Tag Archives: La Loutre Flake Graphite Property

Local resistance to Lomiko Metals’ Outaouais graphite mine

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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).

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.”

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.

Are there any leaders in the ‘graphene race’?

Tom Eldridge, a director and co-founder of Fullerex, has written a Jan. 5, 2017 essay titled: Is China still leading the graphene race? for Nanotechnology Now. Before getting to the essay, here’s a bit more about Fullerex and Tom Eldridge’s qualifications. From Fullerex’s LinkedIn description,

Fullerex is a leading independent broker of nanomaterials and nano-intermediates. Our mission is to support the advancement of nanotechnology in creating radical, transformative and sustainable improvement to society. We are dedicated to achieving these aims by accelerating the commercialisation and usage of nanomaterials across industry and beyond. Fullerex is active in market development and physical trading of advanced materials. We generate demand for nanomaterials across synergistic markets by stimulating innovation with end-users and ensuring robust supply chains are in place to address the growing commercial trade interest. Our end-user markets include Polymers and Polymer Composites, Coatings, Tyre and Rubber, Cementitious Composites, 3D Printing and Printed Electronics, the Energy sector, Lubricating Oils and Functional Fluids. The materials we cover: Nanomaterials: Includes fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and graphene, metal and metal oxide nanoparticles, and organic-inorganic hybrids. Supplied as raw nanopowders or ready-to-use dispersions and concentrates. Nano-intermediates: Producer goods and semi-finished products such as nano-enabled coatings, polymer masterbatches, conductive inks, thermal interface materials and catalysts.

As for Tom Eldridge, here’s more about him, his brother, and the company from the Fullerex About page,

Fullerex was founded by Joe and Tom Eldridge, brothers with a keen interest in nanotechnology and the associated emerging market for nanomaterials.

Joe has a strong background in trading with nearly 10 years’ experience as a stockbroker, managing client accounts for European Equities and FX. At University he read Mathematics at Imperial College London gaining a BSc degree and has closely followed the markets for disruptive technologies and advanced materials for a number of years.

Tom worked in the City of London for 7 years in commercial roles throughout his professional career, with an expertise in market data, financial and regulatory news. In his academic background, he earned a BSc degree in Physics and Philosophy at Kings College London and is a member of the Institute of Physics.

As a result, Fullerex has the strong management composition that allows the company to support the growth of the nascent and highly promising nanomaterials industry. Fullerex is a flexible company with drive, enthusiasm and experience, committed to aiding the development of this market.

Getting back to the matter at hand, that’s a rather provocative title for Tom Eldridge’s essay,. given that he’s a Brit and (I believe) the Brits viewed themselves as leaders in the ‘graphene race’ but he offers a more nuanced analysis than might be expected from the title. First, the patent landscape (from Eldridge’s Jan. 5, 2017 essay),

As competition to exploit the “wonder material” has intensified around the world, detailed reports have so far been published which set out an in-depth depiction of the global patent landscape for graphene, notably from CambridgeIP and the UK Intellectual Property Office, in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Ostensibly the number of patents and patent applications both indicated that China was leading the innovation in graphene technology. However, on closer inspection it became less clear as to how closely the patent figures themselves reflect actual progress and whether this will translate into real economic impact. Some of the main reasons to be doubtful included:

– 98% of the Chinese patent applications only cover China, so therefore have no worldwide monopoly.
– A large number of the Chinese patents are filed in December, possibly due to demand to meet patent quotas. The implication being that the patent filings follow a politically driven agenda, rather than a purely innovation or commercially driven agenda.
– In general, inventors could be more likely to file for patent protection in some countries rather than others e.g. for tax purposes. Which therefore does not give a truly accurate picture of where all the actual research activity is based.
– Measuring the proportion of graphene related patents to overall patents is more indicative of graphene specialisation, which shows that Singapore has the largest proportion of graphene patents, followed by China, then South Korea.

(Intellectual Property Office, 2015), (Ellis, 2015), (CambridgeIP, 2013)

Then, there’s the question of production,

Following the recent launch of the latest edition of the Bulk Graphene Pricing Report, which is available exclusively through The Graphene Council, Fullerex has updated its comprehensive list of graphene producers worldwide, and below is a summary of the number of graphene producers by country in 2017.

Summary Table Showing the Number of Graphene Producers by Country and Region

The total number of graphene producers identified is 142, across 27 countries. This research expands upon previous surveys of the graphene industry, such as the big data analysis performed by Nesta in 2015 (Shapira, 2015). The study by Nesta [formerly  NESTA, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is an independent charity that works to increase the innovation capacity of the UK; see Wikipedia here for more about NESTA] revealed 65 producers throughout 16 countries but was unable to glean accurate data on producers in Asia, particularly China.

As we can now see however from the data collected by Fullerex, China has the largest number of graphene producers, followed by the USA, and then the UK.

In addition to having more companies active in the production and sale of graphene than any other country, China also holds about 2/3rds of the global production capacity, according to Fullerex.

Eldridge goes on to note that the ‘graphene industry’ won’t truly grow and develop until there are substantive applications for the material. He also suggests taking another look at the production figures,

As with the patent landscape, rather than looking at the absolute figures, we can review the numbers in relative terms. For instance, if we normalise to account for the differences in the size of each country, by looking at the number of producers as a proportion of GDP, we see the following: Spain (7.18), UK (4.48), India (3.73), China (3.57), Canada (3.28) [emphasis mine], USA (1.79) (United Nations, 2013).

Unsurprisingly, each leading country has a national strategy for economic development which involves graphene prominently.

For instance, The Spanish Council for Scientific Research has lent 9 of its institutes along with 10 universities and other public R&D labs involved in coordinating graphene projects with industry.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada [NSERC] has placed graphene as one of five research topics in its target area of “Advanced Manufacturing” for Strategic Partnership Grants.

The UK government highlights advanced materials as one of its Eight Great Technologies, within which graphene is a major part of, having received investment for the NGI and GEIC buildings, along with EPSRC and Innovate UK projects. I wrote previously about the UK punching above its weight in terms of research, ( http://fullerex.com/index.php/articles/130-the-uk-needs-an-industrial-revolution-can-graphene-deliver/ ) but that R&D spending relative to GDP was too low compared to other developed nations. It is good to see that investment into graphene production in the UK is bucking that trend, and we should anticipate this will provide a positive economic outcome.

Yes, I’m  particularly interested in the fact Canada becomes more important as a producer when the numbers are relative but it is interesting to compare the chart with Eldridge’s text and to note how importance shifts depending on what numbers are being considered.

I recommend reading Eldridge’s piece in its entirety.

A few notes about graphene in Canada

By the way, the information in Eldridge’s essay about NSERC’s placement of graphene as a target area for grants is news to me. (As I have often noted here, I get more information about the Canadian nano scene from international sources than I do from our national sources.)

Happily I do get some home news such as a Jan. 5, 2017 email update from Lomiko Metals, a Canadian junior exploration company focused on graphite and lithium. The email provides the latest information from the company (as I’m not an expert in business or mining this is not an endorsement),

On December 13, 2016 we were excited to announce the completion of our drill program at the La Loutre flake graphite property. We received very positive results from our 1550 meter drilling program in 2015 in the area we are drilling now. In that release I stated, “”The intercepts of multiple zones of mineralization in the Refractory Zone where we have reported high grade intercepts previously is a very promising sign. The samples have been rushed to the ALS Laboratory for full assay testing,” We hope to have the results of those assays shortly.

December 16, 2016 Lomiko announced a 10:1 roll back of our shares. We believe that this roll back is important as we work towards securing long term equity financing for the company. Lomiko began trading on the basis of the roll back on December 19.

We believe that Graphite has a bright future because of the many new products that will rely on the material. I have attached a link to a video on Lomiko, Graphite and Graphene.  

https://youtu.be/Y–Y_Ub6oC4

January 3, 2017 Lomiko announced the extension and modification of its option agreements with Canadian Strategic Metals Inc. for the La Loutre and Lac des Iles properties. The effect of this extension is to give Lomiko additional time to complete the required work under the agreements.

Going forward Lomiko is in a much stronger position as the result of our share roll back. Potential equity funders who are very interested in our forthcoming assay results from La Loutre and the overall prospects of the company, have been reassured by our share consolidation.

Looking forward to 2017, we anticipate the assays of the La Loutre drilling to be delivered in the next 90 days, sooner we hope. We also anticipate additional equity funding will become available for the further exploration and delineation of the La Loutre and Lac des Iles properties and deposits.

More generally, we are confident that the market for large flake graphite will become firmer in 2017. Lomiko’s strategy of identifying near surface, ready to mine, graphite nodes puts us in the position to take advantage of improvements in the graphite price without having to commit large sums to massive mine development. As we identify and analyze the graphite nodes we are finding we increase the potential resources of the company. 2017 should see significantly improved resource estimates for Lomiko’s properties.

As I wasn’t familiar with the term ‘roll back of shares’, I looked it up and found this in an April 18, 2012 posting by Dudley Pierce Baker on kitco.com,

As a general rule, we hate to see an announcement of a share rollback, however, there exceptions which we cover below. Investors should always be aware that if a company has, say over 150 million shares outstanding, in our opinion, it is a potential candidate for a rollback and the announcement should not come as a surprise.

Weak markets, a low share price, a large number of shares outstanding, little or no cash and you have a company which is an idea candidate for a rollback.

The basic concept of a rollback or consolidation in a company’s shares is rather simple.

We are witnessing a few cases of rollbacks not with the purpose of raising more money but rather to facilitate the listing of the company’s shares on the NYSE [New York Stock Exchange] Amex.

I have no idea what situation Lomiko finds itself in but it should be noted that graphere research has been active since 2004 when the first graphene sheets were extracted from graphite. This is a relatively new field of endeavour and Lomiko (along with other companies) is in the position of pioneering the effort here in Canada. That said, there are many competitors to graphene and major international race to commercialize nanotechnology-enabled products.

Are there any leaders in the ‘graphene race?

Getting back to the question in the headline, I don’t think there are any leaders at the moment. No one seems to have what they used to call “a killer app,” that one application/product that everyone wants and which drive demand for graphene.

Good (graphite) flake from La Loutre?

Lomiko Metals issued a Feb. 9, 2016 news release (also received via email) about the latest graphite flake tests of its La Loutre property as it moves one step closer to acquiring 80% of the property,

Lomiko Metals Inc. (LMR.V) (LMRMF) (FSE:DH8B) and Canada Strategic Metals Inc. (CJC.V) (FSE:YXEN) (OTC Pink: CJCFF) (“Canada Strategic Metals”) are pleased to announce a Resource for the La Loutre Flake Graphite Property of 18.4 M Tonnes of 3.19% Indicated and 16.7 M Tonnes at 3.75% Flake Graphite Inferred with a cut-off of 1.5%.

The sensitivity table also features 4.1 M Tonnes of 6.5% Indicated and 6.2 M Tonnes at 6.1% Flake Graphite Inferred with a cut-off of 3%. The Resource is calculated on the Graphene-Battery Zone only and does not include recent high grade intercepts of 28.5 metres of 16.53% Cg and 21.5 metres of 11.53% Cg reported January 6, 2016 and 9% over 90.75 metres reported September 24th, 2015 from the Refractory Zone.

The La Loutre property consists of contiguous claim blocks totalling approximately 2,867.29 hectares (28.67 km2) situated approximately 53 km east of Imerys Carbon and Graphite, formerly known as the Timcal Graphite Mine, North America’s only operating graphite mine, and 117 km northwest of the International Port of Montreal, key to shipping to North America and Europe. Lomiko is currently completing an option to acquire 80% of the property which requires $665,000 more in work and issuing of 1.5 Million shares to be issue February 15th, 2016. [emphasis mine]

“The La Loutre Property is located close to the Imerys Carbon and Graphite Mine and benefits from similar infrastructure advantages and similar flake graphite grade, deposit size and near surface mineralization amenable to low cost, small footprint extraction. All of these elements make this an excellent candidate for a positive PEA”, stated A. Paul Gill, CEO, Lomiko Metals Inc., “Lomiko is proceeding with the PEA immediately.”

“We are very pleased with the results from the first resource estimate performed on the La Loutre property. The results from this resource estimate clearly demonstrate the strong potential for future development on the property, particularly with all the infrastructure around the project and the proximity with the Imerys Carbon mine. With 20% carry interest in the project, we hope to be able to leverage our interest to develop our others assets.”, stated Jean-Sébastien Lavallée, President &CEO, Canada Strategic Metals, “We are very excited by the decision to move the project forward to PEA level in the coming months.”

The La Loutre Resource is constrained within a drilled area of approximately 900 m along the N150 degrees striking trend of the graphitic paragneiss, 250 m across the strike and 225 m below surface. Geological interpretation and estimation were based on 62 NQ drill holes (totaling 8,193.3 m) drilled by Lomiko and Canada Strategic Metals in 2014 and 2015.

InnovExplo performed the geological interpretation and correlated the mineralized zones on vertical sections spaced 50 metres apart. The mineralized-zone model was constructed to outline zones of continuous mineralization along an average trend of N150 degrees and an average dip of 45 degrees. A minimum width of 4.0 meters (true width) was respected for the interpretation model. InnovExplo constructed a mineralized-zone wireframe model delimiting the geologically defined extent of all mineralized zones. The 2016 Mineral resource Estimate includes 18 graphite-bearing zones grouping elevated graphite mineralization (assays > 4% Cg), 4 graphite-bearing zones containing low graphite grade (assays

The mineral resource was estimated using 3-D block modeling (block size = 5 m x 5 m x 5 m), with the grades of the blocks calculated using the inverse distance squared (ID2) interpolation method for a 1000-metre strike length corridor of the La Loutre deposit, down to a vertical depth of 180 metres below surface.

The resources are constrained in a Pit shell of 1,100 m by 350 m by 100 m maximal depth.

The Independent and Qualified Persons for the Mineral Resource Estimate, as defined by NI 43-101, are Bruno Turcotte, M.Sc., P.Geo., and Guilhem Servelle, M.Sc., P.Geo, both of InnovExplo under the supervision of Vincent Jourdain, Ph.D., Eng., Technical Director of InnovExplo Inc.

The effective date of the estimate is January 15, 2016.

Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.

Pit constrained results are presented undiluted within a Whittle-optimized pit shell, designed with a 30-m buffer around lakes.

The estimate includes 18 graphite-bearing zones grouping elevated carbon graphite grade (assays > 4% Cg), 4 graphite-bearing zones containing low carbon graphite grade (assays

Pit constrained resources were compiled at cut-off grades of 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 % Cg. The official Pit constrained resource is reported at a cut-off grade of 1.5 % Cg.

Cut-off grades must be re-evaluated in light of prevailing market conditions (graphite price, exchange rate and mining cost).

Density (g/cm3) data used is on a per zone basis varying from 2.70 to 2.85 g/cm3.

A minimum true thickness of 4.0 m was applied, using the grade of the adjacent material when assayed, or a value of zero when not assayed.

Based on a study of the effect of high-grade values on the mean and standard deviations, as well as on log-normal histograms and probability plots, no raw assay was capped within the mineralized zones.

Compositing was done on drill hole sections falling within the mineralized zones (composite = 1.5 m).

Resources were estimated using GEOVIA GEMS 6.7 software from surface drill holes, using inverse distance squared (ID2) interpolation method in a block model (block size = 5 m x 5 m x 5 m).

By default, interpolated blocks were assigned to the Inferred category.

The reclassification to an Indicated category is defined in areas of spatial continuity in terms of information density visually observed and supported by the maximum distance to drill hole composites less than 30 m.

Calculations used metric units (metres, tonnes and %).

The number of metric tonnes was rounded to the nearest hundred. Any discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding effects; rounding followed the recommendations in NI 43-101.

InnovExplo is not aware of any known environmental, permitting, legal, title-related, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issue that could materially affect the mineral resource estimate.

Whittle parameters used (all amounts in Canadian dollars): Reference Mining cost=$3.75, milling cost=$9.40/t, G&A=$2.11/t, graphite price=$1,910/t, milling recovery=95%, wall slopes of 45 degrees in rock and 18 degrees in overburden.

QUALIFIED PERSONS

Jean-Sébastien Lavallée (OGQ #773), P. Geo, shareholder of both companies, President & CEO of Canada Strategic Metals and is Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Lavallée drafted, reviewed and approved the technical and scientific content of this press release, except for the content relating to the resource estimate.

This press release has been reviewed and approved by Bruno Turcotte, P. Geo, Guilhem Servelle, P. Geo., and Vincent Jourdain, Eng., who are qualified persons within the meaning of the National Instrument 43-101 guidelines.

The resource estimate was prepared under the supervision of Vincent Jourdain, an InnovExplo geoscientist and consulting engineer. Mr. Jourdain, an independent qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this press release as it relates to the resource estimate.

For more information on Lomiko Metals, review the website at www.lomiko.com, …

On Behalf of the Board

“A. Paul Gill”
Chief Executive Officer

We seek safe harbor. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Here’s an image included with the news release,

Magnified graphite flake

Magnified graphite flake

As I don’t understand the analysis of the flake quality, this news release has little meaning for me (so this is not an endorsement) but I do note that Lomiko Metals does seem intent on developing the La Loutre property. Also, I am wondering about their Quatre Milles property (also graphite flakes) and with the company’s plans to enter the the 3D graphene printing market.

You can find out more about Canada Strategic Metals here and Innov Explo here.