Mar. 3, 2011 - Focus Metals Inc. will receive a 40-per-cent ownership stake in a forthcoming Canada-United States-Asia joint venture to explore graphite mining, the company revealed as part of further details of the coming deal.
The alliance, first announced Feb. 23, plans patent development and global-rights graphing for applications of graphite, which is commonly used in steelmaking, solar panel manufacturing and lithium-ion batteries.
Ottawa's Focus will have joint majority ownership with a private, as-yet-undisclosed Hong Kong company, which will also own 40 per cent of the venture.
A small Korean firm will comprise 10 per cent, and another company owned by Gordon Chiu, the newly minted chief scientist and managing director, will also have a 10 per cent share. Neither company was named in the release.
The venture will have no assets upon startup and will receive all of its initial capital from the partners, with all intellectual property held within the venture. The first-year budget is expected to be $300,000.
"The JV will conduct research into graphene applications and work with universities and other private and public research facilities to identify graphene applications with commercial potential," the release stated.
"Once identified, the JV intends to license the intellectual property rights to such graphene applications and then work to commercialize such applications through license arrangements with industry."
Focus owns a graphine property at Lac Knife, Que., which it said "fits squarely into the strategic plan" of the joint venture.
On its website, the junior mining company lists its vision as managing a long-term source of graphite to sell to the renewable energy sector.
The company finished a non-brokered private placement in December and met its target of $1.25 million, and also closed a separate placement that targeted $2 million in funds.
"The closing of this financing round takes Focus Metals another step forward in its development," stated Mr. Economo at the time, adding graphite and neodymium would be the two prime minerals Focus will target in the coming quarters.
"The financing strengthens our balance sheet for the development of our Lac Knife graphite property and other possible strategic acquisitions in 2011."
It had less luck with a private placement announced in August, which generated only $289,500 out of a planned $300,000.
Focus, which owns a second property called Kwyjibo, also acquired all the issued and outstanding shares of 3765351 Canada Inc., a subsidiary of IAMGOLD, in October.
The alliance, first announced Feb. 23, plans patent development and global-rights graphing for applications of graphite, which is commonly used in steelmaking, solar panel manufacturing and lithium-ion batteries.
Ottawa's Focus will have joint majority ownership with a private, as-yet-undisclosed Hong Kong company, which will also own 40 per cent of the venture.
A small Korean firm will comprise 10 per cent, and another company owned by Gordon Chiu, the newly minted chief scientist and managing director, will also have a 10 per cent share. Neither company was named in the release.
The venture will have no assets upon startup and will receive all of its initial capital from the partners, with all intellectual property held within the venture. The first-year budget is expected to be $300,000.
"The JV will conduct research into graphene applications and work with universities and other private and public research facilities to identify graphene applications with commercial potential," the release stated.
"Once identified, the JV intends to license the intellectual property rights to such graphene applications and then work to commercialize such applications through license arrangements with industry."
Focus owns a graphine property at Lac Knife, Que., which it said "fits squarely into the strategic plan" of the joint venture.
On its website, the junior mining company lists its vision as managing a long-term source of graphite to sell to the renewable energy sector.
The company finished a non-brokered private placement in December and met its target of $1.25 million, and also closed a separate placement that targeted $2 million in funds.
"The closing of this financing round takes Focus Metals another step forward in its development," stated Mr. Economo at the time, adding graphite and neodymium would be the two prime minerals Focus will target in the coming quarters.
"The financing strengthens our balance sheet for the development of our Lac Knife graphite property and other possible strategic acquisitions in 2011."
It had less luck with a private placement announced in August, which generated only $289,500 out of a planned $300,000.
Focus, which owns a second property called Kwyjibo, also acquired all the issued and outstanding shares of 3765351 Canada Inc., a subsidiary of IAMGOLD, in October.
