August 16, 2017 NextSource Materials Inc. (TSX:NEXT) (OTCQB:NSRC) (“NextSource” or “the Company”), announces that it has successfully registered SuperFlake® as a trademark in Europe.
The registration of the SuperFlake® trademark means that NextSource now has the exclusive right to use this trademark on all natural graphite sold in the European Union that it produces from its feasibility-stage Molo Graphite Project in Madagascar.
In conjunction with its application for trademark registration in Europe, the Company also applied for and is awaiting status on being awarded the exclusive right to use SuperFlake® in Canada, the United States, South Korea and Japan. These key jurisdictions represent the top demand markets for flake graphite and the locations where NextSource intends to sell its natural flake graphite concentrate.
Craig Scherba, P.Geo., President and CEO of NextSource commented,
“Numerous potential offtakers and end-product manufacturers have verified through their own extensive and independent testing that our Molo graphite concentrate meets or exceeds the quality requirements for all the major end-markets for natural flake graphite, namely refractories, anode material for lithium-ion batteries, specialty graphite foils for the consumer electronics and fire retardant industries and graphene ink applications. The SuperFlake® trademark reinforces to the marketplace that our Molo Project will produce a distinct graphite concentrate, that in turn can provide our potential strategic partners with a means to further differentiate their product offerings to their respective customers.”
As detailed in the June 2017 updated Feasibility Study, the SuperFlake® graphite concentrate can achieve 98% carbon (C) purity with simple flotation, has excellent thermal expansion, can be easily upgraded to 99.97% purity (battery grade) and contains no deleterious substances. The SuperFlake® graphite concentrate also has excellent flake size distribution that is well above the global average, with 46.4 percent being classified as +80 (large), +65 (extra large) and +48 (jumbo) mesh in flake size. Specifically 23.6 percent of SuperFlake® graphite concentrate is +48 mesh and greater in size.
The timing of this trademark registration in Europe coincides well with the Company’s accelerated timeline for targeted Phase 1 production of SuperFlake® graphite in 2018. Phase 1 will consist of a fully operational and sustainable graphite mine with a permanent processing plant capable of producing approximately 17,000 tonnes per annum (“tpa”) of high quality SuperFlake® graphite concentrate per year over a mine life of 30 years.
The results of the Company’s updated Feasibility Study were previously announced on June 1, 2017 and highlighted the following:
• Phase 1 will utilize a unique, fully-modular build platform, resulting in a build cost of only US$18.4 million and a build time of just 9 months
• The Molo Project will have the lowest capital mine cost of any new and competing graphite project and one of the lowest operating costs in the industry to ship SuperFlake® graphite concentrate to European ports on a full-cost, CIF basis
• Using current-day flake graphite prices and realistic production volumes, Phase 1 of the Molo mine realizes a pre-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 25.2% and a post-tax IRR of 21.6%.
• Eventual Phase 2 expansion to approximately 50,000 tpa of SuperFlake® graphite concentrate will also incorporate the Company’s unique modular build approach and can be efficiently implemented as market demand requires.
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.
For further details, the entire updated 2017 Feasibility Study titled, “Molo Feasibility Study National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report” is available to view on NextSource’s website at www.nextsourcematerials.com.
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.
For further information contact: +1.416.364.4911
Brent Nykoliation, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development at brent@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 and United States securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are related to the information contained in this press release and the Company’s corporate presentation, which refers to results of the updated Feasibility Study, the results of the previous 2015 Molo Feasibility Study, funding of the development of the Molo Project, implementation and commencement of the build-out of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Molo Project, commencement of production at the Molo Project, commencement of procurement for mine infrastructure, the procurement of equipment to construct a mine, value engineering, any and all product test results and product analysis, the permit application. These are based on current expectations, estimates and assumptions that involve a number of risks, which could cause actual results to vary and in some instances to 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.