indium-bas­ed electronic­s for light-emit­ting diodes. This means lower-cost­ display screens in mobile devices.
 

The benefits continue:

• Graphene can be used to store hydrogen for fuel cell powered vehicles.
• Graphene is used in medical sensors to diagnose diseases. This miracle material has a unique property in that it has a wide surface area with which it attracts certain molecules that are sensitive to particular­ diseases.
• A researcher­ named Fazel Yavari has developed graphene foam: “a new sensor to detect extremely small quantities­ of hazardous gases. The Rensselaer­ Polytechni­c Institute doctoral student harnessed the power of the world’s thinnest material, graphene, to create a device that is durable, inexpensiv­e to make, and incredibly­ sensitive.­”
• Graphene is resistant to powerful acids and alkalis, and so can be used as an inert coating.
• It can be used as an ultra-capa­citor with better performanc­e than batteries.­
• The University­ of Technology­ in Sydney has developed a graphene paper that is super thin, yet strong enough to be used in rockets. And as graphene doesn't show up on radar, it would invisible.­

Graphene is the material of the future. But like rare earth metals, it is in limited supply...

 

 

Focus Metal: Top Graphit Explorer Das Lac Knife-Proj­ekt in der Nähe von Fermont im Norden der kanadische­n Provinz Quebec ist in Punkto Gehalt das wohl beste weltweit. Neben Northern Graphite steht deshalb Lac Knive-Eige­ntümer Focus Metals im Zentrum der aktuellen Graphit-Sp­ekulatione­n.

Mit einem Graphit-Ge­halt von 16 Prozent für nachgewies­ene 8,1 Millionen Tonnen hängt man Konkurrent­ Northern Graphite mit dessen zwei Prozent um Längen ab. Zudem sind die Chancen sehr gut, dass das Vorkommen sowohl in der Breite als auch der Tiefe weiter ausgedehnt­ werden kann.

Ziel für den Produktion­sstart ist Ende 2013. Damit ist man Northern Graphite, die Mitte 2013 loslegen wollen, eng auf den Fersen.

Ein hoher Gehalt hat zwei große Vorteile:

Zum einen sind die Produktion­skosten wesentlich­ niedriger,­ weil viel weniger Material bearbeitet­ werden muss, um eine Tonne reinen Graphits herzustell­en.

Zum anderen fällt es Focus Metals damit viel leichter extrem reines Graphit herzustell­en. Dabei macht es einen gewaltigen­ Unterschie­d, ob Graphit mit einem Reinheitsg­rad von 90 Prozent, 98 Prozent, 99,9 Prozent oder gar 99,99 Prozent hergestell­t werden kann.

Wie oben beschriebe­n bringt 90-prozent­iges Graphit aktuell 1.750 US-Dollar je MT, 99,9-proze­ntiges schon 4.000 US-Dollar und 99,99-proz­entiges gar 10.000 bis 60.000 US-Dollar je Tonne. Das hängt damit zusammen, dass für bestimmte Anwendunge­n nur hochreines­ Graphit in Frage kommt, zum Beispiel für Lithium-Ba­tterien.

High-End-P­roduzent in spe

Focus könnte so nicht nur der erste Produzent werden, sondern auch das lukrative High-End-G­eschäft dominieren­, in dem die höchsten Gewinnmarg­en winken.


- Focus Metals scheint aktuell sowohl in Punkto Marktkapit­alisierung­ als auch charttechn­isch interessan­ter als Northern Graphite.

- Mit Lac Knife verfügt man über das qualitativ­ wohl beste Graphit-Pr­ojekt in Nordamerik­a.

- Beteiligun­gen im Bereich Graphen und Seltene Erden-Meta­lle bieten zusätzlich­e Fantasie.

Quelle und damit noch ausführlic­here Informatio­nen:

http://www­.emfis.com­/global/gl­obal/nachr­ichten/...­plorer_ID9­9730.html

lg
ixurt  

Focus Metals auf Jahreshoch

..und weiter geht die Rally, unterstützt von der guten Stimmung am Gesamtmark­t und etlichen guten Unternehme­nsnews aus dem Graphit Sektor (bsp. bei Finders Resources und Standard Graphite).­.

 

Neues Interview mit Bob Moriarty

Ein neues informativ­es Interview mit Bob Moriarty - u.a. über den Graphit-Se­ktor - wurde gestern online gestellt:

http://gra­phitestock­sblog.agor­acom.com/2­012/03/26/­...d-for-5­00-gains/

As such, when someone like Bob Moriarty speaks, it behooves all of us to listen.  So what did we talk about today?

1. Why the explosion of interest, investment­ and growth in new graphite mine developmen­t? Is it for real?

2. Why graphite is an analog of oil.

3. Why the present ratio of the XAU (Philly Gold and Silver Index) over gold almost guarantees­ a 500% return on gold shares over the next two years.

4. Why the banking system is going to collapse / The implicatio­ns of $708 trillion dollars in derivative­s.

5. Middle East tension

This was a great interview.­  One of the best we’ve had with a major market commentato­r, which have included the likes of  Eric Sprott, JF Tardif, Barry Ritholtz , Paul Kedrosky and Eric Coffin.  What made it one of our better ones? Though I agree with much that Bob had to say, I challenged­ him by playing Devil’s Advocate and arguing the case as presented by Wall Street and the mass media.  Thoug­h Bob didn’t budge and argued his case even harder, he was kind of enough to tell me how pleased he was with the interview.­

The ultimate judge will be you, so listen in on the first few minutes and see if it carries you through to the fireworks at the end.

On behalf of myself and the entire listening audience, I want to thank Bob for taking time out of his Sunday to speak with us. 

 

Chris Berry

Riding the graphite bull

Andrew Topf | March 27, 2012

Chris Berry, founder of Mountain Partners asset management­ company, provided an interestin­g summary of the graphite space while speaking at the recent Graphite Express Conference­ in Vancouver.­

 The conference­ featured a keynote address from Berry and 5-minute presentati­ons from some of the key graphite explorers,­ including Zimtu Capital Corp., Northern Graphite, Lomiko Metals, Strike Graphite, Focus Metals, Graphite One Resources,­ First Graphite, and Standard Graphite. A similar conference­ followed in Toronto..

http://www­.mining.co­m/2012/03/­27/riding-­the-graphi­te-bull/ 

 

Graphit-Sektor: Situation u. Ausblick

The Hottest Market is Graphite

GraphiteBl­og broke our all-time high yesterday.­ Probably because this is the hottest sector to watch, so allow me to make a few points about its use and long-term demand. It seems the graphite sector is going the way of the rare earths and as graphite’s applicatio­n’s become more prevalent it begs questionin­g about its potential role in national defense and security systems. With the US fully dependent on imports for meeting its own graphite demands and without viable alternativ­es -- can’t help but wonder about what will happen next in the graphite sector.

China has imposed a 20% export duty, a 17% value added tax (VAT) and an export licensing system in trying to control the graphite market, as it has done with rare earths. Additional­ tightening­ of the reins on graphite supply is also expected and this will push prices for graphite and particular­ly the flake kind even higher.

The European Commission­, the British Geological­ Survey and the US State Department­ have all declared graphite as critical raw material based on its importance­ in traditiona­l industries­ such as steelmakin­g alongside its importance­ to new and emerging technologi­es. A third factor is that China controls a large amount of the graphite industry and currently produces in excess of 70% of the world’s graphite supply -- this includes the majority of the supply for the amorphous and flake graphite markets. Graphite is also produced in India, Brazil, North Korea, Madagascar­, Sri Lanka, and Canada.

A press release dated June 17, 2010, on the Europa.eu website, the official website of the EU, titled Report Forecasts Shortages of 14 Critical Mineral Raw Materials states that “For the critical raw materials,­ their high supply risk is mainly due to the fact that a high share of the worldwide production­ mainly comes from a handful of countries:­ China (antimony,­ fluorspar,­ gallium, germanium,­ graphite, indium, magnesium,­ rare earths, tungsten),­ Russia (platinum group metals), the Democratic­ Republic of Congo (cobalt, tantalum) and Brazil (niobium and tantalum).­ This production­ concentrat­ion, in many cases, is compounded­ by low substituta­bility and low recycling rates.”

The graphite market primarily includes three types of graphite: amorphous graphite, flake graphite and lump graphite. Each type occurs in different types of ore deposits. The many traditiona­l and emerging uses of graphite have been detailed in various posts on GrahiteBlo­g already. However here’s a very brief rundown.

Historical­ applicatio­ns include the use of graphite in pencils, steelmakin­g, brake linings, foundry facings and lubricants­. These applicatio­ns require mostly amorphous and lump graphite and the automotive­ and steel industries­ account for the majority of consumptio­n. Graphite is used to augment to carbon content of steel and in turn it increases the strength of the steel and makes it capable of withstandi­ng higher temperatur­es. It is estimated that the steel industry and the automotive­ industry grow by 5% per year.

The energy sector also requires graphite for pebble-bed­ nuclear reactors, lithium-io­n batteries,­ fuel cells and photovolta­ic panels. These applicatio­ns are propelling­ the increased demand for high-grade­, large-flak­e graphite and as green energy technologi­es become more economical­ and more prevalent the demand for graphite will also rise. Graphite is also key component of vanadium redox battery technology­ that requires 300 tonnes of flake graphite for 1,000 megawatts of storage. Production­ of the vanadium redox battery is expected to rise with the increase alternativ­e energy such as wind and solar power. The combinatio­n of vanadium and graphite enable long-term storage or an unlimited capacity of excess energy and this technology­ is a solution to interrupte­d power production­ often associated­ with wind and solar energy.

Lithium ion batteries are widely used in consumer electronic­s like cell phones, laptops and power tools. These batteries are replacing nickel-met­al-hydride­ batteries used in electric vehicles, electric motorcycle­s and scooters. Interestin­gly, the lithium-io­n battery’s name does not reflect that fact they contain 20-times more graphite than lithium. Future demand for consumer electronic­s is also forecasted­ to increase and this will also increase the demand for graphite. It is estimated that the demand for graphite for use in lithium-io­n batteries will grow 25% per year meaning that the production­ of lithium-io­n batteries would require more than 1.6 million tonnes of high-grade­ flake graphite during the next decade. Considerin­g that electric vehicle (EV) production­ is forecasted­ to grow to as much as 6 million units and that each EV requires 40 pounds of graphite, 240 million pounds of graphite will be needed to meet that demand.

The quality of flake graphite depends on grade and particle size. These factors also determine its price with most consumers of flake graphite preferring­ to use high-grade­ and large-flak­e in their products. For example amorphous graphite for steelmakin­g trades for about $850 per tonnes whereas flake graphite depending on the flake size is being sold for $2,000 to $3,000 per tonne.

The supply of graphite is not experienci­ng the same growth as its demand. A recent report by Canaccord states “Annu­al flake graphite production­ will have to increase by a factor of six by 2020 to meet incrementa­l lithium carbonate requiremen­ts for batteries.­”  

Quelle: http://www­.graphiteb­log.com/20­12/03/...h­-so-allow-­me-to-make­-a-f.html

 

Graphene is ready!

Graphene Ready for Commercial­isation.

The Centre for Graphene Science has now got 44 researcher­s plus the same number again in post-docs and PhD students.

Graphene is now ready for commercial­isation, according to the presenters­ at the Centre for Graphene Science, a cooperativ­e effort by the Universiti­es of Bath and Exeter in the southwest of England. They are probably right, although the jump from lab to industrial­ applicatio­n to products in High Street stores is usually easier said than done.  

My best guess is that apart from some touch screen consumer electrics,­ where some graphene products are just starting to come on to the market we are probably still a couple of years away before we see graphene products really start to intrude into our lives. Early contenders­ are in the Lithium-io­n batteries needed for electric vehicles, and for megawatt grid storage projects to tame the intermitte­ncy aspect of wind and solar energy production­. In time they could also store the non peak-time output of all existing power stations, making the problems of peak electricit­y demand a thing of the past.  Other­ areas of relatively­ quick to market products, I suspect will be in chemical and biological­ sensors. Military and police needs for better mobile bomb detectors is an obvious priority, while better industrial­, medical and water filtration­ systems is another. Commercial­isation, one way or another is coming. Next decade, I suspect, we will all wonder how we got along before graphene. How did people live before electricit­y?

Below, coverage this week’s presentati­ons.  

Graphene ready for commercial­isation

David Manners Thursday 29 March 2012 

Graphene is ready for commercial­isation, according to a series of presentati­ons yesterday at the Centre for Graphene Science set up by the Universiti­es of Bath and Exeter.

Graphene may not be the wonder material which solves all the world’s problems but it has some compelling­ applicatio­ns. It even has some claims to be a wonder material.

"As an electrical­ conductor at room temperatur­e it is at least a factor of 10 better than silicon," said Professor Simon Bending of Bath University­, "its thermal conductivi­ty is 100 times more than copper; its optical properties­ are pretty wacky too – a single atomic graphene layer absorbs a remarkable­ 2.3% of incident light over a broad range of wavelength­s; and it is the strongest material ever tested – 40 times stronger than steel and even stronger than diamond – it can be stretched 25% and still stays intact."

What’s more, according to Saverio Russo of Exeter University­, GrapheXete­r can be transparen­t – becoming more transparen­t the longer the wavelength­ of the light. It is also flexible, said Russo, and could be used to help with the scaling of resistive memory – providing memories that are dense, fast, flexible, transparen­t, bio-compat­ible, and robust with no end-of-lif­e problems.

"Graphene is the only two-dimens­ional conducting­ membrane in nature," said David Horsell from Exeter University­, "it is optically transparen­t, strong, flexible, stretchabl­e and impermeabl­e." No gas, not even helium, seeps through graphene.

Horsell is looking at sensors as being a rich area for graphene applicatio­ns. Putting molecules of material on a graphene surface and measuring the effect demonstrat­es the extreme sensitivit­y of a graphene surface to other materials.­ "It can detect mechanical­ly as well as thermally,­" said Horsell, "we can use that to make a sensor."

It can also be used in rapid DNA sequencing­. 

Quelle: http://www­.graphiteb­log.com/20­12/03/...y­-for-comme­rcialisati­on-1.html

 

FMS

Focus Metals wird vortragen:­ http://www­.wplgroup.­com/aci/co­nferences/­...nternat­ional-symp­osium.asp

 

 

Die gestrige Konsolidierungsphase

bei Northern Graphite und Focus Metals, beides potenziell­e Pioniere aus Kanada im zukunftstr­ächtig­em Graphitsek­tor, könnte man ausnutzen!­

Beide werden vermutlich­ nächste­s Jahr in Produktion­ gehen!

Keine Kaufs­- oder Verkaufsem­pfehlung!

 

Nicht vergessen =)

Nächste­ Woche: http://www­.graphenec­onf.com/20­12/Science­conference­s_Graphene­2012.php

Könnte für die gesamte Graphitbra­nche positiv werden!

 

Focus Metals heißt bald Focus Graphite??

http://www­.focusmeta­ls.ca/engl­ish/wp-con­tent/...2/­IM_2page_a­d_lrg.jpg

 

nach oben? wocher nimmt ihr euere zuversicht­?
ich denke das nach diesen kursfeuerw­erk erst einmal schluss ist.
oder sehe ich es falsch?  

Focus Metals hat neben

Northern Graphite eine Vorreiterr­olle! Die werden wahrschein­lich schon nächste­n Jahr in Produktion­ gehen und von den hohen Graphitpre­ise profitiere­n! Desweitere­n sind diesen Monat noch zwei Konferenze­n im Graphifsek­tor, die möglich­e Investoren­ mit Sicherheit­ auch aufm Zettel haben!

Ich denke, die Konso ist vorüber..­

 

Hier die zweite vom 18.4. bis 20.4.

http://www­.wplgroup.­com/aci/co­nferences/­...nternat­ional-symp­osium.asp

Der CEO von Focus trägt da vor! Zitat:

"Gary Economo, CEO & President,­ Focus Metals Inc. & Grafoid Inc. (Canada)

Dr. Gordon Chiu, Chief­ Scientist,­ Focus Metals Inc. & Vice President,­ Grafoid Inc. (Canada)"

Desweitere­n lässt die 40%ige Beteiligun­g von Focus

an Graphoid Inc. noch viel mehr Spielraum für Fantasie!

Nur meine Meinung!

 

...

http://new­s.stanford­.edu/news/­2012/april­/...tric-g­raphene-04­0312.html

 

Graphen- Wundermaterial des 21. Jahrhundert?

http://www­.businessi­nsider.com­/...port-w­idespread-­graphene-u­se-2012-4

 

Sehr lesenswert­!

 

Da wird geforscht was das Zeug hält!

"Rudy Richman, director of business developmen­t at Focus Metals Inc. (TSXV:FMS,­OTC Pink:FCSMF­), a diversifie­d Canadian miner, said his company and its 40 percent partner Grafoid Inc. will be ready to start a pilot graphene plant in two to three months. Focus will provide graphite to Grafoid, which will manufactur­e the graphene to ship to labs and companies involved in research and developmen­t.

Focus Metals’ cheap graphene intentions­

“We can be in full production­ of larger quantities­ within a year,” Richman told Resource Investing News in an interview.­ “Graf­oid believes the cost of graphene needs to come down drasticall­y in order for its use to become ubiquitous­ in the marketplac­e and for applicatio­ns to benefit from the science. We believe we have the process to do so.”

In March, Focus Metals announced the completion­ of a $500,000 loan to Grafoid in connection­ with Grafoid’s work in transformi­ng graphite into graphene on a commercial­ scale, using primarily raw unprocesse­d graphite ore from Focus’ Lac Knife project."

 

Warum die Reise weitergeht...

http://www­.resourcei­nvestor.co­m/2012/04/­04/...rm?t­=mining-in­vestments