Focus Metals (TSXV:FMS)(OTCQX:FCSMF) President and CEO, Gary Economo, who holds the same office in Grafoid Inc., has released news regarding Grafoid Inc. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/grafoid-inc-and-rutgers-university-sign-mou-to-jointly-develop-and-commercialize-polymer-and-non-polymer-technology-graphene-applications-from-focus-metals-lac-knife-graphite-resource-2011-12-01?reflink=MW_news_stmp
This is extremely good news, as Rutgers University is a very respected institution. Rutgers is one of the nations foremost research universities. http://www.rutgers.edu/about-rutgers/who-we-are
For anyone who may be new to Focus Metals or Grafoid, let me quickly give you a brief outline on both companies.
Focus Metals Inc. is an emerging mid-tier junior mining company, a technology solutions supplier and a business innovator. It is the owner of the highest-grade (approximately 17%) technology graphite resource in the world. The company's goal is to assume a dominant industry leadership position by becoming the lowest-cost producer of technology-grade graphite. As a technology-oriented enterprise with a view to building long-term, sustainable shareholder value, Focus Metals is invested in the development of graphene applications and patents through Grafoid Inc.
Grafoid Inc. is a Canadian, privately-held joint venture created to research and develop commercial applications and patents from graphene, sourced exclusively from Focus Metals' Lac Knife, Quebec technology graphite resource. One of its aims is to set a universal standard for the mass production of graphene for industrial applications.
Grafoid's founders, partners and officers are: Mr. Jeffrey York, Chairman; Mr. Gary Economo, President and CEO, and; Dr. Gordon Chiu, Vice President and Chief Scientist. Ms. Judith Mazvihwa-MacLean is Chief Financial Officer. The company's ownership structure, as set out in its Articles of Incorporation is as follows: Focus Metals, 40%; Mr. Jeffrey York, 20%; Mr. Gary Economo 20%, and; Dr. Gordon Chiu 20%. This structure enables Focus Metals to further explore and eventually profit from opportunities for creating graphene and graphene applications without compromising its primary corporate objective of developing its Lac Knife property.
The fact that Grafoid Inc. has aligned themselves with such a prestigious facility speaks volumes as to the level of research that will performed on the graphite from Focus Metals' 100% owned, Lac Knife graphite deposit. The graphite will provide the source for the graphene that Grafoid and Rutgers will be conducting research on. In order for Grafoid to attract the attention of Rutgers, concerning the quality of the graphite, and obviously the resultant graphene, is a feat that I believe should bring Focus Metals into plain view of the entire world, in terms of graphite/graphene related companies. Rutgers is well known for their ability in researching and developing. http://www.rutgers.edu/research/research-rutgers
http://amipp.rutgers.edu/html/research.html
Professor Thomas Nosker is well respected for, both, his many accomplishments, and the many years of dedication and commitment. http://amipp.rutgers.edu/html/group_member_nosker_thomas.html
One statement that I particularly liked, was the following statement from the news release, "Grafoid, in cooperation with Rutgers AMIPP will focus its investigations initially on infrastructural, aviation, automotive and other applications." These are all areas which stand to benefit greatly from the type, and caliber of research which we can look forward to Grafoid and Rutgers producing, as a joint effort.
At this point, Focus Metals, stands out from all of its competitors, and this coming week will have Gary in London for the World Graphite Conference, which Focus Metals is sponsoring. This is a tremendous opportunity for Focus Metals, since the entire world, in terms of graphite/graphene associated companies, will undoubtedly be in attendance. The amount of interest that Focus Metals can garner from these companies will in all likelihood be quite significant following the news release of Dec. 1, 2011. Add to this the fact that the 43-101 is due out before year-end, and need I remind you just how Focus Metals could change from their current status to a company of untold wealth.
I think that one of the things that will continue to make Focus Metals, and its subsidiary Grafoid, stand out from the rest of their competitors is the statement made by Professor Nosker.
On behalf of AMIPP (Advanced Materials via Immiscible Polymer Processing), Professor Nosker said a huge opportunity is waiting to be opened by the cooperative venture.
"I am very pleased that we have an opportunity to spearhead the exploration for the applications from the very high quality graphite received from the Lac Knife project in Canada," he said. When a Professor with the stature of Professor Nosker, and coming from one, if not the, most respected Universities regarding this type of research, refers to the graphite received from Lac Knife as "very high quality", it holds tremendous weight.
The speed at which most companies are capable of progressing a company towards their goals is generally not something that is done with the speed and meaning that the management of Focus Metals, and of course also Grafoid Inc., has shown us. When we consider that Focus Metals became a listed company in 2010, and Grafoid only came into existence just last year, they make it relatively clear that they truly are on a mission. As a start-up company in 2010, Focus Metal’s brief history has been stellar among the 2,400 emerging companies listed on the TSX-Venture Exchange.
I think anyone who has knowledge of how graphite and grapheneGrafoid Inc. and ultimately Focus Metals are positioning themselves true to their desire to be the go-to company regarding all things graphite or graphene. The best part of this whole story as it unfolds is this though, Focus Metals and Grafoid Inc. are just beginning and I believe we will see many more strides which will continually build added value to both the company and the shareholders. For those who have not done any due diligence on Focus Metals as yet, I would suggest you may want to. Obviously it may suit some investors, while it may not be appropriate for others. This is a decision that is best left to each person to make on their own. For those wishing to learn more about Focus Metals, the company website which can be found at www.focusmetals.ca is an excellent place to start.
For disclosure purposes I have not received any compensation of any kind for this post or for my opinions stated herein. All opinions expressed here are my own. I do own shares of Focus Metals.
Bru, I discovered your blog after reading a post on AGORACOM. I commend you on great posts and strongly encourage you to push them out to the public via a Twitter account as well.
ReplyDeleteBest,
George