Canada Carbon tables Quebec graphite estimate
Canada Carbon Inc. [CCB-TSXV, U7N1-FF] has announced an updated resource for its flagship Miller Graphite Project, which is located west of Montreal, near Grenville Sur-la-Rouge, Que.
Canada Carbon said it aims to prioritize its ability to develop Miller’s potential as a high-quality graphite deposit. “This is consistent with multiple developments in the energy sector indicating that the Miller graphite is a strategic resource for Quebec and Canada for small modular nuclear reactors and the electric battery sector,’’ the company said.
The updated estimate includes an indicated resource of 3.34 million tonnes with an average grade of 0.75% Cg (graphitic carbon), and an inferred resource of 10.5 million tonnes of average grade 0.72% Cg within the boundaries of an optimized open pit model.
“The new pit constrained graphite resources have increased by 27% compared to what was reported in the company’s Miller Project Resource Update Technical Report, dated January 23, 2017,’’ the company said in a press release. “The company has thus far completed sufficient diamond drilling and bedrock channel sampling to result in a resource estimation with a maximal depth of the pit at 150 vertical metres,’’ the company said.
It went on to say that the portion of the Miller Project which is the subject of the updated resource estimate occupies only 0.29 square kilometres within the approximately 32 kilometres of unrestricted contiguous mineral claims held by the company.
Graphite is the anode material in a lithium-ion battery and is the single largest component by weight. There are no substitutes, and almost all of it comes from China So, if electric vehicle manufacturers like Tesla Motors Ltd. [TSLA-NASDAQ] and Volkswagon succeed in meeting just a fraction of their widely publicized sales targets, more graphite mines will be needed to support the required lithium-ion battery production.
“The significant increase in the resource estimate following December’s limited drill program enhances our understanding of the mineralization through the claim area,’’ said Canada Carbon CEO Ellerton Castor.
“The revised resource model will serve as the basis of future updates of the company’s preliminary feasibility assessment,’’ he said. “The larger resource is consistent with the company’s efforts to expand its potential universe of clients in the Aerospace, Defense, and Small Modular Reactor (SMR) sectors. Additionally, we believe that it gives us an increased degree of flexibility for future pit design.’’
The latest estimate is based on diamond drill holes and channel analytical results completed by Canada Carbon since 2013. The company said 213 drill holes and 135 surface/channels, consisting of 11,885 assays were used for the mineral resource model.
On November 16, Canada Carbon shares closed at $0.055 and currently trade in a 52-week range of 10 cents and 3.0 cents.