TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – March 1, 2017) –
Editors Note: There are three photos associated with this press release.
Alabama Graphite Corp. (“AGC” or the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE:CSPG)(OTCQB:CSPGF)(FRANKFURT:1AG) is pleased to announce that senior officials of the Company were asked to meet with the Honorable Richard C. Shelby, senior United States Senator for Alabama. Representatives of the Company, including President and Chief Executive Officer Donald Baxter, P.Eng. and Executive Vice President Tyler Dinwoodie, recently met with Senator Shelby in Coosa County, Alabama. Mr. Baxter and Senator Shelby spoke at length.
Topics discussed included AGC’s sourced-and-made-in-USA battery-ready Coated Spherical Purified Graphite (“CSPG”) business model, the Company’s U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”) focused business strategy, the recently released ultra-high-purity 99.99997% graphite purity results via the Company’s proprietary, environmentally sustainable process, and the upcoming milestones necessary to advance AGC to production, including the Feasibility Study for the flagship Coosa Graphite Project.
Additionally, Mr. Baxter discussed the criticality of a secure, accessible domestic supply of battery-ready graphite from within the contiguous United States, in addition to the geopolitical and environmental issues with Chinese-produced graphite and, further, the fact that some Chinese graphite is being sourced from North Korea.
Senator Shelby was very well versed on the challenges that the United States faces regarding battery-ready graphite as a strategic, critical material. The Senator expressed a deep appreciation for the importance of maintaining a domestic supply of battery-ready graphite for the DoD’s vast battery requirements.
Following the meeting, Senator Shelby stated: “I am very interested in domestically sourced-and-manufactured graphite, especially from the great state of Alabama. The DoD has expressed concerns regarding potential export controls from China and the impact to military applications. Alabama Graphite’s work is positive for our state’s economic growth potential, and is also important to our national security. As a member of the United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, I intend to address the United States’ supply of battery graphite with the Administration and the DoD.”
Mr. Baxter and Mr. Dinwoodie met with senior representatives of Senator Shelby, former United States Senator for Alabama and current United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and U.S. Representative Gary Palmer, representing the Alabama’s Sixth Congressional District, in Washington, D.C. in late 2016.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of ALABAMA GRAPHITE CORP.
Donald K. D. Baxter, P.Eng., President, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director
ABOUT ALABAMA GRAPHITE CORP.
Alabama Graphite Corp. is a Canadian-based flake graphite exploration and development company as well as an aspiring battery materials production and technology company. The Company operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Alabama Graphite Company Inc. (a company registered in the state of Alabama). With an advancing flake graphite project in the United States of America, Alabama Graphite Corp. intends to become a reliable, long-term US supplier of specialty high-purity graphite products, namely Coated Spherical Purified Graphite (CSPG) engineered for use in lithium-ion batteries. A highly experienced team leads the Company with more than 100 years of combined graphite mining, graphite processing, specialty graphite products and applications, advanced battery development and graphite sales experience. Alabama Graphite Corp. is focused on the exploration and development of its flagship Coosa Graphite Project in Coosa County, Alabama, and its Bama Mine Project in Chilton County, Alabama as well the research and development of its proprietary manufacturing and technological processing process of battery materials.
Alabama Graphite Corp. holds a 100% interest in the mineral rights for these two US-based graphite projects, which are both located on private land. The two projects encompass more than 43,000 acres and are located in a geopolitically stable, mining-friendly jurisdiction with significant historical production of crystalline flake graphite in the flake graphite belt of central Alabama, also known as the Alabama Graphite Belt (source: US Bureau of Mines). A significant portion of the Alabama deposits are characterized by graphite-bearing material that is oxidized and has been weathered into extremely soft rock. Both projects have infrastructure in place, are within close proximity to major highways, rail, power and water, and are approximately three hours (by truck or train) to the Port of Mobile, the Alabama Port Authority’s deep-seawater port and the ninth largest port by tonnage in the United States (source: US Army Corps of Engineers/USACE). The state of Alabama’s hospitable climate allows for year-round mining operations and the world’s largest marble quarry (which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in Sylacauga, Alabama), is located within a 30-minute drive of the Coosa Graphite Project.
On November 30, 2015, Alabama Graphite Corp. announced the results of a preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”) for the Coosa Graphite Project, indicating a potentially low-cost project with potential positive economics. Please refer to the Company’s technical report titled “Alabama Graphite Corp. Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the Coosa graphite Project, Alabama, USA” dated November 27, 2015, prepared by independent engineering firms AGP Mining Consultants Inc. and Metal Mining Consultants Inc., and filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Note: a preliminary economic assessment is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized.
* Inferred Mineral Resources represent material that is considered too speculative to be included in economic evaluations. Additional trenching and/or drilling will be required to convert Inferred Mineral Resources to Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no guarantee that all or any part of the Mineral Resource will be converted into a Mineral Reserve.
Alabama Graphite Corp. is a proud member of the National Association of Advanced Technology Batteries International (“NAATBatt International“), a US-based, not-for-profit trade association commercializing advanced electrochemical energy-storage technologies for emerging, high-tech applications.
For further information and updates on the Company or to sign up for Alabama Graphite Corp. News, please visit www.alabamagraphite.com or follow, like and subscribe to us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities laws (“forward-looking statements”), which may include, without limitation, statements with respect to any potential expansion in the Company’s planned product line, any potential ability to effectively utilize the Company’s possible secondary processed production, the undertaking, completion and results of any possible tests and studies of the Company, any potential additional benefits to using ultra-high purity graphite in Li-ion batteries, the Company’s potential to become a bottom-quartile cost producer of CSPG with the lowest initial CAPEX costs in the space, and any potential relationships between the Company and battery manufacturers, the DoD and any other related entities. The forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management and reflect Alabama Graphite Corp.’s current expectations. When used in this press release, the words “estimate”, “project”, “belief”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “plan”, “predict”, “may” or “should” and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current view of Alabama Graphite Corp. with respect to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things, the interpretation and actual results of current exploration activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of graphite; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company’s publicly filed documents. Forward-looking statements are also based on a number of assumptions, including that contracted parties provide goods and/or services on the agreed timeframes, that equipment necessary for exploration is available as scheduled and does not incur unforeseen breakdowns, that no labor shortages or delays are incurred, that plant and equipment function as specified, that no unusual geological or technical problems occur, and that laboratory and other related services are available and perform as contracted. Forward-looking statements are made based on management’s beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and Alabama Graphite Corp. undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements (unless required by law) if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Alabama Graphite Corp. cautions that the foregoing list of material factors and assumptions are not exhaustive. When relying on Alabama Graphite Corp. forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and assumptions and other uncertainties and potential events.
Alabama Graphite Corp. has also assumed that the material factors and assumptions will not cause any forward-looking statements to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors and assumptions is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors.
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Ann-Marie M. Pamplin
Vice President, Investor Relations
+1 (416) 309-8641
[email protected]
