Thursday, December 8, 2011

Focus Metals releases 43-101 resource estimate and begins to show its true potential

For some people, Focus Metals (TSXV:FMS)(OTCQX:FCSMF) has been quite a ride so far. The company has had an extremely busy time since they first listed in 2010, first climbing like a rocket, then falling victim to a series of delays that were completely out of the control of the company, and now comes the long-awaited 43-101 compliancy report.There were some who refused to see the potential, others who at first believed and then let fear cloud there judgment, and of course there were those who believed strongly enough in the management and the project that we believe this is only the beginning.

For anyone who is not holding a position, or who has not been following Focus Metals, there was a news release, dated December 5, 2011,  which contained the 43-101 compliant resource estimate. http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/press-releases/2011-2/dec52011
Previous to this, all reference to the resource estimate was based on historical data, which was very close to the current resource estimate. Focus Metals management had stated in an earlier news release that the company had been told by Roche that it appeared there would be little change from the historical numbers to the more modern 43-101 standard. Now that we see this is indeed the case, it allows one to begin to realize just how huge the potential for Focus Metals is.

 Prior to this news release,  Gary Economo, Focus Metals CEO, spoke at the Industrial Minerals Roundtable in Amsterdam on December 01, 2011.
http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/presentation-and-speeches/dec12011


 There are many points made by Mr. Economo in the presentation, , but one that stands out in my mind, is how quickly he addressed the importance of SGL Carbon SE,  the world's largest graphite technology supplier. This This importance is brought into realistic terms  with Volkswagen's recent move to acquire an 8.1% stake in SGL,  and also with BMWs $100 million venture  in United States. As SGL states, “the carbon age has begun.”  If the carbon age has begun, so to has the graphene technology revolution. This falls in-line with my earlier postings, in which, I stated my expectations that SGL stands out in my opinion as a possible candidate for a potential off-take agreement. While this is only my opinion, it is with relative ease that one can see how they fit the requirements that Mr. Economo stipulated, just a few days later, at the first, Industrial Minerals Graphite Conference. This was held in London, UK on Dec. 6th and 7th. "The off-take partners we seek will have a strong marketing presence, product research and development facilities and a forward-looking vision to provide Focus Metals with a dual link to the vast global market for graphite, and over time, for our graphene." This is an excerpt from Gary's presentation on Dec. 6, 2011, and here is a link to the presentation in it's entirety,  http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/presentation-and-speeches/dec62011
This entire presentation clearly presents Focus Metals in a much more dominant role, not only because of the world class graphite deposit it owns at Lac Knife, but equally, if not more importantly because of the cost of production. While some people would view the fact that graphite could possibly face some pricing instability, from a short to mid term basis, as a negative, this is in fact what allows Focus Metals to stand ahead of any competitors. This low cost of production added to the fact that Focus Metals' Lac Knife deposit has now been confirmed to hold the world's best natural flake graphite, which in turn, is capable of producing the highest grade graphene, positions Focus Metals in a very unique position. The fact that Focus Metals has already started its search for strategic properties which hold potentially appropriate graphite deposits, and in fact has recently purchased some 200 claims, only adds to this unique position. In his conclusion to his presentation, Mr Economo stated a very provocative thought,  
"Simon Moores, in a thoughtful and reasoned lead editorial in Industrial Minerals September publication of Critical Materials for Green Energy aptly put it this way: “whoever holds the technology cards will lead the pack.”
Focus Metals is committed to being that leader."

One thing I have long noticed with Focus Metals, is the company's desire to find the ultimate amount of value they possibly can, and their graphene joint venture appears to be an entity that could potentially bring enormous value to the table. This joint venture, known as, Grafoid Inc., has just signed a MOU with Rutgers University AMIPP Advanced Polymer Center to jointly develop graphene technology applications related to both polymer and non-polymer applications. http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/press-releases/2011-2/dec12011
Under the terms of the MOU, Rutgers University, an advanced materials research center that works with industry to commercialize new technologies, commits to providing the research and inter-disciplinary laboratory facilities.
Grafoid Inc. commits to providing human resources, graphene materials from Focus Metals' Lac Knife graphite resource, and graphene expertise for research and development purposes.
The agreement was signed by Mr. Economo as President of Grafoid Inc., and Professor Thomas Nosker, Principal Investigator for Rutgers University's Advanced Polymer Materials School of Engineering.
Some people seem to miss just why Grafoid may hold this huge potential capability, to bring enormous value to both, the companies and the shareholders. Well, it is actually quite simplistic in nature. Here is an excerpt from Gary Economo's presentation on Dec. 7, 2011, at the Industrial Minerals Graphite Conference, which helps to shed some light on this topic,
"Dr. Chiu
The first was the quality of our graphite; the second was the ease of extraction of graphene from the ore and the purity of structure of that graphene.
To us, quality is everything and our quality graphite produces quality graphene.
More importantly, the graphene produced in the lab was electrically conductive, unlike vapor chemical deposition.
And those factors contributed in part, to our development of a scalable model for mass producing graphene in single and multiple layers using a simple, environmentally friendly process."
"Our raw graphite ore is superior to the refined lab graphite used by the scientific community for its graphene research."
Here is the link to the entire presentation, http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/presentation-and-speeches/dec72011
The above presentation by Mr. Economo will provide the reader with a full understanding of just what has been meant by the Focus Metals vision of reaching their mine-to-market goal, which they have mentioned many times since their inception. The only real change to this vision has been the fact that is has grown more encompassing than was initially viewed.

With all that has transpired, over the last approximately year and a half, and specifically over the last week or so, it is with full expectations that I see Focus Metals and Grafoid Inc. becoming the driving force of graphite/graphene supply outside of China. The value that will be attached to such a position remains to be seen, but it is my opinion it will be very great.

For those who would like to know more about Focus Metals, or those who would like to start some due diligence on this company, the company website can be found at www.focusmetals.ca , and this is an excellent place to start in my opinion.

For disclosure purposes I have received no compensation of any kind for this post. All views aside from quotes are my own. I do own shares in Focus Metals.

3 comments:

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  2. Wow, great article, I really appreciate your thought process and having it explained properly, thank you!

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  3. Wow, great article, I really appreciate your thought process and having it explained properly, thank you!

    ReplyDelete