Graphex Group Limited and its Royal Oak-based subsidiary, Graphex Technologies, has entered a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) with Gratomic Inc., a graphite company based in Toronto.
The intent of the LOI is to combine Gratomic’s raw material supply capabilities with Graphex’s proven downstream processing expertise to solve an industry wide supply-demand gap by delivering an end-to-end supply of graphite from mine to battery with facilities to be in North America.
Pursuant to the LOI, Graphex and Gratomic intend to negotiate the terms of a joint venture (JV), including management and ownership structures, to jointly produce coated spherical graphite anode material for the EV/battery market.
Graphex will license and/or contribute its technology and expertise to the JV and Gratomic will provide security of raw material supply. It is contemplated that Graphex will provide all the technology, plans, and expertise for building and operating the plant(s). Graphex has existing processing facilities in Asia and has also secured and is developing a site in Warren that is being designed to produce 15,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) of battery anode material.
Gratomic is the holder of 100 percent interests in the Aukam property located in southern Namibia and the Buckingham property in Quebec, Canada, as well as mineral claims in Capim Grosso in Brazil, from which property rights and claims Gratomic intends to develop operating graphite concentrating facilities. Gratomic shall remain entitled to enter into supply agreements with third parties for raw material not committed to the JV.
“Keeping with our commitment to secure diversified sources of graphite supply to meet the industry need for battery anode material, this collaboration with Gratomic opens up potential new streams of raw material to meet the coming tidal wave of demand,” says John DeMaio, CEO of Graphex Technologies.
“We are excited to expedite the due diligence phase of the collaboration to assess the impact that we can make together. Combining the experience and expertise of Graphex in downstream processing with the anticipated raw material supply from the Gratomic assets is another step forward to improve the anode supply picture for the industry.”
Arno Brand, Gratomic’s CEO, commented “We have been working diligently for a long time to find a perfect match in a downstream Processing partner to enable full cycle anode inclusion of our Graphite product.
“The collaboration between Gratomic and Graphex now brings forth a combination between the two companies that is unmatched in its ability to present real life mining experience with real life downstream processing experience. We are very excited to move forward with our due diligence and expeditiously enter into a long-lasting relationship with Graphex.”
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