The following is a Stockhouse Q&A interview with
Great Lakes Graphite Inc. (
TSX: V.GLK,
Stock Forum) Chief Marketing Officer Paul Ferguson.
Why should people think about investing in Great Lakes Graphite right now?
For investors, the rule is to buy low. That means seeking out high quality companies during periods when the market has discounted everything, right across the board. Some companies have not just survived but have also taken advantage of opportunities that appear during such times. That’s one reason investors should be considering Great Lakes Graphite.
In addition, the company is completing work on a NI 43-101 resource estimate. Assuming we are able to demonstrate a respectable resource, the company will earn the right to move up a category on the valuation scale. This is a particularly important milestone for the company that we expect to complete shortly.
What sets you apart from other junior companies in the graphite space?
Well for one thing we don’t think of ourselves as a junior. While we technically fit the description, it isn’t how we see ourselves or where we are driving this company which is why we refer to ourselves instead as an industrial minerals company. Our focus is on the market, on customers, on preparing to meet the demand for value-added graphite products.
Most resource juniors are focused on their property, and while that is a high priority for us, it is not an exclusive focus. We are customer centric and seeking the shortest path to get into the market.
Tests have shown that graphite samples from your Lochaber project in southwestern Quebec can be used to produce a graphite concentrate containing more than 57% large flakes. Can you outline what that means to a layman investor and how that might take you forward in achieving the goals that you have set for the company?
There was an article in Industrial Minerals recently that discussed the importance of flake size. Stephen Riddle of Asbury Carbons was quoted in that article as saying that his ideal deposit has purity of 94% and as high a percentage of large flake as possible. And the reason for that is quite simple, that is the type of natural graphite that you need to have to produce the high value graphite products. A high grade, high quality, at-surface natural graphite project is a critical element in our plan and enables us to plan for a small footprint, low CAPEX, environmentally sustainable operation.
“My ideal project is a graphite mine that would produce at a 94-96% purity level. It would have as much medium (plus-80 mesh) and large flake (plus-50 mesh) as possible. The lower the percentage of fine flake (minus-80 mesh), the better, since it is the most abundant material in the market and thus has the lowest selling price….”
Stephen Riddle, Asbury Carbons CEO, in The Mining Report
Generally speaking, who do you think your customers will be?
For the most part, our customers already exist as prospects in the marketing database we've built in Salesforce. Over the past several years we have had lots of conversations with lots of companies who use graphite, so we have a very good idea of who we will be ringing when the time comes to start dialing.
Also, the name Great Lakes Graphite was intentionally chosen to convey a regional focus.
We certainly have a global outlook, but we think we will be most successful in the industrial minerals space by focusing on domestic markets with consistent, high quality products and excellent customer service.
Who are the key players on your management team? What do they bring to the table in terms of their ability to help you achieve your goals?
Great Lakes Graphite strongly believes that an experienced management team is the key to successfully implementing our business plan. We engaged people that have experience in business, mineral beneficiation, mineral processing, plant design and a proven ability to get the job done. We also looked for experience in the graphite space. Our team has over 150 years of experience in all areas of mining, with much of it in graphite. From our CEO to our operations people, we have all the criteria for a successful execution of our plan in place.
What are the near term milestones that investors should look for in the next 12 months?
The next milestone is the results from purity testing of the bulk sample we collected recently. Based on the results of earlier work as well as some of the testing we have done, we anticipate that the results will confirm that the graphite from Lochaber has the characteristics associated with the higher value products.
The milestone after that is a major one, it’s the NI 43-101 resource estimate on Lochaber.
Having a resource will literally put the company into a different category.
Immediately after the estimate is published, assuming it is satisfactory, the company will proceed immediately to commission a full feasibility study. That effort will require significant time and attention but in parallel to that we will be initiating activities with potential customers, including a sampling program. In order to accomplish our goals on our timeline it is important to get out into the market and begin engaging with potential customers as soon as possible.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Great Lakes Graphite is a client of Stockhouse Publishing.