NEWS RELEASE –
NextSource Materials Inc. (TSX:NEXT)
(OTCQB:NSRCF) (“NextSource” or “the Company”), is pleased to
announce the appointment of Mr. Brett Whalen, CFA as the Company’s
exclusive Mergers and Acquisitions (“M&A”) advisor.
Mr. Whalen has over 18 years of investment
banking and M&A expertise, spending 16 of those years at Dundee
Corporation (Dundee Corp.) where he was most recently Vice
President and Portfolio Manager. During his tenure at Dundee Corp.,
Mr. Whalen was involved in completing approximately $2 billion in
M&A deals and helped raise over $10 billion dollars in capital
to the resource sector. Dundee Corp. is currently NextSource’s
largest institutional investor with just under a 20% holding.
Mr. Whalen currently sits on the boards of
several TSX-listed and privately held companies and holds a BA
(Honours) degree in Economics and Finance from Wilfred Laurier
University.
Extensive Knowledge in the Graphite and
Vanadium Sector
Mr. Whalen has extensive knowledge of both
graphite and vanadium. Mr. Whalen served as director and Chairman
of the Board of American Vanadium Corp. while it developed its
Gibellini Vanadium Project (now wholly owned and operated by
Prophecy Development Corp). In addition to developing
the Gibellini Deposit, American Vanadium also held the North
American rights to sell the CellCube Energy Storage Battery,
currently the world’s most advanced and installed vanadium flow
redox battery.
Given the aggressive growth forecasts for
graphite and vanadium for high-quality steel applications and
especially for use in batteries for electric vehicles and renewable
energy storage systems, the world’s consumption of these two
strategic materials is forecasted to go much higher. As such, there
is going to be a significant strain on supply of both graphite and
vanadium as electric vehicle and renewable energy storage demand
takes off.
Mr. Whalen commented, “The opportunity ahead for
NextSource is tremendous as they continue to make substantial
progress in positioning the company as a major player in the
strategic energy and battery materials sector. With their
world-class graphite and vanadium assets, the potential for them to
be a key supplier of critical materials essential to the battery
supply chain has attracted heightened attention from global
consumers. Batteries are going to permeate our lives, and I am
excited to be involved during this important time in the company’s
development and to accelerate their growth plan."
Craig Scherba, President & CEO commented,
“Brett will add a special dimension to moving NextSource’s projects
forward as his proven skills are well understood and acknowledged
in the capital markets arena. The company is very fortunate to have
had Brett’s counsel and support in the past as our largest
institutional investor and we are delighted that he has chosen to
be involved in the next critical steps of the company’s
development.”
Graphite and Vanadium Prices near
15-Year Highs
Both graphite and vanadium prices are
experiencing near 15-year highs and are capturing significant and
renewed attention for their respective roles as critical battery
materials.
Flake graphite (+80 mesh, 96%-97% carbon (“C”)
purity) currently sells for approximately $1250 per tonne (FOB
China) while uncoated spherical purified graphite (SPG) 15 micron
for anode applications in lithium-ion batteries sells for an
average of $3600 per tonne. By volume, graphite is the
largest raw material in a lithium-ion battery. Currently,
approximately 100,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of battery-grade
graphite is consumed annually for anodes today. Bloomberg New
Energy Finance forecasts that approximately 700,000 tpa of
battery-grade graphite will be consumed annually by next decade due
to the expected penetration rates of electric vehicles.
Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) currently sells for
US$33 per pound. Vanadium was the best-performing battery metal
last year, out performing lithium, cobalt and nickel with the price
appreciation being driven by tightening supply and increased demand
for vanadium, particularly in China where they have mandated higher
vanadium content for high-strength construction rebar.
Demand remains robust across all major end-use
applications for vanadium and China’s new high-strength rebar
standard, designed to limit the use of inferior steels in
construction, has the potential to further increase China’s
intensity of use of vanadium dramatically. The policy came into
force this month and industry analysts expect Chinese vanadium
demand in 2019 to further increase substantially if the policy is
sufficiently enforced.
Graphite and vanadium share several market
consumption and growth forecast similarities. Current consumption
of graphite and vanadium are primarily tied to the steel industry,
which accounts for 60 percent and 90 percent of demand
respectively. Both are critical in the steel-making process,
however analysts expect both to experience exponential growth as
critical battery materials. Graphite demand is forecasted to double
in the next 5 years for its use as the anode material in
lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, while vanadium is
expected to experience significant demand for its use as both the
anode and the cathode in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRB), which
are widely regarded as the leading technology for industrial-scale
batteries.
The Molo Graphite Project – an Advanced
Project Using Full Modular Build Approach
The Molo Graphite Project is a feasibility-stage project and
ranks as one of the largest-known and highest quality flake
graphite deposits in the world, and the only project with
SuperFlake® graphite.
As announced in the Company’s June 2017 Feasibility Study, the
Molo Project will be built in two phases: Phase I will be a
full-scale mine with a production rate of 17,000 tonnes per annum
(“tpa”) of SuperFlake® graphite concentrate and with a mine life
exceeding 30 years. The mine capital cost is estimated at US$18.4
million and with a build time of only 9 months. Phase I production
is currently targeted for early 2020 and is subject to mine
financing. Phase II of the Molo mine will consist of an expansion
to over 51,000 tpa and will be implemented as soon as market demand
supports such an expansion.
Due to NextSource using a unique, fully modular build approach,
the Molo Project will have the lowest capital cost of any proposed
or competing graphite mine. The Molo Project is also verified to
have one of the lowest operating costs in the industry, based on a
full-cost CIF-basis.
The Green Giant Vanadium Project – A
Unique Resource
The Green Giant vanadium project is one of the
largest and highest-grade vanadium resources in the world. Situated
just 15 kilometres from the Company’s Molo Graphite project, the
Green Giant hosts a NI 43-101 indicated resource of 49.5 million
tonnes grading 0.693% V2O5 (756.3 million pounds V2O5), and an
inferred resource of 9.7 million tonnes grading 0.632% V2O5 (134.5
million pounds V2O5) at a 0.5% cut-off.
What makes the Green Giant Vanadium Project
particularly unique among the majority of vanadium deposits in the
world is that it is a sediment-hosted deposit. It is
estimated that less than five percent of vanadium occurrences occur
in sedimentary environments.
As the Green Giant Vanadium Project is
sediment-hosted, it does not contain substantial iron, which must
be removed for battery applications. As such, it is believed that
this provides an advantage when producing the high-purity vanadium
pentoxide, which is a key precursor material required to produce
the high-purity electrolyte (98.5%+) needed to power a
VRB.
Two Strategic Assets that Position
NextSource Well for the Future
The global quest to efficiently harness
renewable energy into a battery has been described as the “holy
grail” of energy storage and the growth opportunities for efficient
energy storage systems are substantial. Although the Company is
currently focused on the development of its very advanced Molo
Graphite Project into a mine, management believes that the market
demand for both graphite and vanadium will be strong as these
critical battery minerals are key materials in battery chemistries
for large-scale energy storage systems. The Company continues to
believe strongly in the market potential of VRBs as a leading
technology for these applications, and in particular the off-take
potential for a high-purity vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) concentrate
from our Green Giant Project. Serendipitously, the two
critical materials required to power a VRB are vanadium and flake
graphite.
As such, NextSource considers its graphite and
vanadium projects to be strategic assets that complement its
ambitious goal of providing the next source of strategic battery
materials that will change the world.
Qualified Persons
Mr. Craig Scherba, P.Geo., President and CEO, is
the qualified person who reviewed and approved the technical
information provided in this press release.
ABOUT NEXTSOURCE MATERIALS
INC.
NextSource Materials Inc. is a mine development
company based in Toronto, Canada, that is developing its 100%-owned
Molo Graphite Project in southern Madagascar. The Molo Graphite
Project is a feasibility-stage project and ranks as one of the
largest-known and highest quality flake graphite deposits in the
world and the only project with SuperFlake® graphite. In addition,
NextSource has 100% ownership of its NI 43-101 compliant Green
Giant Vanadium Project, located just 12 kilometres from the Molo
Graphite Project. The Green Giant Project is a rarely occurring
sedimentary-hosted deposit that also ranks as one of the
largest-known and highest in-situ grade vanadium resources in the
world.
For further information contact:
+1.416.364.4911Brent Nykoliation, Senior Vice President, Corporate
Development atbrent@nextsourcematerials.com or Craig
Scherba, President and CEO
at craig@nextsourcematerials.com
Safe Harbour: This press release contains
statements that may constitute “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Readers
are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to, the terms of the Offtake Agreement, results of the updated 2017
Feasibility Study, any and all product test results and product
analysis, any statements relating to the further partnership and
value added opportunities, production at the Molo project, delivery
of the material and pricing terms, any and all demand estimates for
graphite and vanadium, and indicated and inferred resource
estimates for Green Giant project. These are based on current
expectations, estimates and assumptions, and although the Company
believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, actual results or
developments may vary and, in some instances, differ materially
from those anticipated by the Company and described in the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release. No
assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the
forward-looking statements will transpire or occur or, if any of
them do so, what benefits the Company will derive there from. The
forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made
as at the date of this news release and the Company does not
undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable
securities laws.
NextSource Materials (TSX:NEXT)
과거 데이터 주식 차트
부터 10월(10) 2024 으로 11월(11) 2024
NextSource Materials (TSX:NEXT)
과거 데이터 주식 차트
부터 11월(11) 2023 으로 11월(11) 2024
