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Local resistance to Lomiko Metals’ Outaouais graphite mine

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It’s been a while since BC-based Lomiko Metals has rated more than a passing mention here. Back in June 2024 the company experienced a rough patch regarding their plans to mine for graphite in one of their Québec mines, from a June 9, 2024 article by Joe Bongiorno for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) news online,

In Quebec’s Laurentians region, a few kilometres from a wildlife reserve and just outside the town of Duhamel, lies a source of one of the world’s most sought after minerals for manufacturing electric vehicle batteries: graphite.

Since Lomiko Metals Inc., a mining company based in Surrey, B.C., announced plans to build a graphite mine in the area, some residents living nearby have protested the project, fearing the potential harm to the environment.

But opposition has only gained steam after locals found out last month that the [US] Pentagon is involved in the project.

In May, Lomiko announced it received a grant of $11.4 million from the U.S. Department of Defence and another $4.9 million from Natural Resources Canada to study the conversion of graphite into battery-grade material for powering electric vehicles.

In its own announcement, the Pentagon said Lomiko’s graphite will bolster North American energy supply chains and be used for “defence applications,” words that make Duhamel resident Louis Saint-Hilaire uneasy.

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Depending on how you view things, this is either good news for bad news in a September 17, 2024 news item on CBC news online, Note: Links have been removed,

Two Quebec cabinet ministers say the province will not fund a proposed graphite mine north of Gatineau because it doesn’t meet the government’s standards for local support.

B.C.-based Lomiko Metals has been testing samples from its La Loutre site near the town of Duhamel, which the company says on its project website has shown “excellent graphite properties” for making batteries.

Many nearby residents have been against the proposal for years due to a perceived threat to outdoor recreation and associated businesses. No environmental assessment of the site has been conducted.

La Loutre has drawn funding from the Canadian and American governments for its potential role in the switch from gas to electric vehicles and related drop in fossil fuel emissions, but Minister Responsible for the Outaouais Region Mathieu Lacombe said Monday [Sept4ember 16, 2024] the project lacks provincial support.

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Lacombe pointed to Premier François Legault indicating in 2022 that no mining project will be carried out without what’s referred to in the province as “social acceptability” — essentially, buy-in from affected communities.

Natural Resources Minister Blanchette Vézina said the company’s request for funding from Investissement Québec wouldn’t be successful because it lacks public support.

Lomiko Metals has not responded to requests from Radio-Canada for an interview. It’s not clear what the company will do next, or what will happen with a referendum on the project scheduled for November 2025.

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Embedded in the September 17, 2024 news item is a radio segment where an expert further dissects the implications of the news.

For anyone interested in graphite, I have a January 3, 2023 posting, “Making graphite from coal and a few graphite facts.” There have been some changes with the ‘graphite facts’ since the posting was published but most of the other information should still be valid.

Here are the updated facts from the Natural Resources Canada Graphite Facts webpage, which was updated March 1, 2024,

Graphite is a non-metallic mineral that has properties similar to metals, such as a good ability to conduct heat and electricity. Graphite occurs naturally or can be produced synthetically. Purified natural graphite has higher crystalline structure and offers better electrical and thermal conductivity than synthetic material.

Key facts

  • In 2022, global graphite mine production was about 1.3 million tonnes, a 15% increase from 2021.
  • Canadian natural graphite production comes from the Lac des Iles mine in Quebec.
  • Canada ranks as the sixth global producer of graphite with 13,000 tonnes of production in 2022.
  • Canada exported $22 million worth of natural graphite and $14 million worth of synthetic graphite globally in 2022, mostly to the United States.

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Production

The Lac des Iles mine in Quebec is the only mine in Canada that produced graphite in 2022 [emphasis mine]. However, many other companies are working on advancing graphite projects. Canada produced 13,000 tonnes of natural graphite in 2022, which was an increase from 2021 of 9,743 tonnes.

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International context

Global production and demand for graphite are anticipated to increase in the coming years, largely because of the use of graphite in the batteries of electric vehicles. In 2022, global consumption of graphite reached 3.8 million tonnes, compared to 3.6 million tonnes in 2021. Synthetic graphite accounted for about 56% of the graphite consumption, which was concentrated largely in Asia. North America consumes only 1% of global natural graphite, but almost 9% of synthetic graphite.

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Global mine production of graphite was 1.3 million tonnes in 2022, up 15% compared to the previous year. China is the leading global producer, accounting for 66% of production in 2022. Canada ranks sixth globally for natural graphite production, producing about 1% of global natural graphite.

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It seems Lomiko Metals’ La Loutre mine will not be adding to the country’s graphite production. I wonder what the company will do now as that La Loutre mine appears to be its chief asset, from a November 23, 2023 news release, Note: A link has been removed,

Montreal, Quebec – November 23, 2023 – Lomiko Metals Inc. (TSX.V: LMR) (“Lomiko Metals” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the launch of a private placement (the “Private Placement“) to support the Company’s progress with its graphite and lithium projects in Quebec, Canada. The Private Placement will consist of hard dollar units for gross proceeds of up to $500,000.

Belinda Labatte, CEO and Director of Lomiko Metals: “Lomiko has accomplished many milestones in the last 18 months, including an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for La Loutre, environmental baseline studies and advancing the metallurgical studies. With this financing and committed investors, we will advance pre-feasibility level initiatives, and continue to advance the important discussions with communities, partners and First Nation Kitigan Zibi.”

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Retirement of Director

A special thank you and note of appreciation for Paul Gill, Executive Chair, who will not stand for re-election as he pursues other opportunities. We appreciate his service to the company and long-standing leadership at Lomiko. We wish him well in his future endeavours. Paul Gill will continue to serve as Executive Chair until the Company’s Annual and Special Meeting on December 20, 2023.

About Lomiko Metals Inc.

The Company holds mineral interests in its La Loutre graphite development in southern Quebec. The La Loutre project site is within the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg (KZA) First Nation’s territory. The KZA First Nation is part of the Algonquin Nation, and the KZA traditional territory is situated within the Outaouais and Laurentides regions.​ Located 180 kilometers northwest of Montreal, the property consists of one large, continuous block with 76 mineral claims totaling 4,528 hectares (45.3 km2).

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In addition to La Loutre, Lomiko is working with Critical Elements Lithium Corporation towards earning its 49% stake in the Bourier Project as per the option agreement announced on April 27th, 2021. The Bourier project site is located near Nemaska Lithium and Critical Elements south-east of the Eeyou Istchee James Bay territory in Quebec which consists of 203 claims, for a total ground position of 10,252.20 hectares (102.52 km2), in Canada’s lithium triangle near the James Bay region of Quebec that has historically housed lithium deposits and mineralization trends.

This is quite a setback for Lomiko Metals.

October 2024

It seems that while the company has regrouped it has entirely given up on La Loutre, from an October 30, 2024 news release,

October 30th, 2024 – Montreal, Québec: Lomiko Metals Inc. (TSX.V: LMR) (“Lomiko Metals” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the 2024 Beep-Map prospecting and sampling program is well underway on the Grenville Graphite Mineral Belt regional graphite exploration project.  The “Grenville” project includes 268 mineral claims covering 15,639 hectares on six blocks in the Laurentian region of Quebec, approximately 200 kilometers northwest of Montréal within a 100 km radius of the Company’s flagship La Loutre graphite project [emphasis mine].  The 2024 work is focused on following up on the very successful graphite results reported in the Company’s press release dated July 11, 2023.  To date, a total of 265 samples have been collected and submitted for analysis from the Dieppe, Meloche, Ruisseau and Tremblant properties, the focus of this campaign. No work is being conducted on the Carmin or North Low properties at this time.  The results of the exploration campaign will be reported as they become available.  The regional exploration program focuses on improving knowledge of graphite showings at the most prospective targets outlined in the 2022 and 2023 exploration programs.

Corporate and market update

Lomiko is part of the global transition to electrification and localization of transportation supply chains, a change that impacts all forms of transportation, cars, heavy equipment, marine etc. It also impacts communities and our talent pool to build these businesses of the future. Natural flake graphite, and specifically fine flake graphite, is crucial for the development of the North American anode industry in the new energy framework driven by tariffs on critical minerals, long-term supply chain resilience, and responsible domestic industrial growth. The La Loutre graphite is 67% fine flake distribution, making it an important source of long-term future graphite supply [emphasis mine] with demonstrated success for anode battery technology – among other uses currently being evaluated by Lomiko. According to Fortune Business Insights report dated October 14, 2024, the North American EV market is expected to grow almost quadruple to $230 billion in 2030 from $63 billion in 2022, with growth from other transportation sectors still nascent. Lomiko continues to engage with partners, customers and suppliers in building the future of this industry and developing R&D for the responsible extraction of this material.

Lomiko is initiating the reimbursement process for its recently awarded grant from the United States government and contribution agreement from the Canadian government, for work completed to date and within the scope of the agreements. It is the recipient of a Department of Defense (“DoD”) Technology Investment Agreement (“TIA”) grant of US$8.35 million (approximately CA$11.4 million) where Lomiko will match the funding over a period of 5 years, for a total agreement with the DoD of US$16.7 million. The grant falls under Title III of the Defense Production Act and is funded through the Inflation Reduction Act to ensure energy security in North America. The Company has also been approved for funding of CA$4.9 million in a non-repayable contribution agreement from the Critical Mineral Research, Development and Demonstration (CMRDD) program administered by Natural Resources Canada, with the total project cost being CA$6.6 million. The announcement was made on May 16, 2024 and can be viewed on our website at www.lomiko.com.

In addition, Lomiko announces the resignation of CFO and Corporate Secretary, Vince Osbourne, who will be pursuing a role with a private company and maintain a strategic advisory role with Lomiko going forward. Jacqueline Michael, Controller, will replace Vince Osbourne as CFO on an interim basis, with the role of Corporate Secretary to be assumed by current professionals working with Lomiko.

On behalf of the board of directors and management, Belinda Labatte, CEO and Interim Chair of the board of directors stated: “Vince has been an integral member of the Lomiko team, and we wish him success in his future endeavors, and we are pleased to continue our working relationship in his new capacity to Lomiko as advisor to the Company.”

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Now with a new administration entering the US White House has a chief advisor and co-leader of a new government agency [Department of Government Efficiency] in Elon Musk who is extremely wealthy and has many businesses, notably Tesla, an electronic vehicle (EV) business. It would seem that M. Musk might have an interest in easy access to minerals important to Tesla’s business.

I wonder how this is going to work out.

World’s first ever graphene-enhanced sports shoes/sneakers/running shoes/runners/trainers

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Regardless of what these shoes are called, they contain, apparently, some graphene. As to why you as a consumer might find that important, here’s more from a June 20, 2018 news item on Nanowerk,

The world’s first-ever sports shoes to utilise graphene – the strongest material on the planet – have been unveiled by The University of Manchester and British brand inov-8.

Collaborating with graphene experts at National Graphene Institute, the brand has been able to develop a graphene-enhanced rubber. They have developed rubber outsoles for running and fitness shoes that in testing have outlasted 1,000 miles and are scientifically proven to be 50% harder wearing.

The National Graphene Institute (located at the UK’s University of Manchester) June 20, 2018 press release, which originated the news item, provides a few details, none of them particularly technical or scientific, no mention of studies, etc.  (Note: Links have been removed),

Graphene is 200 times stronger than steel and at only a single atom thick it is the thinnest possible material, meaning it has many unique properties. inov-8 is the first brand in the world to use the superlative material in sports footwear, with its G-SERIES shoes available to pre-order from June 22nd [2018] ahead of going on sale from July 12th [2018].

The company first announced its intent to revolutionise the sports footwear industry in December last year. Six months of frenzied anticipation later, inov-8 has now removed all secrecy and let the world see these game-changing shoes.

Michael Price, inov-8 product and marketing director, said: “Over the last 18 months we have worked with the National Graphene Institute at The University of Manchester to bring the world’s toughest grip to the sports footwear market.

“Prior to this innovation, off-road runners and fitness athletes had to choose between a sticky rubber that works well in wet or sweaty conditions but wears down quicker and a harder rubber that is more durable but not quite as grippy. Through intensive research, hundreds of prototypes and thousands of hours of testing in both the field and laboratory, athletes now no longer need to compromise.”

Dr Aravind Vijayaraghavan, Reader in Nanomaterials at The University of Manchester, said: “Using graphene we have developed G-SERIES outsole rubbers that are scientifically tested to be 50% stronger, 50% more elastic and 50% harder wearing.

“We are delighted to put graphene on the shelves of 250 retail stores all over the world and make it accessible to everyone. Graphene is a versatile material with limitless potential and in coming years we expect to deliver graphene technologies in composites, coatings and sensors, many of which will further revolutionise sports products.”

The G-SERIES range is made up of three different shoes, each meticulously designed to meet the needs of athletes. THE MUDCLAW G 260 is for running over muddy mountains and obstacle courses, the TERRAULTRA G 260 for running long distances on hard-packed trails and the F-LITE G 290 for crossfitters working out in gyms. Each includes graphene-enhanced rubber outsoles and Kevlar – a material used in bulletproof vests – on the uppers.

Commenting on the patent-pending technology and the collaboration with The University of Manchester, inov-8 CEO Ian Bailey said: “This powerhouse forged in Northern England is going to take the world of sports footwear by storm. We’re combining science and innovation together with entrepreneurial speed and agility to go up against the major sports brands – and we’re going to win.

“We are at the forefront of a graphene sports footwear revolution and we’re not stopping at just rubber outsoles. This is a four-year innovation project which will see us incorporate graphene into 50% of our range and give us the potential to halve the weight of running/fitness shoes without compromising on performance or durability.”

Graphene is produced from graphite, which was first mined in the Lake District fells of Northern England more than 450 years ago. inov-8 too was forged in the same fells, albeit much more recently in 2003. The brand now trades in 68 countries worldwide.

The scientists who first isolated graphene from graphite were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2010. Building on their revolutionary work, a team of over 300 staff at The University of Manchester has pioneered projects into graphene-enhanced prototypes, from sports cars and medical devices to aeroplanes. Now the University can add graphene-enhanced sports footwear to its list of world-firsts.

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A picture of the ‘shoes’ has been provided,

Courtesy: National Graphene Institute at University of Manchester

You can find the company inov-8 here. As for more information about their graphene-enhanced show, there’s this,from the company’s ‘graphene webpage‘,

1555Graphite was first mined in the Lake District fells of Northern England

2004Scientists at The University of Manchester isolate graphene from graphite.

2010The Nobel Prize is awarded to the scientists for their ground-breaking experiments with graphene.

2018inov-8 launch the first-ever sports footwear to utilise graphene, delivering the world’s toughest grip.

Ground-breaking technology

One atom thick carbon sheet

200 x stronger than steel

Thin, light, flexible, with limitless potential

inov-8 COLLABORATION WITH THE NATIONAL GRAPHENE INSTITUTE

Previously athletes had to choose between a sticky rubber that works well in wet or sweaty conditions but wears down quicker, and a harder rubber that is more durable but not quite as grippy. Through intensive research, hundreds of prototypes and thousands of hours of testing in both the field and laboratory, athletes now no longer need to compromise. The new rubber we have developed with the National Graphene Institute at The University of Manchester allows us to smash the limits of grip [sic]

The G-SERIES range is made up of three different shoes, each meticulously designed to meet the needs of athletes. Each includes graphene-enhanced rubber outsoles that deliver the world’s toughest grip and Kevlar – a material used in bulletproof vests – on the uppers.

Bulletproof material for running shoes?

As for Canadians eager to try out these shoes, you will likely have to go online or go to the US.  Given how recently (June 19, 2018) this occurred, I’m mentioning the US president’s (Donald Trump) comments that Canadians are notorious for buying shoes in the US and smuggling them across the border back into Canada. (Revelatory information for Canadians everywhere.) His bizarre comments occasioned this explanatory June 19, 2018 article by Jordan Weissmann for Slate.com,

During a characteristically rambling address before the National Federation of Independent Businesses on Tuesday [June 19, 2018], Donald Trump darted off into an odd tangent in which he suggested that Canadians were smuggling shoes across the U.S. border in order to avoid their country’s high tariffs.

There was a story two days ago in a major newspaper talking about people living in Canada coming into the United States and smuggling things back into Canada because the tariffs are so massive. The tariffs to get common items back into Canada are so high that they have to smuggle ‘em in. They buy shoes, then they wear ‘em. They scuff ‘em up. They make ‘em sound old or look old. No, we’re treated horribly. [emphasis mine]

Anyone engaged in this alleged practice would be avoiding payment to the Canadian government. How this constitutes poor treatment of the US government and/or US retailers is a bit a of puzzler.

Getting back to Weissman and his article, he focuses on the source of the US president’s ‘information’.

As for graphene-enhanced ‘shoes’, I hope they are as advertized.