GLK Strengthens Board With New Director Appointment November 27, 2017, Toronto: The Board of Directors of Great Lakes Graphite Inc. (“GLK” or the “Company” TSX-V:GLK, OTC PINK:GLKIF, FWB:8GL) today announces the appointment of Brett Clark as a Director of the Company, subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.
Mr. Clark has spent the past twenty-five years working in the mining and energy sectors in funding, operations, and advisory. He has extensive leadership experience from the numerous board director and CEO/CFO positions held at medium-large multinational public companies. His expertise ranges from project development to operations, sales and marketing in gold, iron ore, copper, nickel, coal, industrial minerals, and upstream oil and gas across a number of continents. His experience includes the US and Asian capital markets, encompassing middle markets, and structured debt, equity, and mezzanine transactions.
Mr. Clark said, “The world is moving in a direction that creates enormous potential for companies like Great Lakes Graphite. The Company has begun demonstrating traction in the market and now requires depth in key areas. I’ve developed and lead some very innovative projects in my career which are quite complementary to the value chain creation that Great Lakes Graphite is developing.”
Included among Brett Clark’s assignments and projects:
- First robotics and automated laboratory in iron ore and in mining globally: Worked in the automotive industry to introduce robotics and automated machines to sample and analyse ore that provided quick and accurate turnaround of results. The automated lab concept was subsequently embraced and reproduced by multiple global mining companies.
- First driverless train in Australia and largest operated globally in the bulk commodity industry: Designed, developed and implemented a Train Control Vehicle that would attach to the front of a GE locomotive that would then control three locomotives and the 200 cars of iron ore, each carrying 100 tonnes.
- Single Person Product Handling operation: Served as Owner’s Representative on a project that implemented a world first in one person automation of a bucket wheel reclaimer, train loader and driverless train via a digital control system utilising proximity sensors, radar and other forms of triple built in redundancy. The system was then implemented across many new mines in the bulk commodity industry.
- Product Manufacturing: Served as an Operations VP/GM for a large bulk commodity mining operation in North America that produced more than a dozen different products totaling about 12 million tonnes to a demanding distressed customer base, the steel industry. As supply exceeded demand in the steel industry, bespoke products were developed to maintain production across all mines and process plants.
Mr. Clark is a Managing Partner at Doonbeg Group, a maritime, project finance, metals and mining, and specialty lending merchant bank offering advisory services across a wide spectrum of interests. Doonbeg has assembled a strong team of professionals with many decades of financial advisory and asset management experience on Wall Street, complimented by a unique blend of executive experience in the maritime and extractive industries. Mr. Clark holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Curtin University in Western Australia and Graduate Diploma of Business Management and Finance from Deakin University in Victoria. CEO Paul Gorman said, “We continue to seek the best people we can find to lead our Company and who bring the skills and experience needed to achieve our objectives. Great Lakes Graphite and the Doonbeg Group share a common desire to build an entity that becomes a significant player in the graphite processing space. By combining our respective strengths we mitigate risk and vastly improve our probability of success.”
Clarification of financing terms, debenture is non-convertible
In the news release distributed on November 10, 2017, the Company announced it had closed a financing in the form of an interest-bearing secured convertible loan. The Company wishes to clarify that the loan is, in fact, non-convertible.
About Great Lakes Graphite: Great Lakes Graphite is a Clean Technology Minerals Processing Company supplying customers with innovative, high quality value-added carbon products.
There is no significant graphite production in North America now.
As pricing and demand continue to rise, Great Lakes Graphite is one of the first new domestic suppliers to a growing regional customer base. We continually work to deliver products of the best quality with outstanding customer service.
The Company is party to an agreement for long-term supply of high quality natural graphite concentrate from Brazil. Great Lakes Graphite is presently working with an established US-based processor for toll micronization services. The Company has partnered with Ashland Advanced Materials for commercial-scale purification operations at Ashland’s 110,000 square foot purification facility located in Niagara, New York.
Through our partner relationships, Great Lakes Graphite began selling micronized synthetic graphite beginning in 2016 and now supplies micronized and high purity micronized natural flake graphite products to a growing customer base.
Further information regarding Great Lakes can be found on the Company’s website at: www.GreatLakesGraphite.com.