New Focus Graphite CEO aims for strategic collaborations
Focus Graphite Inc. [FMS-TSXV, FCSMF-OTCQX, FKC-Frankfurt] has announced the appointment of Dean Hanisch as President and CEO. He succeeds Marc Roy, who previously served in the CEO role for the past four years.
The company said the leadership change marks a significant milestone in Focus Graphite’s journey as the company transitions to a new phase of growth and value realization. It said Hanisch brings a wealth of experience in strategic deal-making and business development, with a proven record of forging impactful collaborations and partnerships across multiple industries.
Focus Graphite shares were unchanged at $0.08 and trade in a 52-week range of 20 cents and $0.07.
“Dean’s mandate is clear: to build on the company’s decade-long efforts in creating a high-grade and high-purity graphite deposit at Lac Knife and to take Focus Graphite forward into the global marketplace by monetizing its advanced materials and technologies,’’ the company said in a press release.
Back in March, 2023, Focus announced the results of a feasibility study update for the Lac Knife project, the company’s 100%-owned, high-grade crystalline flake graphite deposit located about 27 kilometres southeast of Fermont in the Cote-Nord administrative region of Quebec.
The feasibility study update is based on a 27-year mine life and produced a pre-tax net present value of $500.9 million calculated at a discounted cash flow rate of 8.0% pre-tax, the financial model has an internal rate of return of 28.7% and a capital payback period of 2.8 years.
Results from the study indicate that the project is viable economically with a base case scenario that includes a concentrator production line rate of 47,781 tonnes of flake graphite concentrate annually at an average mill feed rate of 365,320 tonnes per year of mineral reserves over a 27-year mine life. A concentrator availability of 93% was used for the study. Also, the initial capital expenditure is pegged at $236.5 million.
“This feasibility study update marks a new significant milestone in the development of the Lac Knife Project,’’ said Roy. “It confirms that the project hosts a graphite deposit with an average graphitic carbon (Cg) grade of 99.7% in +80 mesh concentrate, which is exceptional in this industry.’’
In the press release announcing his appointment, Hanisch said Focus Graphite is well positioned to actively participate in this green revolution and will look to benefit from North America’s strategy of lessening its dependency on foreign controlled critical minerals. “Our Lac Knife deposit is a high-grade and purity graphite deposit supported by our proprietary green processing technologies,’’ he said.
“It is now time to harness this potential and deliver tangible value by forming strategic collaborations with industry leaders and end-users who recognize the quality of our advanced materials specifically for military and defense applications.’’