As 2011 winds down and we look forward to the ringing in of another year, I would like to look at what could potentially help investors to realize additional value from Focus Metals (TSXV:FMS)(OTCQX:FCSMF). The company has recently released their NI43-101 resource estimate, which outlines a resource very much in-line with what was expected from the historical data. There is of course, the issue of off-take agreements to be determined yet, although there is lots happening in that regard according to CEO, Gary Economo. It is now widely known in the research community, as well as the industrial community, that to utilize graphite/graphene for a specific project, it is of paramount importance that a proper amount of testing be completed in order to ensure the graphite/graphene will be appropriate according to the customers specifications. Obviously this leads to extended wait times, as this testing is completed, and the decisions are then made as to whether the graphite and or graphene meet the prerequisites of any potential off-take partners. With several comments being made in connection to the high quality of the graphite and graphene available from Focus Metals' Lac Knife deposit, we can now see that Focus Metals is definitely poised to reach out and take possession of the position they have striven to reach, that of a globally dominant supplier of the highest quality graphite and graphene. I have made reference to the potential of Focus Metals many times since I first started to cover the company with posts in my blog, and as the company continues to progress, that potential only seems to grow. I have had people ask me what the effect on Focus Metals might be if the price was to drop somewhat, to which my main reply has been, Focus Metals will be in as positive a position as possible. Considering that the cost of producing this graphite and graphene will be amongst the lowest in the world, and with the highest quality product, it is with ease that I see Focus Metals continuing their progress uninterrupted. This is of course, if there is ever any downward pressure on prices. In the event that there are some immediate breakthroughs in research and the supply side of the equation gets outstripped by demand, the potential I will attempt to show here could be dwarfed.
I believe graphene stands to quite possibly dwarf graphite in financial terms for Focus Metals looking forward, but I found the following to be quite interesting, and I thought it would help to show the true depth of the potential uses for graphite as well as graphene.
There seems to be a renewed interest in nuclear power, following the crisis in Japan earlier this year. It is true that nuclear power has competition in some parts of the world, which may be more economically feasible, such as the advent of shale gas in North America, but this cannot be said of the entire world. For instance, both China and India, are in desperate need of a much cleaner method of producing power. There are many other countries that fall into this category, but in the case of these two countries, the growing population coupled with the growing economy will soon leave little to no choice. http://world-nuclear.org/info/inf104.html
Many concerns of course, still abound over the safety of nuclear power, but there are alternate options which are available now that involve some of the latest state-of-the-art technology. As these uniquely different technologies continue to be tested, some have shown considerable promise. One such reactor is discussed in this article, under the heading HTR-10, which is approximately 3/4 of the way down the page, although the entire article is quite interesting, http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/default.aspx?id=26187&terms=graphite%20pebble%20bed.
It comes as little surprise that SGL Group, which is arguably one of, if not the, world's largest carbon company, would be firmly rooted into such a technology, concerning the use of graphite.
http://www.sglgroup.com/export/sites/sglcarbon/_common/downloads/industries/energy/Products_Services_for_Nuclear_Power_Plant_Technology_e.pdf
There are a myriad of other uses that graphite is being considered for presently, many of which I will try to cover in the future, however, graphene seems to be at the centre of most every scientist and researcher on the planet, so I would like to switch our view more to this very exciting space.
Graphene research has become a rather dominating factor on a global basis, with virtually every country in the world becoming involved in one way or another. In the EU for instance, there is an organization that has been formed called Graphene Flagship. Here is a link that will explain how this organization works, (there are 2 videos, one is an introduction to graphene, the other is an introduction to the Graphene Flagship), http://www.graphene-flagship.eu/GF/Videos.php.
As we can see this will have a profound effect at enabling graphene research to progress at a much faster pace, as opposed to all research being segregated. One example of this, that I believe brings home just how this can be beneficial, is the case of Nokia and their efforts to bring to life a mobile phone called the "Morph" into our everyday lives. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/what-is-graphene-and-why-is-nokia-touting-it-as-the-supermaterial-of-the-future-2297476.html
This project is not considered to be just another research project, but is something that Nokia seems to view as a project that must be pursued until completion. It is with ease that we can see just how deep the determination is, and how broad the commitment is from so many sources to bring graphene to the forefront of our technological advances.
In yet another fascinating field of research, we find that there has been considerable progress in the research of single molecule nanomagnets enabling novel graphene spintronics devices. Although there are reportedly some issues that require more research, there are no fundamental problems foreseen. http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=21982.php
Recently we have seen an abundance of research to determine the viability of graphene to replace silicon in the manufacturing of computer chips. IBM announced this summer that they have built a computer chip made entirely with graphene. While this research has not provided us with the technology to say we can replace the silicon chip with a graphene chip today, it is reportedly becoming more certain that this will indeed be the case, and this is expected in the short to mid-term apparently. http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/36135.wss
When we think about graphene it is common for us to think predominately in terms of high-tech electronics. This is no doubt due to the strides being made in this research, but there are so many other potential uses for graphene. Some of these are much less discussed, and yet the potential is almost beyond comprehension if their was to be a breakthrough in some of this research. I am speaking of graphene being researched for medical uses. For instance there are currently about 15 million people suffering from Alzheimer's Disease worldwide, and this figure is expected to grow by 4 fold by 2050. The anguish that comes not only to those who are diagnosed with this most wretched of diseases, but also to those who care for them, is something that most if not all of us can appreciate. I do not wish to try and downplay the seriousness of this, but rather to bring to light just how valuable this type of breakthrough would be. http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=23726.php
In yet another fascinating research project we find that there is considerable potential for graphene to be used in the diagnosis of malaria. Malaria is among the most deadly infectious diseases on the planet, killing untold numbers annually. It goes without saying this is a disease that man needs to conquer, and sooner is much preferred to later. The scientists who are performing this research bring not only hope to this issue, but also afford us a view as to the actual potential. http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=23534.php
Now let's take a look at some research that is currently being done in the field of batteries. For quite some time people have thought that the Lithium-ion battery would potentially be the battery of choice as the entire world begins to look at the possibilities of moving from internal combustion to all-electric vehicles. This did indeed appear to be the case, but researchers kept coming up against the problem of how far a vehicle could run per charge, and the results were not favorable. Now research has found a battery that could potentially hold all the attributes required for the impending revolution towards electric vehicles. Instead of a lithium-ion battery, researchers are now leaning towards a lithium-air battery. The Li/O2 couple is especially attractive because it has the potential for the highest specific energy among all the known electrochemical couples. What does this all mean in plain terms? A lithium-ion battery is capable of reaching distances in excess of 500 km per charge, and this definitely helps researchers see the potential this technology could hold. http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=23258.php
There is obviously an almost infinite amount of research on possible uses for graphene at present. One thing that stands out prominently in my mind, is the need for not just graphene for the research being completed, but the need for high-quality graphene. This will apply to not only the research but also to any actual applications. From an investment viewpoint, this prompts the question of who stands to gain the most from all of this need for high-quality graphene. As one considers all the options for sourcing graphene that meets the requirements, and keeping cost in mind also, I find Focus Metals to be most aptly positioned. Grafoid Inc., which is a graphene joint venture in which Focus Metals holds 40%, has very recently announced a signing of a MOU with Rutgers University. The agreement was signed by Mr. Economo as President of Grafoid Inc., and Professor Thomas Nosker, Principal Investigator for Rutgers University’s Advanced Polymer Materials School of Engineering. http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/press-releases/2011-2/dec12011
Not only is Rutgers University one of the most highly regarded advanced materials research center's that works with industry to commercialize new technologies, and commits to providing the research and inter-disciplinary laboratory facilities, but Professor Nosker is quoted as saying, “I am very pleased that we have an opportunity to spearhead the exploration for the applications from the very high quality graphite received from the Lac Knife project in Canada.”
All things considered, I am firmly entrenched in my opinion that Focus Metals will undoubtedly reach their goal of becoming the "go-to" company for graphite and graphene products that are far and above the quality available from virtually all other sources, and this in turn will allow them to realize the value that such a global dominant supplier will display. I also believe that we will continue to see progress, which may or may not be quite as we would think appropriate, that will be the result of a management team that has not only the best interests of Focus Metals at heart, but ultimately, also the shareholders interest. When management tends to keep very quiet on some issues, I have learned this can often be construed as acting in our best interests. For example, in the research I did to follow up on much of what I have written about in this post, I found many companies to be very silent and not that forthcoming. The reasons given are invariably the same, from some of the smallest to some of the largest companies, and the main reason stated is quite simply, "To protect our proprietary knowledge." I will admit, this can be frustrating, but after meeting with several of the management team, and from the experience I have gained thus far as a shareholder, I have come to a point where I trust management to unlock much additional value as we go through this next year, and I hope for many years to come. The potential here is that large in my opinion.
As I always point out to anyone who finds Focus Metals to be a company of interest for an investment choice, please do your own due diligence. There are many places where one can look for information, and I would encourage everyone to go to the company website for starters. This can be found at www.focusmetals.ca.
For disclosure purposes, I have received no compensation of any kind for this post or my opinions. All opinions herein are strictly my own. I own shares of Focus Metals.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Focus Metals releases 43-101 resource estimate and begins to show its true potential
For some people, Focus Metals (TSXV:FMS)(OTCQX:FCSMF) has been quite a ride so far. The company has had an extremely busy time since they first listed in 2010, first climbing like a rocket, then falling victim to a series of delays that were completely out of the control of the company, and now comes the long-awaited 43-101 compliancy report.There were some who refused to see the potential, others who at first believed and then let fear cloud there judgment, and of course there were those who believed strongly enough in the management and the project that we believe this is only the beginning.
For anyone who is not holding a position, or who has not been following Focus Metals, there was a news release, dated December 5, 2011, which contained the 43-101 compliant resource estimate. http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/press-releases/2011-2/dec52011
Previous to this, all reference to the resource estimate was based on historical data, which was very close to the current resource estimate. Focus Metals management had stated in an earlier news release that the company had been told by Roche that it appeared there would be little change from the historical numbers to the more modern 43-101 standard. Now that we see this is indeed the case, it allows one to begin to realize just how huge the potential for Focus Metals is.
Prior to this news release, Gary Economo, Focus Metals CEO, spoke at the Industrial Minerals Roundtable in Amsterdam on December 01, 2011.
http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/presentation-and-speeches/dec12011
There are many points made by Mr. Economo in the presentation, , but one that stands out in my mind, is how quickly he addressed the importance of SGL Carbon SE, the world's largest graphite technology supplier. This This importance is brought into realistic terms with Volkswagen's recent move to acquire an 8.1% stake in SGL, and also with BMWs $100 million venture in United States. As SGL states, “the carbon age has begun.” If the carbon age has begun, so to has the graphene technology revolution. This falls in-line with my earlier postings, in which, I stated my expectations that SGL stands out in my opinion as a possible candidate for a potential off-take agreement. While this is only my opinion, it is with relative ease that one can see how they fit the requirements that Mr. Economo stipulated, just a few days later, at the first, Industrial Minerals Graphite Conference. This was held in London, UK on Dec. 6th and 7th. "The off-take partners we seek will have a strong marketing presence, product research and development facilities and a forward-looking vision to provide Focus Metals with a dual link to the vast global market for graphite, and over time, for our graphene." This is an excerpt from Gary's presentation on Dec. 6, 2011, and here is a link to the presentation in it's entirety, http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/presentation-and-speeches/dec62011
This entire presentation clearly presents Focus Metals in a much more dominant role, not only because of the world class graphite deposit it owns at Lac Knife, but equally, if not more importantly because of the cost of production. While some people would view the fact that graphite could possibly face some pricing instability, from a short to mid term basis, as a negative, this is in fact what allows Focus Metals to stand ahead of any competitors. This low cost of production added to the fact that Focus Metals' Lac Knife deposit has now been confirmed to hold the world's best natural flake graphite, which in turn, is capable of producing the highest grade graphene, positions Focus Metals in a very unique position. The fact that Focus Metals has already started its search for strategic properties which hold potentially appropriate graphite deposits, and in fact has recently purchased some 200 claims, only adds to this unique position. In his conclusion to his presentation, Mr Economo stated a very provocative thought,
"Simon Moores, in a thoughtful and reasoned lead editorial in Industrial Minerals September publication of Critical Materials for Green Energy aptly put it this way: “whoever holds the technology cards will lead the pack.”
Focus Metals is committed to being that leader."
One thing I have long noticed with Focus Metals, is the company's desire to find the ultimate amount of value they possibly can, and their graphene joint venture appears to be an entity that could potentially bring enormous value to the table. This joint venture, known as, Grafoid Inc., has just signed a MOU with Rutgers University AMIPP Advanced Polymer Center to jointly develop graphene technology applications related to both polymer and non-polymer applications. http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/press-releases/2011-2/dec12011
Under the terms of the MOU, Rutgers University, an advanced materials research center that works with industry to commercialize new technologies, commits to providing the research and inter-disciplinary laboratory facilities.
Grafoid Inc. commits to providing human resources, graphene materials from Focus Metals' Lac Knife graphite resource, and graphene expertise for research and development purposes.
The agreement was signed by Mr. Economo as President of Grafoid Inc., and Professor Thomas Nosker, Principal Investigator for Rutgers University's Advanced Polymer Materials School of Engineering.
Some people seem to miss just why Grafoid may hold this huge potential capability, to bring enormous value to both, the companies and the shareholders. Well, it is actually quite simplistic in nature. Here is an excerpt from Gary Economo's presentation on Dec. 7, 2011, at the Industrial Minerals Graphite Conference, which helps to shed some light on this topic,
"Dr. Chiu
The first was the quality of our graphite; the second was the ease of extraction of graphene from the ore and the purity of structure of that graphene.
To us, quality is everything and our quality graphite produces quality graphene.
More importantly, the graphene produced in the lab was electrically conductive, unlike vapor chemical deposition.
And those factors contributed in part, to our development of a scalable model for mass producing graphene in single and multiple layers using a simple, environmentally friendly process."
"Our raw graphite ore is superior to the refined lab graphite used by the scientific community for its graphene research."
Here is the link to the entire presentation, http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/presentation-and-speeches/dec72011
The above presentation by Mr. Economo will provide the reader with a full understanding of just what has been meant by the Focus Metals vision of reaching their mine-to-market goal, which they have mentioned many times since their inception. The only real change to this vision has been the fact that is has grown more encompassing than was initially viewed.
With all that has transpired, over the last approximately year and a half, and specifically over the last week or so, it is with full expectations that I see Focus Metals and Grafoid Inc. becoming the driving force of graphite/graphene supply outside of China. The value that will be attached to such a position remains to be seen, but it is my opinion it will be very great.
For those who would like to know more about Focus Metals, or those who would like to start some due diligence on this company, the company website can be found at www.focusmetals.ca , and this is an excellent place to start in my opinion.
For disclosure purposes I have received no compensation of any kind for this post. All views aside from quotes are my own. I do own shares in Focus Metals.
For anyone who is not holding a position, or who has not been following Focus Metals, there was a news release, dated December 5, 2011, which contained the 43-101 compliant resource estimate. http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/press-releases/2011-2/dec52011
Previous to this, all reference to the resource estimate was based on historical data, which was very close to the current resource estimate. Focus Metals management had stated in an earlier news release that the company had been told by Roche that it appeared there would be little change from the historical numbers to the more modern 43-101 standard. Now that we see this is indeed the case, it allows one to begin to realize just how huge the potential for Focus Metals is.
Prior to this news release, Gary Economo, Focus Metals CEO, spoke at the Industrial Minerals Roundtable in Amsterdam on December 01, 2011.
http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/presentation-and-speeches/dec12011
There are many points made by Mr. Economo in the presentation, , but one that stands out in my mind, is how quickly he addressed the importance of SGL Carbon SE, the world's largest graphite technology supplier. This This importance is brought into realistic terms with Volkswagen's recent move to acquire an 8.1% stake in SGL, and also with BMWs $100 million venture in United States. As SGL states, “the carbon age has begun.” If the carbon age has begun, so to has the graphene technology revolution. This falls in-line with my earlier postings, in which, I stated my expectations that SGL stands out in my opinion as a possible candidate for a potential off-take agreement. While this is only my opinion, it is with relative ease that one can see how they fit the requirements that Mr. Economo stipulated, just a few days later, at the first, Industrial Minerals Graphite Conference. This was held in London, UK on Dec. 6th and 7th. "The off-take partners we seek will have a strong marketing presence, product research and development facilities and a forward-looking vision to provide Focus Metals with a dual link to the vast global market for graphite, and over time, for our graphene." This is an excerpt from Gary's presentation on Dec. 6, 2011, and here is a link to the presentation in it's entirety, http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/presentation-and-speeches/dec62011
This entire presentation clearly presents Focus Metals in a much more dominant role, not only because of the world class graphite deposit it owns at Lac Knife, but equally, if not more importantly because of the cost of production. While some people would view the fact that graphite could possibly face some pricing instability, from a short to mid term basis, as a negative, this is in fact what allows Focus Metals to stand ahead of any competitors. This low cost of production added to the fact that Focus Metals' Lac Knife deposit has now been confirmed to hold the world's best natural flake graphite, which in turn, is capable of producing the highest grade graphene, positions Focus Metals in a very unique position. The fact that Focus Metals has already started its search for strategic properties which hold potentially appropriate graphite deposits, and in fact has recently purchased some 200 claims, only adds to this unique position. In his conclusion to his presentation, Mr Economo stated a very provocative thought,
"Simon Moores, in a thoughtful and reasoned lead editorial in Industrial Minerals September publication of Critical Materials for Green Energy aptly put it this way: “whoever holds the technology cards will lead the pack.”
Focus Metals is committed to being that leader."
One thing I have long noticed with Focus Metals, is the company's desire to find the ultimate amount of value they possibly can, and their graphene joint venture appears to be an entity that could potentially bring enormous value to the table. This joint venture, known as, Grafoid Inc., has just signed a MOU with Rutgers University AMIPP Advanced Polymer Center to jointly develop graphene technology applications related to both polymer and non-polymer applications. http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/press-releases/2011-2/dec12011
Under the terms of the MOU, Rutgers University, an advanced materials research center that works with industry to commercialize new technologies, commits to providing the research and inter-disciplinary laboratory facilities.
Grafoid Inc. commits to providing human resources, graphene materials from Focus Metals' Lac Knife graphite resource, and graphene expertise for research and development purposes.
The agreement was signed by Mr. Economo as President of Grafoid Inc., and Professor Thomas Nosker, Principal Investigator for Rutgers University's Advanced Polymer Materials School of Engineering.
Some people seem to miss just why Grafoid may hold this huge potential capability, to bring enormous value to both, the companies and the shareholders. Well, it is actually quite simplistic in nature. Here is an excerpt from Gary Economo's presentation on Dec. 7, 2011, at the Industrial Minerals Graphite Conference, which helps to shed some light on this topic,
"Dr. Chiu
The first was the quality of our graphite; the second was the ease of extraction of graphene from the ore and the purity of structure of that graphene.
To us, quality is everything and our quality graphite produces quality graphene.
More importantly, the graphene produced in the lab was electrically conductive, unlike vapor chemical deposition.
And those factors contributed in part, to our development of a scalable model for mass producing graphene in single and multiple layers using a simple, environmentally friendly process."
"Our raw graphite ore is superior to the refined lab graphite used by the scientific community for its graphene research."
Here is the link to the entire presentation, http://www.focusmetals.ca/english/news/presentation-and-speeches/dec72011
The above presentation by Mr. Economo will provide the reader with a full understanding of just what has been meant by the Focus Metals vision of reaching their mine-to-market goal, which they have mentioned many times since their inception. The only real change to this vision has been the fact that is has grown more encompassing than was initially viewed.
With all that has transpired, over the last approximately year and a half, and specifically over the last week or so, it is with full expectations that I see Focus Metals and Grafoid Inc. becoming the driving force of graphite/graphene supply outside of China. The value that will be attached to such a position remains to be seen, but it is my opinion it will be very great.
For those who would like to know more about Focus Metals, or those who would like to start some due diligence on this company, the company website can be found at www.focusmetals.ca , and this is an excellent place to start in my opinion.
For disclosure purposes I have received no compensation of any kind for this post. All views aside from quotes are my own. I do own shares in Focus Metals.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Focus Metals announces a strategic move that supports the company's mission statement
Focus Metals (TSXV:FMS)(OTCQX:FCSMF) President and CEO, Gary Economo, who holds the same office in Grafoid Inc., has released news regarding Grafoid Inc. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/grafoid-inc-and-rutgers-university-sign-mou-to-jointly-develop-and-commercialize-polymer-and-non-polymer-technology-graphene-applications-from-focus-metals-lac-knife-graphite-resource-2011-12-01?reflink=MW_news_stmp
This is extremely good news, as Rutgers University is a very respected institution. Rutgers is one of the nations foremost research universities. http://www.rutgers.edu/about-rutgers/who-we-are
For anyone who may be new to Focus Metals or Grafoid, let me quickly give you a brief outline on both companies.
Focus Metals Inc. is an emerging mid-tier junior mining company, a technology solutions supplier and a business innovator. It is the owner of the highest-grade (approximately 17%) technology graphite resource in the world. The company's goal is to assume a dominant industry leadership position by becoming the lowest-cost producer of technology-grade graphite. As a technology-oriented enterprise with a view to building long-term, sustainable shareholder value, Focus Metals is invested in the development of graphene applications and patents through Grafoid Inc.
Grafoid Inc. is a Canadian, privately-held joint venture created to research and develop commercial applications and patents from graphene, sourced exclusively from Focus Metals' Lac Knife, Quebec technology graphite resource. One of its aims is to set a universal standard for the mass production of graphene for industrial applications.
Grafoid's founders, partners and officers are: Mr. Jeffrey York, Chairman; Mr. Gary Economo, President and CEO, and; Dr. Gordon Chiu, Vice President and Chief Scientist. Ms. Judith Mazvihwa-MacLean is Chief Financial Officer. The company's ownership structure, as set out in its Articles of Incorporation is as follows: Focus Metals, 40%; Mr. Jeffrey York, 20%; Mr. Gary Economo 20%, and; Dr. Gordon Chiu 20%. This structure enables Focus Metals to further explore and eventually profit from opportunities for creating graphene and graphene applications without compromising its primary corporate objective of developing its Lac Knife property.
The fact that Grafoid Inc. has aligned themselves with such a prestigious facility speaks volumes as to the level of research that will performed on the graphite from Focus Metals' 100% owned, Lac Knife graphite deposit. The graphite will provide the source for the graphene that Grafoid and Rutgers will be conducting research on. In order for Grafoid to attract the attention of Rutgers, concerning the quality of the graphite, and obviously the resultant graphene, is a feat that I believe should bring Focus Metals into plain view of the entire world, in terms of graphite/graphene related companies. Rutgers is well known for their ability in researching and developing. http://www.rutgers.edu/research/research-rutgers
http://amipp.rutgers.edu/html/research.html
Professor Thomas Nosker is well respected for, both, his many accomplishments, and the many years of dedication and commitment. http://amipp.rutgers.edu/html/group_member_nosker_thomas.html
One statement that I particularly liked, was the following statement from the news release, "Grafoid, in cooperation with Rutgers AMIPP will focus its investigations initially on infrastructural, aviation, automotive and other applications." These are all areas which stand to benefit greatly from the type, and caliber of research which we can look forward to Grafoid and Rutgers producing, as a joint effort.
At this point, Focus Metals, stands out from all of its competitors, and this coming week will have Gary in London for the World Graphite Conference, which Focus Metals is sponsoring. This is a tremendous opportunity for Focus Metals, since the entire world, in terms of graphite/graphene associated companies, will undoubtedly be in attendance. The amount of interest that Focus Metals can garner from these companies will in all likelihood be quite significant following the news release of Dec. 1, 2011. Add to this the fact that the 43-101 is due out before year-end, and need I remind you just how Focus Metals could change from their current status to a company of untold wealth.
I think that one of the things that will continue to make Focus Metals, and its subsidiary Grafoid, stand out from the rest of their competitors is the statement made by Professor Nosker.
On behalf of AMIPP (Advanced Materials via Immiscible Polymer Processing), Professor Nosker said a huge opportunity is waiting to be opened by the cooperative venture.
"I am very pleased that we have an opportunity to spearhead the exploration for the applications from the very high quality graphite received from the Lac Knife project in Canada," he said. When a Professor with the stature of Professor Nosker, and coming from one, if not the, most respected Universities regarding this type of research, refers to the graphite received from Lac Knife as "very high quality", it holds tremendous weight.
The speed at which most companies are capable of progressing a company towards their goals is generally not something that is done with the speed and meaning that the management of Focus Metals, and of course also Grafoid Inc., has shown us. When we consider that Focus Metals became a listed company in 2010, and Grafoid only came into existence just last year, they make it relatively clear that they truly are on a mission. As a start-up company in 2010, Focus Metal’s brief history has been stellar among the 2,400 emerging companies listed on the TSX-Venture Exchange.
I think anyone who has knowledge of how graphite and grapheneGrafoid Inc. and ultimately Focus Metals are positioning themselves true to their desire to be the go-to company regarding all things graphite or graphene. The best part of this whole story as it unfolds is this though, Focus Metals and Grafoid Inc. are just beginning and I believe we will see many more strides which will continually build added value to both the company and the shareholders. For those who have not done any due diligence on Focus Metals as yet, I would suggest you may want to. Obviously it may suit some investors, while it may not be appropriate for others. This is a decision that is best left to each person to make on their own. For those wishing to learn more about Focus Metals, the company website which can be found at www.focusmetals.ca is an excellent place to start.
For disclosure purposes I have not received any compensation of any kind for this post or for my opinions stated herein. All opinions expressed here are my own. I do own shares of Focus Metals.
This is extremely good news, as Rutgers University is a very respected institution. Rutgers is one of the nations foremost research universities. http://www.rutgers.edu/about-rutgers/who-we-are
For anyone who may be new to Focus Metals or Grafoid, let me quickly give you a brief outline on both companies.
Focus Metals Inc. is an emerging mid-tier junior mining company, a technology solutions supplier and a business innovator. It is the owner of the highest-grade (approximately 17%) technology graphite resource in the world. The company's goal is to assume a dominant industry leadership position by becoming the lowest-cost producer of technology-grade graphite. As a technology-oriented enterprise with a view to building long-term, sustainable shareholder value, Focus Metals is invested in the development of graphene applications and patents through Grafoid Inc.
Grafoid Inc. is a Canadian, privately-held joint venture created to research and develop commercial applications and patents from graphene, sourced exclusively from Focus Metals' Lac Knife, Quebec technology graphite resource. One of its aims is to set a universal standard for the mass production of graphene for industrial applications.
Grafoid's founders, partners and officers are: Mr. Jeffrey York, Chairman; Mr. Gary Economo, President and CEO, and; Dr. Gordon Chiu, Vice President and Chief Scientist. Ms. Judith Mazvihwa-MacLean is Chief Financial Officer. The company's ownership structure, as set out in its Articles of Incorporation is as follows: Focus Metals, 40%; Mr. Jeffrey York, 20%; Mr. Gary Economo 20%, and; Dr. Gordon Chiu 20%. This structure enables Focus Metals to further explore and eventually profit from opportunities for creating graphene and graphene applications without compromising its primary corporate objective of developing its Lac Knife property.
The fact that Grafoid Inc. has aligned themselves with such a prestigious facility speaks volumes as to the level of research that will performed on the graphite from Focus Metals' 100% owned, Lac Knife graphite deposit. The graphite will provide the source for the graphene that Grafoid and Rutgers will be conducting research on. In order for Grafoid to attract the attention of Rutgers, concerning the quality of the graphite, and obviously the resultant graphene, is a feat that I believe should bring Focus Metals into plain view of the entire world, in terms of graphite/graphene related companies. Rutgers is well known for their ability in researching and developing. http://www.rutgers.edu/research/research-rutgers
http://amipp.rutgers.edu/html/research.html
Professor Thomas Nosker is well respected for, both, his many accomplishments, and the many years of dedication and commitment. http://amipp.rutgers.edu/html/group_member_nosker_thomas.html
One statement that I particularly liked, was the following statement from the news release, "Grafoid, in cooperation with Rutgers AMIPP will focus its investigations initially on infrastructural, aviation, automotive and other applications." These are all areas which stand to benefit greatly from the type, and caliber of research which we can look forward to Grafoid and Rutgers producing, as a joint effort.
At this point, Focus Metals, stands out from all of its competitors, and this coming week will have Gary in London for the World Graphite Conference, which Focus Metals is sponsoring. This is a tremendous opportunity for Focus Metals, since the entire world, in terms of graphite/graphene associated companies, will undoubtedly be in attendance. The amount of interest that Focus Metals can garner from these companies will in all likelihood be quite significant following the news release of Dec. 1, 2011. Add to this the fact that the 43-101 is due out before year-end, and need I remind you just how Focus Metals could change from their current status to a company of untold wealth.
I think that one of the things that will continue to make Focus Metals, and its subsidiary Grafoid, stand out from the rest of their competitors is the statement made by Professor Nosker.
On behalf of AMIPP (Advanced Materials via Immiscible Polymer Processing), Professor Nosker said a huge opportunity is waiting to be opened by the cooperative venture.
"I am very pleased that we have an opportunity to spearhead the exploration for the applications from the very high quality graphite received from the Lac Knife project in Canada," he said. When a Professor with the stature of Professor Nosker, and coming from one, if not the, most respected Universities regarding this type of research, refers to the graphite received from Lac Knife as "very high quality", it holds tremendous weight.
The speed at which most companies are capable of progressing a company towards their goals is generally not something that is done with the speed and meaning that the management of Focus Metals, and of course also Grafoid Inc., has shown us. When we consider that Focus Metals became a listed company in 2010, and Grafoid only came into existence just last year, they make it relatively clear that they truly are on a mission. As a start-up company in 2010, Focus Metal’s brief history has been stellar among the 2,400 emerging companies listed on the TSX-Venture Exchange.
I think anyone who has knowledge of how graphite and grapheneGrafoid Inc. and ultimately Focus Metals are positioning themselves true to their desire to be the go-to company regarding all things graphite or graphene. The best part of this whole story as it unfolds is this though, Focus Metals and Grafoid Inc. are just beginning and I believe we will see many more strides which will continually build added value to both the company and the shareholders. For those who have not done any due diligence on Focus Metals as yet, I would suggest you may want to. Obviously it may suit some investors, while it may not be appropriate for others. This is a decision that is best left to each person to make on their own. For those wishing to learn more about Focus Metals, the company website which can be found at www.focusmetals.ca is an excellent place to start.
For disclosure purposes I have not received any compensation of any kind for this post or for my opinions stated herein. All opinions expressed here are my own. I do own shares of Focus Metals.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Acceleware moves into positive territory and continues to show focus and strength
Acceleware (TSXV:AXE) has just recently released their financial report of the third quarter for 2011.
http://www.acceleware.com/sites/default/files/AXE_Q3_2011_Earnings_Press_Release.pdf
There are several things that stand out in this release, and all seem to have positive connotations as to where Acceleware currently stands. One of the first things that I find quite compelling, is the fact Acceleware has managed to turn the company cash flow positive, and this despite all the volatility in the global economic arena at present. Obviously a feat in itself, and not one that is the result of any one-time cash infusions, but rather a result of both sales of products and instructional classes. This fact is extremely important in my opinion, as it shows that the management is well committed, and equipped in their attempt to follow through on the claims made earlier this year, regarding the company restructuring. I fully expect we will see this trend not only continue, but ramp up as the company continues to pursue new business, additional business with existing customers, and to continue to expand their offerings of both CUDA and OpenCL training.
Acceleware was present at the Supercomputing show held in Seattle, Washington, and is considered a premiere event for any companies involved in, or with supercomputing. This afforded Acceleware the opportunity to have a presence amongst many other companies that are involved in the supercomputing space. With the show being described as well attended, and with lots of interest being shown towards Acceleware, it definitely would lead one to see the potential that could lay ahead. While there may be a general consensus that the global economy has not regained and stabilized as we would like to have seen, and many countries are experiencing financial difficulties, we should note that there are still major projects being approved and these projects are progressing. To me this is to be expected, unless one was to believe that the entire world is going to regress back in time, which even if it were possible, how would we get the global population to follow suit. Therefore, in my opinion, we can expect some pullbacks in some areas, but some technologies will continue to remain constant. One of these technologies with extreme potential would be the products that Acceleware designs, sells, and services. This, combined with their popular training classes, allows me to think that Acceleware has finally started to show they are truly a company that will continue to gain traction. How fast they gain traction is the question that many want the answer to. I believe there are many factors that could play a part in the answer to this question. For instance, if we can answer when will the global economy stabilize, or how fast will the economies of countries such as China or India grow looking forward, we might gain some type of clue. There are many predictions being made as to the economic growth in China, and most if not all, are predicting tremendous growth. If this proves true, which I firmly believe it will, then the need for technologies such as Acceleware possesses are crucial. The Chinese population is quickly moving towards a desire to live a higher standard of living, which is evidenced by the current migration from rural to urban living. The average household is currently seeing a higher income, and this in turn will lead to an increase in spending. One item that has become so commonplace in our society today is a mobile phone. This is a product that uses Acceleware's technology during the designing stages, in an effort to allow the most superior type antenna. this is just one example. Another sector that will continue to see growth I believe, is the gas and oil exploration industry. More on that in a minute.
We have already established that we do not see the world about to move back in time, despite the current economic problems we face globally right now. This brings me to talk about the next conference that Acceleware will be attending, which will be the GPU Technology Conference. This will be held in Beijing, China, on Dec. 14 - 15, 2011. GTC Asia will focus on the very latest scientific research and commercial applications in GPU computing. The agenda will feature keynotes, roundtable discussions, academic posters, and over 60 sessions over two days, as well as tutorials from NVIDIA’s engineering and research staff. GTC Asia is an important event for developers, programmers and research scientists working on complex computational problems across industries and academia. As you can see this conference will offer Acceleware a potential to develop many new relationships, as well as strengthen any they may have currently.
Oil and gas is one sector that I believe will continue to grow. For those who may agree, you are probably aware that oil and gas are still available, however, the geological settings in which it is being discovered are becoming increasingly more complex. Exploration by the Chinese is something that could potentially add to the benefits that Acceleware may experience. The avenue for this could potentially come from Paradigm, who just happens to have an office in China.
After watching how Acceleware has gone from restructuring earlier this year, and now in Q3 of 2011, we find the company cash flow positive, I see a company with a management team that has made realistic statements and has delivered on the progress they claimed. Looking forward, I truly do expect Acceleware will not only hold their traction, but I expect they will start to gain momentum. At this point, I would be extremely hard pressed to attempt to point you to a more under-valued technology company, and one with as much potential as Acceleware. For anyone who is interested in learning more about Acceleware, or in starting to do some due diligence in order to make a choice of investing or not, I strongly urge you to check out the company website which is found at, http://www.acceleware.com/.
For disclosure purposes, I have received no compensation of any kind for this post, and all opinions are my own. I do own shares in Acceleware.
http://www.acceleware.com/sites/default/files/AXE_Q3_2011_Earnings_Press_Release.pdf
There are several things that stand out in this release, and all seem to have positive connotations as to where Acceleware currently stands. One of the first things that I find quite compelling, is the fact Acceleware has managed to turn the company cash flow positive, and this despite all the volatility in the global economic arena at present. Obviously a feat in itself, and not one that is the result of any one-time cash infusions, but rather a result of both sales of products and instructional classes. This fact is extremely important in my opinion, as it shows that the management is well committed, and equipped in their attempt to follow through on the claims made earlier this year, regarding the company restructuring. I fully expect we will see this trend not only continue, but ramp up as the company continues to pursue new business, additional business with existing customers, and to continue to expand their offerings of both CUDA and OpenCL training.
Acceleware was present at the Supercomputing show held in Seattle, Washington, and is considered a premiere event for any companies involved in, or with supercomputing. This afforded Acceleware the opportunity to have a presence amongst many other companies that are involved in the supercomputing space. With the show being described as well attended, and with lots of interest being shown towards Acceleware, it definitely would lead one to see the potential that could lay ahead. While there may be a general consensus that the global economy has not regained and stabilized as we would like to have seen, and many countries are experiencing financial difficulties, we should note that there are still major projects being approved and these projects are progressing. To me this is to be expected, unless one was to believe that the entire world is going to regress back in time, which even if it were possible, how would we get the global population to follow suit. Therefore, in my opinion, we can expect some pullbacks in some areas, but some technologies will continue to remain constant. One of these technologies with extreme potential would be the products that Acceleware designs, sells, and services. This, combined with their popular training classes, allows me to think that Acceleware has finally started to show they are truly a company that will continue to gain traction. How fast they gain traction is the question that many want the answer to. I believe there are many factors that could play a part in the answer to this question. For instance, if we can answer when will the global economy stabilize, or how fast will the economies of countries such as China or India grow looking forward, we might gain some type of clue. There are many predictions being made as to the economic growth in China, and most if not all, are predicting tremendous growth. If this proves true, which I firmly believe it will, then the need for technologies such as Acceleware possesses are crucial. The Chinese population is quickly moving towards a desire to live a higher standard of living, which is evidenced by the current migration from rural to urban living. The average household is currently seeing a higher income, and this in turn will lead to an increase in spending. One item that has become so commonplace in our society today is a mobile phone. This is a product that uses Acceleware's technology during the designing stages, in an effort to allow the most superior type antenna. this is just one example. Another sector that will continue to see growth I believe, is the gas and oil exploration industry. More on that in a minute.
We have already established that we do not see the world about to move back in time, despite the current economic problems we face globally right now. This brings me to talk about the next conference that Acceleware will be attending, which will be the GPU Technology Conference. This will be held in Beijing, China, on Dec. 14 - 15, 2011. GTC Asia will focus on the very latest scientific research and commercial applications in GPU computing. The agenda will feature keynotes, roundtable discussions, academic posters, and over 60 sessions over two days, as well as tutorials from NVIDIA’s engineering and research staff. GTC Asia is an important event for developers, programmers and research scientists working on complex computational problems across industries and academia. As you can see this conference will offer Acceleware a potential to develop many new relationships, as well as strengthen any they may have currently.
Oil and gas is one sector that I believe will continue to grow. For those who may agree, you are probably aware that oil and gas are still available, however, the geological settings in which it is being discovered are becoming increasingly more complex. Exploration by the Chinese is something that could potentially add to the benefits that Acceleware may experience. The avenue for this could potentially come from Paradigm, who just happens to have an office in China.
After watching how Acceleware has gone from restructuring earlier this year, and now in Q3 of 2011, we find the company cash flow positive, I see a company with a management team that has made realistic statements and has delivered on the progress they claimed. Looking forward, I truly do expect Acceleware will not only hold their traction, but I expect they will start to gain momentum. At this point, I would be extremely hard pressed to attempt to point you to a more under-valued technology company, and one with as much potential as Acceleware. For anyone who is interested in learning more about Acceleware, or in starting to do some due diligence in order to make a choice of investing or not, I strongly urge you to check out the company website which is found at, http://www.acceleware.com/.
For disclosure purposes, I have received no compensation of any kind for this post, and all opinions are my own. I do own shares in Acceleware.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Graphene continues to hold tremendous potential for Focus Metals
Focus Metals (TSXV:FMS)(OTCQX:FCSMF) holds 100% ownership of its Lac Knife, Quebec, 17% carbon grade medium and large flake crystalline graphite.
The property, some 35 kilometers south of Fermont, Quebec, is at the pre-development stage with infrastructure, surface mining and primary processing (95% grade) facility construction activities planned for completion by 2013. A secondary enrichment and refining facility capable of producing technology-grade, 99.9% graphite is scheduled for commissioning in 2014.
Graphite is a product that has been used for many years now, but traditionally graphite has been used in pencils, brake and clutch linings, lubrication products, in refractory ladle's which are used in the making of steel, and in the electrodes used in electric arc furnaces used to melt steel for recycling, amongst other uses. With the progression of technology we now see many more uses for graphite, but the one that has the entire world's attention is a product from graphite, and this product is called graphene.
Graphene is taken from graphite, which is made up of weakly bonded layers of carbon.
Graphene is composed of carbon atoms arranged in tightly bound hexagons just one atom thick.
Three million sheets of graphene on top of each other would be 1mm thick.
The band structure of graphite was first theorised and calculated by P.R. Wallace in 1947, though for it to exist in the real world was thought impossible.
Due to the timing of this discovery, some conspiracy theorists have linked it to materials at the Roswell “crash site”.
In 2004, teams including Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov demonstrated that single layers could be isolated, resulting in the award of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010.
It is this new knowledge that has brought the entire world's gaze directly onto graphene and just what amazing new breakthroughs it might hold for the world remains to be discovered. The amount of current graphene research being done currently on a global basis is extremely difficult to say, but it is easily into the tens of billions of dollars. Obviously science has recognized the impact that graphene could have on life as we know it. However, graphene has not only garnered interest from the science community, but it has also brought industries from any number of sectors rushing into the research directed at what possibilities graphene may hold for each of the involved sectors of industry. Graphene is currently being researched for almost anything you can imagine, including mobile phone's that are bendable and nearly unbreakable, or for medical uses which would help to diagnose diseases, and a nearly endless list of other potential uses. Some of this research may one day come with a breakthrough, but others are already very close it seems. The ability of graphene to replace silicon is one that has brought giants such as IBM into the graphene research circle. http://www.technewsworld.com/story/72634.html
http://www.acceler8or.com/tags/graphene/
Another item that got my attention was the possible use of graphene in Li-ion batteries, http://www.graphene-info.com/graphene-and-silicon-sheets-used-make-lithium-ion-batteries-10-times-capacity-and-charge-speed
The latest claims being made, hold enormous potential for this type of battery, and considering the tremendous urging by governments to reach the goal of having several million electric vehicles on the road over the next few years, this is truly a major breakthrough. http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/16/researchers-increase-charging-capacity-speed-of-lithium-ion-bat/
As I have already stated, the sheer amount of financing being made available to researchers in regards to graphene research is almost beyond comprehension. In the UK, home of Manchester University where graphene was actually born, the government has stated they are investing 50 million pounds, http://www.graphene-info.com/uk-government-invest-%C2%A350-million-graphene-improve-commercial-opportunities
In yet more reports of investments being made towards graphene research I found these, http://www.graphene-info.com/nsf-awards-14-million-cornell-graphene-nanoribbons-research
http://www.graphene-info.com/u-texas-professor-been-awarded-1-million-grant-graphene-research
http://www.graphene-info.com/sweden-grants-6-million-graphene-research-grant
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/hi-tech-companies-to-invest-4-4-billion-in-new-york-state-cuomo-says/
and these are but just a sampling of what is being invested.
So what is so special about graphene that warrants all this global attention? It seems that this simple question would be a lengthy one, if I was to attempt to cover all the possibilities that science and industry potentially see, but these articles may help to give some insight, http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/oct/07/huge-investment-graphene-nobel-prizewinner
http://www.scientistlive.com/European-Science-News/Nanotechnology/Nanotechnology%3A_Promising_uses_for_graphene/22903/
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2011/11/11/Graphene.jpg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13886438
I feel absolutely sure that graphene will live up to the statement, "graphene - the wonder material that will change life as we know it", and we will not have that long to wait, in my opinion, for some of these breakthroughs to become entrenched in our lives, while of course some may be quite awhile before they are brought to market. If we look at the past, we will notice that in all instances that bronze went through the same type of growing pains, as did steel and plastic. As much as these materials all changed life as we knew it at that time, so will graphene become the next material, that will undoubtedly change our lives going forward.
I believe that Focus Metals has positioned themselves very strategically in their bid to become a financially dominant company in the graphite/graphene space. The fact that they have a deposit such as Lac Knife is obviously a positive, although the graphene joint venture they have entered into, which is now called Grafoid Inc., will bring tremendous value to the company looking forward. http://www.focusmetals.ca/news/press-releases/2011-2/march22011
The amount of added value, that Focus Metals will realize from Grafoid Inc., is difficult to state with certainty. This is not because of concerns about Grafoid's ability to produce added value, it is fully expected that Grafoid will bring much value to the table. Grafoid is structured so that they will be applying for patents to cover all proprietary technologies and products. As this research at Grafoid is proven, and the company begins to sell or license technologies and/or products, it is quite feasible to foresee tremendous value connected with this joint venture.
I realize that if you follow all the links I have provided here, this will be a very in-depth look at the subject of graphene, and yet in reality, there is so much more going on behind closed doors it leaves one almost overwhelmed at just how large this one atom thick material will become as technology continues to advance.
My suggestions to anyone who may be considering Focus Metals as an investment choice is to do your own due diligence. An excellent place to start would be the company website, which can be found at www.focusmetals.ca. It is my opinion that Focus Metals is just beginning a very long and extremely profitable journey. As was stated earlier, Focus Metals is in a pre-production status as yet, but there is a tremendous drive from management to bring this company through the required process, and to ultimately bring an above normal value to both Focus Metals and to their shareholders.
For disclosure purposes I have received no compensation of any kind for this post, and all views contained herein are my own. I do own shares of Focus Metals.
The property, some 35 kilometers south of Fermont, Quebec, is at the pre-development stage with infrastructure, surface mining and primary processing (95% grade) facility construction activities planned for completion by 2013. A secondary enrichment and refining facility capable of producing technology-grade, 99.9% graphite is scheduled for commissioning in 2014.
Graphite is a product that has been used for many years now, but traditionally graphite has been used in pencils, brake and clutch linings, lubrication products, in refractory ladle's which are used in the making of steel, and in the electrodes used in electric arc furnaces used to melt steel for recycling, amongst other uses. With the progression of technology we now see many more uses for graphite, but the one that has the entire world's attention is a product from graphite, and this product is called graphene.
Graphene is taken from graphite, which is made up of weakly bonded layers of carbon.
Graphene is composed of carbon atoms arranged in tightly bound hexagons just one atom thick.
Three million sheets of graphene on top of each other would be 1mm thick.
The band structure of graphite was first theorised and calculated by P.R. Wallace in 1947, though for it to exist in the real world was thought impossible.
Due to the timing of this discovery, some conspiracy theorists have linked it to materials at the Roswell “crash site”.
In 2004, teams including Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov demonstrated that single layers could be isolated, resulting in the award of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010.
It is this new knowledge that has brought the entire world's gaze directly onto graphene and just what amazing new breakthroughs it might hold for the world remains to be discovered. The amount of current graphene research being done currently on a global basis is extremely difficult to say, but it is easily into the tens of billions of dollars. Obviously science has recognized the impact that graphene could have on life as we know it. However, graphene has not only garnered interest from the science community, but it has also brought industries from any number of sectors rushing into the research directed at what possibilities graphene may hold for each of the involved sectors of industry. Graphene is currently being researched for almost anything you can imagine, including mobile phone's that are bendable and nearly unbreakable, or for medical uses which would help to diagnose diseases, and a nearly endless list of other potential uses. Some of this research may one day come with a breakthrough, but others are already very close it seems. The ability of graphene to replace silicon is one that has brought giants such as IBM into the graphene research circle. http://www.technewsworld.com/story/72634.html
http://www.acceler8or.com/tags/graphene/
Another item that got my attention was the possible use of graphene in Li-ion batteries, http://www.graphene-info.com/graphene-and-silicon-sheets-used-make-lithium-ion-batteries-10-times-capacity-and-charge-speed
The latest claims being made, hold enormous potential for this type of battery, and considering the tremendous urging by governments to reach the goal of having several million electric vehicles on the road over the next few years, this is truly a major breakthrough. http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/16/researchers-increase-charging-capacity-speed-of-lithium-ion-bat/
As I have already stated, the sheer amount of financing being made available to researchers in regards to graphene research is almost beyond comprehension. In the UK, home of Manchester University where graphene was actually born, the government has stated they are investing 50 million pounds, http://www.graphene-info.com/uk-government-invest-%C2%A350-million-graphene-improve-commercial-opportunities
In yet more reports of investments being made towards graphene research I found these, http://www.graphene-info.com/nsf-awards-14-million-cornell-graphene-nanoribbons-research
http://www.graphene-info.com/u-texas-professor-been-awarded-1-million-grant-graphene-research
http://www.graphene-info.com/sweden-grants-6-million-graphene-research-grant
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/hi-tech-companies-to-invest-4-4-billion-in-new-york-state-cuomo-says/
and these are but just a sampling of what is being invested.
So what is so special about graphene that warrants all this global attention? It seems that this simple question would be a lengthy one, if I was to attempt to cover all the possibilities that science and industry potentially see, but these articles may help to give some insight, http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/oct/07/huge-investment-graphene-nobel-prizewinner
http://www.scientistlive.com/European-Science-News/Nanotechnology/Nanotechnology%3A_Promising_uses_for_graphene/22903/
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2011/11/11/Graphene.jpg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13886438
I feel absolutely sure that graphene will live up to the statement, "graphene - the wonder material that will change life as we know it", and we will not have that long to wait, in my opinion, for some of these breakthroughs to become entrenched in our lives, while of course some may be quite awhile before they are brought to market. If we look at the past, we will notice that in all instances that bronze went through the same type of growing pains, as did steel and plastic. As much as these materials all changed life as we knew it at that time, so will graphene become the next material, that will undoubtedly change our lives going forward.
I believe that Focus Metals has positioned themselves very strategically in their bid to become a financially dominant company in the graphite/graphene space. The fact that they have a deposit such as Lac Knife is obviously a positive, although the graphene joint venture they have entered into, which is now called Grafoid Inc., will bring tremendous value to the company looking forward. http://www.focusmetals.ca/news/press-releases/2011-2/march22011
The amount of added value, that Focus Metals will realize from Grafoid Inc., is difficult to state with certainty. This is not because of concerns about Grafoid's ability to produce added value, it is fully expected that Grafoid will bring much value to the table. Grafoid is structured so that they will be applying for patents to cover all proprietary technologies and products. As this research at Grafoid is proven, and the company begins to sell or license technologies and/or products, it is quite feasible to foresee tremendous value connected with this joint venture.
I realize that if you follow all the links I have provided here, this will be a very in-depth look at the subject of graphene, and yet in reality, there is so much more going on behind closed doors it leaves one almost overwhelmed at just how large this one atom thick material will become as technology continues to advance.
My suggestions to anyone who may be considering Focus Metals as an investment choice is to do your own due diligence. An excellent place to start would be the company website, which can be found at www.focusmetals.ca. It is my opinion that Focus Metals is just beginning a very long and extremely profitable journey. As was stated earlier, Focus Metals is in a pre-production status as yet, but there is a tremendous drive from management to bring this company through the required process, and to ultimately bring an above normal value to both Focus Metals and to their shareholders.
For disclosure purposes I have received no compensation of any kind for this post, and all views contained herein are my own. I do own shares of Focus Metals.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Compliance Energy stands to potentially benefit from comments made by Premier Christy Clark
Compliance Energy Corporation (TSXV:CEC) is a Canadian resource company that has coal interests in British Columbia, Canada. Through the Comox Joint Venture (‘CJV’), CEC owns 60% of the Raven Underground Coal project and is the manager & operator of the CJV. The semi–soft coking coal resource is 43–101 compliant and consists of 97.5M tonnes of measured & indicated, as well as, 34.5M tonnes of inferred. Just 82km (50 miles) from a deep water port, the Raven project is a near term producer ideally situated near power and transportation corridors.
With Premier Christy Clark in China, on a trade mission, Clark has made an announcement that the Chinese are betting significantly on BC coal. http://www.vicnews.com/business/133577168.html
In this release, I noticed that Clark has made a point of mentioning to the Chinese company executives about the major investments office being set up by the B.C. government to speed up approvals for projects like the mines. This is the type of dialogue that holds great potential for a number of companies, and more specifically it could hold potential for Compliance Energy.
While some people view coal as a has been product, this investment by the Chinese would make a strong argument against this view, and in fact shows just how important coal remains in the market today, and for many years ahead. The amount of research that has gone into making coal less destructive, in environmental terms, is quite significant. Many breakthroughs have been accomplished, as can be seen in this article in EngineerLive, http://www.engineerlive.com/Power-Engineer/Focus_on_Coal/New_technologies_reduce_environmental_impacts_of_coal-fired_plants/22603/.
The importance of this research, in my opinion, is what will keep coal very much at the center of both the power production platform, and will definitely help coal remain as the dominant factor involved in the production of steel.
It is this committed approach, by both the public and private sector, that will continue to justify the use of coal. This in turn, is what aids in the type of announcement that Premier Clark has recently made, and which I feel stands to benefit many more companies, aside from those involved in the deals she spoke of.
There is one aspect that differentiates between Compliance Energy's Raven Project, and the above mentioned coal mines, that being, the Raven Project contains a coal that would make it desirable as a blending coal that is ideally used in the production of steel. This grade of coal in turn, commands a premium price.
Compliance Energy has another factor that is very much in their favor, and that is, that their flagship operation, the Raven Project, is designed as an underground operation. Compliance Energy is looking to maintain an open communication line for people who have questions, and you can find the answers to many of the common questions they have fielded, at this link, http://www.theravenproject.ca/index.php?id=166
What I find to be of additional importance in this project, is the fact that Compliance Energy has already covered its bases in terms of off-take agreements. The two partners in the Raven project, besides Compliance Energy, are Itochu Corporation, and LG International.
Itochu is a major Japanese trading house with widespread experience in marketing, coal sales and the development of coal mines.
• Holds 20% of Comox Joint Venture
• 2010 annual trading of energy metals and minerals transactions accounted for US $35 billion.
Between these two partners they have agreed to purchase all coal that would be mined from the Raven deposit. This obviously leaves Compliance Energy in a position that allows them to concentrate and focus on the issues at hand currently in progressing this project towards production.
One other point I would like to cover, is the fact that while there is an abundance of coal globally, the remaining known resource deposits which contain metallurgical coal are becoming more rare. Those deposits that can be found, seem to be in more complex environments, and as such it is not uncommon that the costs associated with mining this coal are becoming increasingly higher. This again, is another positive aspect of the Raven Project, in that the coal can be produced at a relatively low cost for production.
We must sit patiently at this time, in order to see just what the effect of Premier Clark's comments will have in terms of benefit, both with the permitting, and potential progression towards the commissioning of a mine. At this time, it does give way for a very positive outlook for Compliance Energy Corp., and their plans to bring the Raven Project through the required processes, on their way to bringing Raven Project online as an operational mine. This in my opinion, would be a project that the government may want to look at as a prime candidate, in an attempt to follow through with the claim of helping companies to bring projects on line in a more expedited manner. Obviously there are limitations of just how fast a project can accelerate through the process, since there is no desire to knowingly expedite any project without full knowledge of the environmental impacts, as well as the cultural impacts.
For those who may be inclined to view Compliance Energy as a potential investment opportunity, I would strongly suggest that you do your own due diligence. A perfect starting point is the company's website, which can be found at, http://www.complianceenergy.com/index.php?id=27.
In terms of disclosure, I have received no compensation of any kind for this post. All views herein are my own. I do own shares of Compliance Energy Corp.
With Premier Christy Clark in China, on a trade mission, Clark has made an announcement that the Chinese are betting significantly on BC coal. http://www.vicnews.com/business/133577168.html
In this release, I noticed that Clark has made a point of mentioning to the Chinese company executives about the major investments office being set up by the B.C. government to speed up approvals for projects like the mines. This is the type of dialogue that holds great potential for a number of companies, and more specifically it could hold potential for Compliance Energy.
While some people view coal as a has been product, this investment by the Chinese would make a strong argument against this view, and in fact shows just how important coal remains in the market today, and for many years ahead. The amount of research that has gone into making coal less destructive, in environmental terms, is quite significant. Many breakthroughs have been accomplished, as can be seen in this article in EngineerLive, http://www.engineerlive.com/Power-Engineer/Focus_on_Coal/New_technologies_reduce_environmental_impacts_of_coal-fired_plants/22603/.
The importance of this research, in my opinion, is what will keep coal very much at the center of both the power production platform, and will definitely help coal remain as the dominant factor involved in the production of steel.
It is this committed approach, by both the public and private sector, that will continue to justify the use of coal. This in turn, is what aids in the type of announcement that Premier Clark has recently made, and which I feel stands to benefit many more companies, aside from those involved in the deals she spoke of.
There is one aspect that differentiates between Compliance Energy's Raven Project, and the above mentioned coal mines, that being, the Raven Project contains a coal that would make it desirable as a blending coal that is ideally used in the production of steel. This grade of coal in turn, commands a premium price.
Compliance Energy has another factor that is very much in their favor, and that is, that their flagship operation, the Raven Project, is designed as an underground operation. Compliance Energy is looking to maintain an open communication line for people who have questions, and you can find the answers to many of the common questions they have fielded, at this link, http://www.theravenproject.ca/index.php?id=166
What I find to be of additional importance in this project, is the fact that Compliance Energy has already covered its bases in terms of off-take agreements. The two partners in the Raven project, besides Compliance Energy, are Itochu Corporation, and LG International.
LG International is a leading general trader in Korea with worldwide branches and extensive experience in coal sales and mine development.
• Holds 20% of Comox Joint Venture
• LG is Asia’s largest coal traderItochu is a major Japanese trading house with widespread experience in marketing, coal sales and the development of coal mines.
• Holds 20% of Comox Joint Venture
• 2010 annual trading of energy metals and minerals transactions accounted for US $35 billion.
Between these two partners they have agreed to purchase all coal that would be mined from the Raven deposit. This obviously leaves Compliance Energy in a position that allows them to concentrate and focus on the issues at hand currently in progressing this project towards production.
One other point I would like to cover, is the fact that while there is an abundance of coal globally, the remaining known resource deposits which contain metallurgical coal are becoming more rare. Those deposits that can be found, seem to be in more complex environments, and as such it is not uncommon that the costs associated with mining this coal are becoming increasingly higher. This again, is another positive aspect of the Raven Project, in that the coal can be produced at a relatively low cost for production.
We must sit patiently at this time, in order to see just what the effect of Premier Clark's comments will have in terms of benefit, both with the permitting, and potential progression towards the commissioning of a mine. At this time, it does give way for a very positive outlook for Compliance Energy Corp., and their plans to bring the Raven Project through the required processes, on their way to bringing Raven Project online as an operational mine. This in my opinion, would be a project that the government may want to look at as a prime candidate, in an attempt to follow through with the claim of helping companies to bring projects on line in a more expedited manner. Obviously there are limitations of just how fast a project can accelerate through the process, since there is no desire to knowingly expedite any project without full knowledge of the environmental impacts, as well as the cultural impacts.
For those who may be inclined to view Compliance Energy as a potential investment opportunity, I would strongly suggest that you do your own due diligence. A perfect starting point is the company's website, which can be found at, http://www.complianceenergy.com/index.php?id=27.
In terms of disclosure, I have received no compensation of any kind for this post. All views herein are my own. I do own shares of Compliance Energy Corp.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Acceleware - What does the future look like for this technology company
Acceleware (TSXV:AXE) is a Canadian based technology company, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. I have written about this company before, but for the benefit of any who may not be familiar with Acceleware, let me briefly recap who they are and what they do.
Acceleware provides High Performance Computing software solutions to the Oil & Gas and Computer Engineering markets for multi-core CPUs and compute GPUs. Additionally, our HPC consulting services are utilized by enterprises needing to harness the power of parallel computing. At Acceleware the goal is always the same – Go Faster!
Acceleware develops and markets software acceleration products that bring unparalleled performance and speed to today's most strenuous and challenging compute and/or data-intensive demands. With Acceleware solutions installed, computer processing for data processing and simulation applications can benefit from speed-ups of 10x to 50x. Acceleware also uses its unique expertise for providing consulting services for companies, and research institutions involved with High Performance Computing. These services include architecting multi-core processing solutions, code porting and training.
Acceleware has been faced with some of the toughest financial conditions over the last few years, as have basically all companies, but Acceleware has managed to remain very focused on what they want to achieve as a company. Acceleware has experienced a $3M strategic investment by NVIDIA® Corporation in 2007. In 2008, Acceleware was reportedly considered a global leader in GPU Computing, and continues to maintain this position. In 2009, Acceleware delivered TTI Reverse Time Migration targeted at offshore seismic processing. This was followed in 2010 by the announcement of a partnership agreement between the company and Paradigm, http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/acceleware-announces-partnership-paradigm , and also with a further announcement of another partnership agreement with Crosslight, http://www.acceleware.com/acceleware-delivers-100x-speed-solar-cell-simulations .
There was one other change made to Acceleware, which has proven to be a positive one in my opinion, and that was in September of 2010, http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/acceleware-announces-appointment-geoff-clark-ceo
The entire management team at Acceleware seems to work very much from the team spirit point of view, and in my opinion, this is noticeable from the fact that each has their specific part or duty to carry out, but they also rely heavily on each other as one would expect in a team setting.
During and since the restructuring of the company in the earlier part of this year, CEO Geoff Clark, had stated that he wanted to see the money, that Acceleware would come away from the restructuring with, spent heavily into the areas of attracting new customers, continuing to build sales with current customers, and to advance the company's profile in the investment world. To accomplish all of these goals is an ambitious undertaking. It would seem that Geoff has succeeded for the most part, although many retail investors have some degree of restlessness at how inactive the share price movement has been, and this of course is completely understandable. I have contacted Acceleware and approached these issues, which has left me of the opinion, that Geoff has, and is currently, attempting to build upon sales which should bring the company into a profit making position. Once Acceleware can show that they have turned from a restructured position to a position where they are making a profit, and to have this happen as quickly as possible, then it will become much more effective when management decides to start releasing more news regarding the company, which of course would be more pointed toward the institutional investment community. I cannot claim that this was stated in as many words, but this is my opinion and interpretation of my conversations with Acceleware management. I will add that if this is indeed the true course they are taking, I can see both the risk and the tremendous potential, and the potential in my opinion is significant. If Acceleware did not have the amount of contacts that they have in this industry, or if they lacked in interest in the technology they are attempting to sell, then I would view their current approach as a very negative approach. Being that this is not the case for Acceleware, I view the path they have chosen as quite possibly one that will help to bring Acceleware along the road to a dramatic increase in terms of shareholder value. I must also state that this is not a company that I view as ideal from a trading standpoint, or at least not currently, but I do remain very optimistic that this is a company that has the potential to be a game changer.
Many investors will be waiting for the financial report which is due approximately towards the end of November. I would fully expect that this should be a pleasant surprise as opposed to a disappointment, and this view is based on several points, which include the news releases of the many training sessions being offered. In April, Acceleware released news of the continuing effort in conjunction with Microsoft to offer classes in CUDA training, http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/microsoft-and-acceleware-announce-spring-cuda-training-schedule-gpu-programmers
This was followed by another announcement in May, in which Acceleware has collaborated with AMD to offer OpenCL education, http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/amd-and-acceleware-collaborate-offer-opencl-education
These training offerings are quite positive for Acceleware, not only from a financial standpoint, but also from profile standpoint within the industry. These training classes allow AccelewareAMD, will have long-lasting positive results for Acceleware in my opinion. Of course, Acceleware has also had several other very positive things that should help improve the financial report, such as the news release from July, in which the company announced the successful completion of a professional services engagement with MicroSeismic, Inc., a leading geophysical services company providing 3-D passive seismic imaging for energy exploration and production, to optimize their fracturing / fault prediction code for GPUs. Through this engagement, MicroSeismic can leverage the full computing capacity of GPUs to deliver higher resolution images sooner to their customers. http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/acceleware-delivers-performance-microseismic%E2%80%99s-software-yielding-faster-higher-resolut
To further re-enforce my view that Acceleware has positioned themselves in such a way, so as to allow the institutional investment community to view them as a company, which offers a very valuable service and one which also possesses a proprietary technology with outstanding value and future potential, we can look at most of the remaining news releases of this year until now. When Paradigm chose to work with Acceleware, I do not believe that many people understood just how important this could prove to be for Acceleware. The product that they worked on will undoubtedly come to be known as a vital ingredient in many oil and gas explorers as they continually attempt to find new reserves in ever-increasingly difficult geologies. This is what made news like the August announcement, of Fugro selecting the Paradigm Reverse Time Migration to meet its challenging depth imaging objectives, so significant. http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/fugro-selects-paradigm-and-acceleware%E2%80%99s-reverse-time-migration
With Paradigm being a company that has a stature which is recognized on a global basis, as is Fugro, this will help Acceleware gain recognition as a technology leader, due to their ability to produce a product which is capable of delivering dramatically positive results. Financially this will equate itself onto Acceleware's bottom line because of the licensing agreement covering the proprietary knowledge which Acceleware uses in producing these products.
In September, Acceleware made an announcement that they had partnered with Bull SAS to deliver a combined solution of Bull Extreme Computing platforms and Acceleware’s multi-core accelerated seismic solutions to customers in the EMEA Oil & Gas markets. The partnership will provide Bull customers streamlined access to Acceleware GPU software, multi-core consulting services and training offerings. http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/bull-and-acceleware-announce-partnership-deliver-unified-hardware-software-experience
Since Bull is largely regarded as one of Europe's best IT companies, it is with little difficulty that one can see this is a very strategic partnership. Again we see Acceleware profiting from several aspects. First, they have established a new business relationship, and they have managed to do this with none other than a leading company in this sector, but the fact that this has given them a nice entrance into the European space is of course very desirable. Add to this the fact that there will undoubtedly be a cash flow from licensing and educational points and I believe most people would have to agree, Geoff has positioned Acceleware very nicely up to now. I would expect that as Acceleware starts to move into positive financial ground, which I expect we will hear this reporting period, we could expect that management will begin to bring Acceleware more into the view of the larger investors, and I believe this will help optimize the efforts of management in this respect.
In speaking with management recently, I was told that the major release of TTI AxRTM at SEG in San Antonio, Texas, was met with significant interest, so we can potentially expect more news to originate from this hopefully. Another event that will prove to be quite important is the upcoming Supercomputing conference. This conference is considered to be the premiere international event for all things concerning high performance computing (HPC), networking, storage and analysis. The dates for this event are Nov. 12 - 18, 2011, and will be held in Seattle, Washington. Another event that I was made aware of, is an event which Acceleware has been invited to in China, and which Geoff stated he will be presenting at. It is my understanding that this event will be well attended by many of the companies which could potentially profit from the use of Acceleware's technology. These types of invitations tend to lend credence to the belief that Acceleware has already been accepted into the Asian technology sector, and now may begin to see some further expansion into this area. Geoff also stated that he would like to make a stop at the regional Paradigm office while he was over there.
To quickly recap the activities of Acceleware and comment on where I see the company progressing from here, I would admit that management has made decisions somewhat differently than what I had originally anticipated, but I must also admit that their strategy is becoming much clearer at this point. After watching how the company has vigorously pursued attracting both new business, expanding present affiliations in both the service and sales of their technologies, and comparing this with how the company's financial condition has steadily improved, I would expect some very positive things looking forward. In my opinion management has done a wonderful job of positioning Acceleware in such a way that once they have proven they have what it takes to be profitable we can fully expect they will begin attempting to bring the company into view of the large investment facilities. From that point I would expect that Acceleware will definitely progress to a much higher market cap.
If this has made Acceleware seem like a possible investment choice, I would strongly urge everyone to do their own due diligence. A perfect place to start would be at the company website which can be found at http://www.acceleware.com/. All opinions stated in this article are my own.
For disclosure purposes I have received no compensation of any kind for this post or my opinions. I do own shares in Acceleware.
Acceleware provides High Performance Computing software solutions to the Oil & Gas and Computer Engineering markets for multi-core CPUs and compute GPUs. Additionally, our HPC consulting services are utilized by enterprises needing to harness the power of parallel computing. At Acceleware the goal is always the same – Go Faster!
Acceleware develops and markets software acceleration products that bring unparalleled performance and speed to today's most strenuous and challenging compute and/or data-intensive demands. With Acceleware solutions installed, computer processing for data processing and simulation applications can benefit from speed-ups of 10x to 50x. Acceleware also uses its unique expertise for providing consulting services for companies, and research institutions involved with High Performance Computing. These services include architecting multi-core processing solutions, code porting and training.
Acceleware has been faced with some of the toughest financial conditions over the last few years, as have basically all companies, but Acceleware has managed to remain very focused on what they want to achieve as a company. Acceleware has experienced a $3M strategic investment by NVIDIA® Corporation in 2007. In 2008, Acceleware was reportedly considered a global leader in GPU Computing, and continues to maintain this position. In 2009, Acceleware delivered TTI Reverse Time Migration targeted at offshore seismic processing. This was followed in 2010 by the announcement of a partnership agreement between the company and Paradigm, http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/acceleware-announces-partnership-paradigm , and also with a further announcement of another partnership agreement with Crosslight, http://www.acceleware.com/acceleware-delivers-100x-speed-solar-cell-simulations .
There was one other change made to Acceleware, which has proven to be a positive one in my opinion, and that was in September of 2010, http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/acceleware-announces-appointment-geoff-clark-ceo
The entire management team at Acceleware seems to work very much from the team spirit point of view, and in my opinion, this is noticeable from the fact that each has their specific part or duty to carry out, but they also rely heavily on each other as one would expect in a team setting.
During and since the restructuring of the company in the earlier part of this year, CEO Geoff Clark, had stated that he wanted to see the money, that Acceleware would come away from the restructuring with, spent heavily into the areas of attracting new customers, continuing to build sales with current customers, and to advance the company's profile in the investment world. To accomplish all of these goals is an ambitious undertaking. It would seem that Geoff has succeeded for the most part, although many retail investors have some degree of restlessness at how inactive the share price movement has been, and this of course is completely understandable. I have contacted Acceleware and approached these issues, which has left me of the opinion, that Geoff has, and is currently, attempting to build upon sales which should bring the company into a profit making position. Once Acceleware can show that they have turned from a restructured position to a position where they are making a profit, and to have this happen as quickly as possible, then it will become much more effective when management decides to start releasing more news regarding the company, which of course would be more pointed toward the institutional investment community. I cannot claim that this was stated in as many words, but this is my opinion and interpretation of my conversations with Acceleware management. I will add that if this is indeed the true course they are taking, I can see both the risk and the tremendous potential, and the potential in my opinion is significant. If Acceleware did not have the amount of contacts that they have in this industry, or if they lacked in interest in the technology they are attempting to sell, then I would view their current approach as a very negative approach. Being that this is not the case for Acceleware, I view the path they have chosen as quite possibly one that will help to bring Acceleware along the road to a dramatic increase in terms of shareholder value. I must also state that this is not a company that I view as ideal from a trading standpoint, or at least not currently, but I do remain very optimistic that this is a company that has the potential to be a game changer.
Many investors will be waiting for the financial report which is due approximately towards the end of November. I would fully expect that this should be a pleasant surprise as opposed to a disappointment, and this view is based on several points, which include the news releases of the many training sessions being offered. In April, Acceleware released news of the continuing effort in conjunction with Microsoft to offer classes in CUDA training, http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/microsoft-and-acceleware-announce-spring-cuda-training-schedule-gpu-programmers
This was followed by another announcement in May, in which Acceleware has collaborated with AMD to offer OpenCL education, http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/amd-and-acceleware-collaborate-offer-opencl-education
These training offerings are quite positive for Acceleware, not only from a financial standpoint, but also from profile standpoint within the industry. These training classes allow AccelewareAMD, will have long-lasting positive results for Acceleware in my opinion. Of course, Acceleware has also had several other very positive things that should help improve the financial report, such as the news release from July, in which the company announced the successful completion of a professional services engagement with MicroSeismic, Inc., a leading geophysical services company providing 3-D passive seismic imaging for energy exploration and production, to optimize their fracturing / fault prediction code for GPUs. Through this engagement, MicroSeismic can leverage the full computing capacity of GPUs to deliver higher resolution images sooner to their customers. http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/acceleware-delivers-performance-microseismic%E2%80%99s-software-yielding-faster-higher-resolut
To further re-enforce my view that Acceleware has positioned themselves in such a way, so as to allow the institutional investment community to view them as a company, which offers a very valuable service and one which also possesses a proprietary technology with outstanding value and future potential, we can look at most of the remaining news releases of this year until now. When Paradigm chose to work with Acceleware, I do not believe that many people understood just how important this could prove to be for Acceleware. The product that they worked on will undoubtedly come to be known as a vital ingredient in many oil and gas explorers as they continually attempt to find new reserves in ever-increasingly difficult geologies. This is what made news like the August announcement, of Fugro selecting the Paradigm Reverse Time Migration to meet its challenging depth imaging objectives, so significant. http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/fugro-selects-paradigm-and-acceleware%E2%80%99s-reverse-time-migration
With Paradigm being a company that has a stature which is recognized on a global basis, as is Fugro, this will help Acceleware gain recognition as a technology leader, due to their ability to produce a product which is capable of delivering dramatically positive results. Financially this will equate itself onto Acceleware's bottom line because of the licensing agreement covering the proprietary knowledge which Acceleware uses in producing these products.
In September, Acceleware made an announcement that they had partnered with Bull SAS to deliver a combined solution of Bull Extreme Computing platforms and Acceleware’s multi-core accelerated seismic solutions to customers in the EMEA Oil & Gas markets. The partnership will provide Bull customers streamlined access to Acceleware GPU software, multi-core consulting services and training offerings. http://www.acceleware.com/press_release/bull-and-acceleware-announce-partnership-deliver-unified-hardware-software-experience
Since Bull is largely regarded as one of Europe's best IT companies, it is with little difficulty that one can see this is a very strategic partnership. Again we see Acceleware profiting from several aspects. First, they have established a new business relationship, and they have managed to do this with none other than a leading company in this sector, but the fact that this has given them a nice entrance into the European space is of course very desirable. Add to this the fact that there will undoubtedly be a cash flow from licensing and educational points and I believe most people would have to agree, Geoff has positioned Acceleware very nicely up to now. I would expect that as Acceleware starts to move into positive financial ground, which I expect we will hear this reporting period, we could expect that management will begin to bring Acceleware more into the view of the larger investors, and I believe this will help optimize the efforts of management in this respect.
In speaking with management recently, I was told that the major release of TTI AxRTM at SEG in San Antonio, Texas, was met with significant interest, so we can potentially expect more news to originate from this hopefully. Another event that will prove to be quite important is the upcoming Supercomputing conference. This conference is considered to be the premiere international event for all things concerning high performance computing (HPC), networking, storage and analysis. The dates for this event are Nov. 12 - 18, 2011, and will be held in Seattle, Washington. Another event that I was made aware of, is an event which Acceleware has been invited to in China, and which Geoff stated he will be presenting at. It is my understanding that this event will be well attended by many of the companies which could potentially profit from the use of Acceleware's technology. These types of invitations tend to lend credence to the belief that Acceleware has already been accepted into the Asian technology sector, and now may begin to see some further expansion into this area. Geoff also stated that he would like to make a stop at the regional Paradigm office while he was over there.
To quickly recap the activities of Acceleware and comment on where I see the company progressing from here, I would admit that management has made decisions somewhat differently than what I had originally anticipated, but I must also admit that their strategy is becoming much clearer at this point. After watching how the company has vigorously pursued attracting both new business, expanding present affiliations in both the service and sales of their technologies, and comparing this with how the company's financial condition has steadily improved, I would expect some very positive things looking forward. In my opinion management has done a wonderful job of positioning Acceleware in such a way that once they have proven they have what it takes to be profitable we can fully expect they will begin attempting to bring the company into view of the large investment facilities. From that point I would expect that Acceleware will definitely progress to a much higher market cap.
If this has made Acceleware seem like a possible investment choice, I would strongly urge everyone to do their own due diligence. A perfect place to start would be at the company website which can be found at http://www.acceleware.com/. All opinions stated in this article are my own.
For disclosure purposes I have received no compensation of any kind for this post or my opinions. I do own shares in Acceleware.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
And Hathor Exploration continues to appreciate in value
Originally I wrote about Hathor Exploration (TSX:HAT) in late May of this year. In the two articles I posted, I explored the possibilities of Hathor becoming a takeover target as compared to becoming a stand-alone mine. Then in August we saw Hathor Exploration face a hostile unsolicited take-over bid from Cameco(TSX:CCO). Cameco's bid was for C$3.75 per share, and was declared as something that all shareholders should reject, according to a unanimous decision by the management of Hathor. I believe that management was indeed correct in their view of this offer. http://www.hathor.ca/i/pdf/NR_29aug2011_CCOresponse_V6-2.pdf
http://www.hathor.ca/i/pdf/2011-09-01_NR.pdf
Now, Hathor is faced with yet another bid, albeit fully expected although no one was certain who might be the next bidder, and this time it comes from none other than one of the world's largest miners, Rio Tinto. This offer is somewhat higher than Cameco's, coming in at C$4.15 per share. http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/861385/rio-tinto-makes-recommended-all-cash-offer-of-c-4-15-per-share-for-hathor-exploration
Considering that the price of Hathor shares closed at C$4.40, I believe the market is re-enforcing the belief that hathor shares are still significantly under-valued. This will quite likely lead to yet another bid, or as an alternative, we could see Rio Tinto and Cameco make a joint bid. I would hate to discount either scenario at this point, but I do fully expect that we will most likely see another bid.
There are many figures flying around regarding the correct valuation of Hathor shares at this point. Some people are stating that C$5.20 is completely within an acceptable range while others are view the closing today as an acceptable price. One thing that seems to remain constant is the fact that Rio Tinto's offer is still lacking the depth that the market is expecting. For this reason I believe that another bid is not only possible, but highly likely.
There are other aspects that also lead one to believe that this latest offer may be put to the test. For example if one looks at the drilling that has been carried out to-date on the Hathor Exploration properties, in particular the Far East zone of the Roughrider deposit, we will notice that this zone is surpassing all expectations. With the total amount of resources reported by Hathor Exploration, and with this figure constantly growing, it is not difficult to see that the share price could appreciate greatly from its current standing. http://www.hathor.ca/i/pdf/NR_26July2011.pdf
http://www.hathor.ca/i/pdf/2011-08-16_NR.pdf
http://www.hathor.ca/i/pdf/2011-09-06_NR2.pdf
http://www.hathor.ca/i/pdf/NR_20Sept2011.pdf
Another aspect that provides speculation that Hathor Exploration shares could realize a higher valuation, than this latest offer from Rio Tinto, is the fact of some of the statements that come from Rio Tinto's news release announcing their bid. Rio Tinto Energy chief executive Doug Ritchie said "The medium and long-term outlook for the uranium market is positive, with uranium assuming a significant role in the world's primary energy needs. This acquisition will allow us to build on the platform successfully laid out by Hathor and we will continue to draw on their expertise and commitment going forward. Canada is a country crucial to our business and growth plans and a location where Rio Tinto has a track record of delivering on major development projects to the benefit of the local community." http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/861385/rio-tinto-makes-recommended-all-cash-offer-of-c-4-15-per-share-for-hathor-exploration
http://www.hathor.ca/i/pdf/2011-09-01_NR.pdf
Now, Hathor is faced with yet another bid, albeit fully expected although no one was certain who might be the next bidder, and this time it comes from none other than one of the world's largest miners, Rio Tinto. This offer is somewhat higher than Cameco's, coming in at C$4.15 per share. http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/861385/rio-tinto-makes-recommended-all-cash-offer-of-c-4-15-per-share-for-hathor-exploration
Considering that the price of Hathor shares closed at C$4.40, I believe the market is re-enforcing the belief that hathor shares are still significantly under-valued. This will quite likely lead to yet another bid, or as an alternative, we could see Rio Tinto and Cameco make a joint bid. I would hate to discount either scenario at this point, but I do fully expect that we will most likely see another bid.
There are many figures flying around regarding the correct valuation of Hathor shares at this point. Some people are stating that C$5.20 is completely within an acceptable range while others are view the closing today as an acceptable price. One thing that seems to remain constant is the fact that Rio Tinto's offer is still lacking the depth that the market is expecting. For this reason I believe that another bid is not only possible, but highly likely.
There are other aspects that also lead one to believe that this latest offer may be put to the test. For example if one looks at the drilling that has been carried out to-date on the Hathor Exploration properties, in particular the Far East zone of the Roughrider deposit, we will notice that this zone is surpassing all expectations. With the total amount of resources reported by Hathor Exploration, and with this figure constantly growing, it is not difficult to see that the share price could appreciate greatly from its current standing. http://www.hathor.ca/i/pdf/NR_26July2011.pdf
http://www.hathor.ca/i/pdf/2011-08-16_NR.pdf
http://www.hathor.ca/i/pdf/2011-09-06_NR2.pdf
http://www.hathor.ca/i/pdf/NR_20Sept2011.pdf
Another aspect that provides speculation that Hathor Exploration shares could realize a higher valuation, than this latest offer from Rio Tinto, is the fact of some of the statements that come from Rio Tinto's news release announcing their bid. Rio Tinto Energy chief executive Doug Ritchie said "The medium and long-term outlook for the uranium market is positive, with uranium assuming a significant role in the world's primary energy needs. This acquisition will allow us to build on the platform successfully laid out by Hathor and we will continue to draw on their expertise and commitment going forward. Canada is a country crucial to our business and growth plans and a location where Rio Tinto has a track record of delivering on major development projects to the benefit of the local community." http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/861385/rio-tinto-makes-recommended-all-cash-offer-of-c-4-15-per-share-for-hathor-exploration
Although Rio Tinto is definitely a world class miner of uranium, they are starting to experience declining production of the raw material in nuclear fuel because of lower grades and bad weather at its Ranger mine in the Northern Territory. Although bad weather and a recent labor dispute have hampered production, it has been reported that the grade of uranium is not near to reaching the grades from the Hathor Exploration properties located in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan.
I have put forth my opinion regarding the possibility of another bid, but one must also take into account that the management has given their unanimous support to this bid from Rio Tinto. As such, it is difficult to say with certainty, what the true outcome will be. Hathor Exploration is reportedly giving an update to the Far East zone resource calculation on approximately Nov. 11, and this truly could be the catalyst that precipitates another bid. In my opinion, I tend to favor those who have given Hathor Exploration the value of slightly more than C$5.00 per share. I base this on the speculation that the Far East zone will contain much more uranium than it is currently being credited for.
I am very pleased that I was able to see this chance and to be able to share it back in May of this year. I do not expect that this story is over yet though, and I do hope that Hathor Exploration will get what many seem to feel is the true value of this company. For those who may have bought when I first presented Hathor
For those who feel that this may fit their investment choice criteria, I would suggest that you definitely do your own due diligence. An excellent place to start would be at the company website, which is located at www.hathor.ca.
For disclosure purposes I have not received any compensation of any kind for this post or my opinions. I do not own shares of Hathor Exploration.
For disclosure purposes I have not received any compensation of any kind for this post or my opinions. I do not own shares of Hathor Exploration.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
What can Focus Metals expect to gain from the current race concerning graphene research
There is currently an astounding amount of research being conducted on graphene, the one atom thick product discovered by Andre K. Geim, 51, and Konstantin S. Novoselov, 36, both of the University of Manchester, in the U.K., and as a result they were awarded the the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics. http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/88/i41/8841news4.html
To bring into perspective just how huge this research has become from a global standpoint, it has been reported that tens of billions of dollars are being spent on the research of graphene. This truly leads one to a fuller understanding of why graphene is being heralded as the product that will begin a new age, just as we have seen in the past, with the bronze age followed by the ages of steel and plastic. All of these products went through many growing pains, but have become so commonplace in our lives now, that it is virtually impossible to imagine life without any of them. As with all the hurdles that came up in the research of bronze, steel, and plastic, so too will graphene face many hurdles that need to be conquered, and we are seeing this being met head-on with the entire research community globally.
There are reports that graphene is already slated to be introduced in some products in the near future, as is evidenced in the news release by Samsung, that they have plans to release the new Galaxy Skin, their newest phone, in 2012. In this news release in the Telegraph, from the UK, and written by Gianluca Mezzofiore, we will find that the future has arrived, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8790189/Flexible-Samsung-phone-to-be-issued-in-2012.html
I am sure that many of us in the world would hope that graphene can be expected to accomplish much more than bendable phones, so let us look at just a sampling of some of the research being conducted currently. How many of us are familiar with catalysts? Surprisingly, we all are, but in many cases we do not realize it. Catalysts speed chemical reactions without being consumed by those reactions. Their importance to society and the economy is tough to overstate. Products made with catalysts include medicines, fuels, foods and fertilizers.
Ninety percent of U.S. chemical manufacturing processes involve catalysts, which also are used to make more than one-fifth of all industrial products. Those processes consume much energy, so making catalytic reactions more efficient would both save energy and reduce emissions of climate-warming carbon dioxide gas. In this article provided by the University of Utah, we learn how University of Utah chemists developed a method to design and test new catalysts, which are substances that speed chemical reactions and are crucial for producing energy, chemicals and industrial products. By using the new method, the chemists also made a discovery that will make it easier to design future catalysts.
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-09-catalysts-chemists-important-molecules.html
In yet another research project being conducted at the University of California, Riverside, we read how graphene's electrical properties can be tuned. At first this may seem inconsequential, but it may in fact be what is missing from the multitude of research projects around the world, in which they are attempting to replace silicon with graphene. Of course this accidental discovery does not take graphene to the level where we will see graphene being used in supercapacitors just yet, but it does give the entire research community what can be described as a significant breakthrough. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/uoc--hge092611.php
These research projects, mentioned in this post, do not even begin to cover the vastness of graphene research globally, but rather only touch on the proverbial tip of the iceberg, regarding the amount of potential uses of graphene. In most cases, although not all obviously, there is a cloak of secrecy being put in place by the various research companies and labs, so it is very difficult to garner information on many of these projects. The reason being given by most companies is that, with so much riding on the pending success of each particular research project, they refuse to speak about the details of their specific research.
As we can see, graphene is ready to start its debut into the mainstream of our lives, in the very near future. With the technology available to the researchers of today, and of course, with the potential for more accidental discoveries, it is completely reasonable to think that graphene will find more uses, also in the near future and in the coming years. As history has shown us over the years, every time we discover a new product such as graphene, it takes an almost immeasurable amount of research in order to bring about the actual full potential of the product. It is therefore, in my opinion, that graphene will continue to be tested and researched exhaustively, and it is this that will bring Focus Metals an unusually high valuation to their company. Focus Metals will obviously stand to make significant financial gains from the sale of graphite, but graphene, due to its pricing, will be what makes Focus Metals extremely valuable. As we experience a global increase in graphene research, it is only realistic to expect that there will be a need for a source of more graphene stock to work with. Since it has been proven that not all graphite can produce graphene, that is of a caliber high enough to make it usable, there will no doubt be value brought to Focus Metals since tests have shown the graphite from Lac Knife is indeed capable of producing graphene of a quality that will be in great demand.
This potential for added value to Focus Metals, will come from Gafoid Inc., since this is a joint venture which Focus Metals holds 40% of, and is a company that is heavily vested into graphene research, with the ultimate goal of patenting and licensing all usable technologies and processes. With Roche working on the 43-101 now that the assays have been returned, and with the knowledge that the graphite contained in the Lac Knife deposit, owned by Focus Metals, is capable of producing a graphene that is considered very usable by the research community, I am reminded of other companies that had just as humble beginnings. For instance, if we consider when the late, Steve Jobs, first started working in his garage, on what would become the icon of the technology age, who could have foreseen the vision he envisioned. I believe graphene is capable of reaching this level of usability, throughout many sectors and industries, and that the fact of what they own in their Lac Knife deposit, along with the success they stand to potentially realize from Grafoid Inc, will help the company to reach the goal as described by management as the vision they had at the company's inception. Another aspect that will continue to help Focus Metals on their quest is the fact that they are attempting to position themselves with some of the worlds largest graphite and graphene companies. These efforts will prove to be invaluable as Focus Metals continues to work towards becoming a significant world supplier of graphite and graphene.
In closing, I would like to draw attention to one of the key aspects, of why Focus Metals is better positioned to make potentially huge financial gains, as compared to virtually all their competitors. It is well known that whichever company can produce a product at the lowest price is the company that stands to gain the most. Here again Focus Metals had a dramatic edge on competitors, and now with Grafoid Inc working on a process that will revolutionize the cost of production, Focus Metals will stand to benefit tremendously. This process not only lowers the cost of production, but will aid in the purification of the product. It is my understanding that this highly secretive process is one of the patents being applied for. Truly I view Focus Metals as one of the most unique companies available on the market at present.
If this article prompts you to consider Focus Metals as a potential investment choice, I strongly suggest that you do your own due diligence, and that a great place to start is at the Focus Metals website, which can be located at www.focusmetals.ca.
For disclosure purposes I have received no compensation of any kind for this post or my views and opinions contained therein. I own shares in Focus Metals.
To bring into perspective just how huge this research has become from a global standpoint, it has been reported that tens of billions of dollars are being spent on the research of graphene. This truly leads one to a fuller understanding of why graphene is being heralded as the product that will begin a new age, just as we have seen in the past, with the bronze age followed by the ages of steel and plastic. All of these products went through many growing pains, but have become so commonplace in our lives now, that it is virtually impossible to imagine life without any of them. As with all the hurdles that came up in the research of bronze, steel, and plastic, so too will graphene face many hurdles that need to be conquered, and we are seeing this being met head-on with the entire research community globally.
There are reports that graphene is already slated to be introduced in some products in the near future, as is evidenced in the news release by Samsung, that they have plans to release the new Galaxy Skin, their newest phone, in 2012. In this news release in the Telegraph, from the UK, and written by Gianluca Mezzofiore, we will find that the future has arrived, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8790189/Flexible-Samsung-phone-to-be-issued-in-2012.html
I am sure that many of us in the world would hope that graphene can be expected to accomplish much more than bendable phones, so let us look at just a sampling of some of the research being conducted currently. How many of us are familiar with catalysts? Surprisingly, we all are, but in many cases we do not realize it. Catalysts speed chemical reactions without being consumed by those reactions. Their importance to society and the economy is tough to overstate. Products made with catalysts include medicines, fuels, foods and fertilizers.
Ninety percent of U.S. chemical manufacturing processes involve catalysts, which also are used to make more than one-fifth of all industrial products. Those processes consume much energy, so making catalytic reactions more efficient would both save energy and reduce emissions of climate-warming carbon dioxide gas. In this article provided by the University of Utah, we learn how University of Utah chemists developed a method to design and test new catalysts, which are substances that speed chemical reactions and are crucial for producing energy, chemicals and industrial products. By using the new method, the chemists also made a discovery that will make it easier to design future catalysts.
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-09-catalysts-chemists-important-molecules.html
In yet another research project being conducted at the University of California, Riverside, we read how graphene's electrical properties can be tuned. At first this may seem inconsequential, but it may in fact be what is missing from the multitude of research projects around the world, in which they are attempting to replace silicon with graphene. Of course this accidental discovery does not take graphene to the level where we will see graphene being used in supercapacitors just yet, but it does give the entire research community what can be described as a significant breakthrough. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-09/uoc--hge092611.php
These research projects, mentioned in this post, do not even begin to cover the vastness of graphene research globally, but rather only touch on the proverbial tip of the iceberg, regarding the amount of potential uses of graphene. In most cases, although not all obviously, there is a cloak of secrecy being put in place by the various research companies and labs, so it is very difficult to garner information on many of these projects. The reason being given by most companies is that, with so much riding on the pending success of each particular research project, they refuse to speak about the details of their specific research.
As we can see, graphene is ready to start its debut into the mainstream of our lives, in the very near future. With the technology available to the researchers of today, and of course, with the potential for more accidental discoveries, it is completely reasonable to think that graphene will find more uses, also in the near future and in the coming years. As history has shown us over the years, every time we discover a new product such as graphene, it takes an almost immeasurable amount of research in order to bring about the actual full potential of the product. It is therefore, in my opinion, that graphene will continue to be tested and researched exhaustively, and it is this that will bring Focus Metals an unusually high valuation to their company. Focus Metals will obviously stand to make significant financial gains from the sale of graphite, but graphene, due to its pricing, will be what makes Focus Metals extremely valuable. As we experience a global increase in graphene research, it is only realistic to expect that there will be a need for a source of more graphene stock to work with. Since it has been proven that not all graphite can produce graphene, that is of a caliber high enough to make it usable, there will no doubt be value brought to Focus Metals since tests have shown the graphite from Lac Knife is indeed capable of producing graphene of a quality that will be in great demand.
This potential for added value to Focus Metals, will come from Gafoid Inc., since this is a joint venture which Focus Metals holds 40% of, and is a company that is heavily vested into graphene research, with the ultimate goal of patenting and licensing all usable technologies and processes. With Roche working on the 43-101 now that the assays have been returned, and with the knowledge that the graphite contained in the Lac Knife deposit, owned by Focus Metals, is capable of producing a graphene that is considered very usable by the research community, I am reminded of other companies that had just as humble beginnings. For instance, if we consider when the late, Steve Jobs, first started working in his garage, on what would become the icon of the technology age, who could have foreseen the vision he envisioned. I believe graphene is capable of reaching this level of usability, throughout many sectors and industries, and that the fact of what they own in their Lac Knife deposit, along with the success they stand to potentially realize from Grafoid Inc, will help the company to reach the goal as described by management as the vision they had at the company's inception. Another aspect that will continue to help Focus Metals on their quest is the fact that they are attempting to position themselves with some of the worlds largest graphite and graphene companies. These efforts will prove to be invaluable as Focus Metals continues to work towards becoming a significant world supplier of graphite and graphene.
In closing, I would like to draw attention to one of the key aspects, of why Focus Metals is better positioned to make potentially huge financial gains, as compared to virtually all their competitors. It is well known that whichever company can produce a product at the lowest price is the company that stands to gain the most. Here again Focus Metals had a dramatic edge on competitors, and now with Grafoid Inc working on a process that will revolutionize the cost of production, Focus Metals will stand to benefit tremendously. This process not only lowers the cost of production, but will aid in the purification of the product. It is my understanding that this highly secretive process is one of the patents being applied for. Truly I view Focus Metals as one of the most unique companies available on the market at present.
If this article prompts you to consider Focus Metals as a potential investment choice, I strongly suggest that you do your own due diligence, and that a great place to start is at the Focus Metals website, which can be located at www.focusmetals.ca.
For disclosure purposes I have received no compensation of any kind for this post or my views and opinions contained therein. I own shares in Focus Metals.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Focus Metals continues push forward to realize its goal of being the global go-to company for gaphite and graphene
Focus Metals (TSXV:FMS)(OTCQX:FCSMF) has had one goal since the beginning of the company, and that has been, to become not just a graphite producer, but to become "the" graphite producer. The company's CEO, Gary Economo, has remained busier than the average CEO, with a constant desire to bring Focus Metals to the point, that it can fully realize this goal. Although Gary is extremely dedicated and committed to this progression of Focus Metals, it should be noted that the entire management team is, above all, exactly that, a team. They share a visionary approach to the production of graphite from the company's Lac Knife deposit. What they also had, and still have, was the ability to seize upon the moment and realize as fully as was possible at the time, just how much value this deposit presented in terms of a product that has swept the world. This product is none other than graphene. For the benefit of those who may not fully understand just how advantageously positioned Focus Metals is, please click on this link, http://www.focusmetals.ca/technology/graphene, as I feel this helps to bring clarity to this topic.
Not only has Focus Metals taken full advantage of the opportunity to buy the Lac Knife graphite deposit, with all the potential there-in, but they have completely seized the moment, in that they envisioned just how graphene seemed to be destined to change the world as we know it. The result of this is what is now known as Grafoid Inc., and is what stands to set Focus Metals apart from virtually all other graphite companies. The added value, that potentially could come to Focus Metals, as a result of this graphene joint venture called Grafoid is phenomenal to say the least. The graphite from Lac Knife has been verified by the Chief Scientist, Dr. Gordon Chiu, as being of unusually high grade. This in turn has a significant impact on the graphene produced from graphite. The following is an excerpt of what Dr. Chiu reported to Gary, " Dr. Chiu reported to us that our raw, unprocessed graphite was much better in quality than the best processed laboratory graphite on the market today."
What I find even more compelling, is the fact that Dr. Chiu has been working on a processing and purification technology, whereby it will allow Focus Metals to produce graphene directly from the ore produced at Lac Knife. This is obviously a stellar accomplishment which will in my opinion bring Focus Metals onto a playing field shared with few if any competitors. This in my opinion speaks volumes of the future of this company and the value they are striving to bring to shareholders. One of the major issues that can significantly impact a company's bottom-line, is of course, the cost of producing the product initially. Since Dr. Chiu has reached a point where the graphene can be produced directly from the graphite ore, this has the over-all effect of lowering the cost of production dramatically.
Focus Metals Inc., through its New York-based joint venture headed by Dr. Chiu, its Chief Scientist, surprised the scientific community in early 2011 when it announced its entrance into the graphene development arena – a domain dominated by industrial heavyweights IBM, Intel and Samsung. When I recently inquired of Gary as to what Dr. Chiu might be working on, I was told "The proprietary nature of some 25 specific projects at this time preclude the company from identifying its commercial development targets." With the reported spending of tens of billions of dollars currently being spent on graphene research globally, at university laboratories and in corporate research and development facilities, in three principal sectors, namely: consumer electronics; computing devices and, industrial materials, it comes as no surprise that secrecy is over-abundant. The fact that we are given the knowledge of some 2 dozen specific projects, which of course will undoubtedly upon successful completion, become large cash cows in the form of patents and licensing agreements, reinforces just how the management team is working diligently to bring more value to this company, and in so doing, also to the shareholders of Focus Metals.
I find all of this quite compelling as an indication of the direction Focus Metals is headed, but there is even more reason to expect great things to come, besides those points I've covered so far. Gary had stated previously that acquisitions were something Focus Metals would continue to consider. In this NR dated September 9, 2011, we find that Focus Metals has not only bought slightly more than 200 additional claims, but have also brought another person on board in the form of, Mr. Tony Brisson, P.Geo., as Vice-President, Exploration. The following is what Gary had to say as he introduces Mr. Brisson,
“Mr. Brisson’s addition to Focus Metals’ management, particularly his strong mining and mine development background in Quebec and abroad, brings additional strength to our core management team as we begin to implement our longer-term corporate agenda,” Mr. Economo said.
“Mr. Brisson’s exploration and mine development skills and experience dovetail with our current mission to expand and enhance our understanding of our Lac Knife, Quebec graphite property and our future domestic and international acquisitions,” Mr. Economo said.
A former recipient of the Quebec Exploration Mining Association’s Prospector of the Year award, Mr. Brisson assumes his responsibilities with Focus Metal after serving seven years as VP Exploration, Cogitore Resources Inc. Mr. Brisson holds a B.Sc. Geology degree from the University Du Quebec a Chicoutimi. His previous experience includes nine years with Cambior Inc., as an exploration and mining geologist and he has held various senior mining management positions with Breakwater Resources Ltd., and Campbell Resources Inc.
Mr. Brisson lives in Rouyn-Noranda. I believe that the addition of Mr. Brisson will be a positive one as we watch Focus Metals continue their push forward to their ultimate goal.
In this same NR, it is reported that Focus Metals has purchased more claims, which Mr. Economo has stated, are known to contain graphite. As we can see from this announcement, this acquisition clearly lends credence to the company's goal of increasing value both for the company and their shareholders.
http://www.focusmetals.ca/news/press-releases/2011-2/sept92011
The following are some maps that were provided, courtesy of Focus Metals, which show the general area in which these claims are located, as well as some other maps that detail the claims. I should add that these maps show the claim application numbers not the actual claim numbers.
The dedication and commitment of the management team just seems to keep getting clearer as we watch the acquisitions begin, the push to expand our drilling, the very busy schedule of meetings and confrences in order to bring Focus Metals before the entire world, and of course the enormous effort of getting Grafoid Inc. incorporated and still maintaining the enormous workload that comes with all the research prsently being conducted.
There is obviously much to be anticipated from Grafoid Inc. as we look forward. The fact that their every move is not being kept as transparent as possible is, in my opinion, not only quite normal but is a prerequisite. Historically, this has been proven, to be the only strategy that a company can use when there are so many competitors competing fr the same technology. Imagine where Apple, Microsoft, and Google would be if they had made their every move completely transparent. We know that Grafoid is currently working on some 25 or more specific projects, and with this in mind, it is with ease that I would expect to hear some astounding news that has the potential to move Focus Metals into a completely new global position. With the global graphene research tab reaching well into the billions of dollars, it should be starting to become more clear that graphene is not going away, but rather will truly continue to undoubtedly become the product that will start us into a new age. In my opinion, to under-estimate just how huge the potential for Focus Metals is, considering all that graphite and graphene have to offer the world, would be a mistake.
If we consider the fact that Focus Metals had the lowest projected cost for production when the company first started, it should be easy enough to appreciate the fact that Dr. Chiu has effectively lowered this cost considerably. The fact that Dr. Chiu has provided the company with a processing and purification technology, whereby Focus Metals can produce graphene directly from the ore at Lac Knife, should be accepted as a very monumental step. I would venture to say that this will add untold value to not only the company, but also to the shareholders.
If this has prompted anyone to consider Focus Metals as an investment choice, I would urge everyone to do their own due diligence. An extremely good starting point would be the Focus Metals website which can be found at www.focusmetals.ca.
For disclosure purposes I have received no compensation for this post or my opinions. I own shares in Focus Metals.
Not only has Focus Metals taken full advantage of the opportunity to buy the Lac Knife graphite deposit, with all the potential there-in, but they have completely seized the moment, in that they envisioned just how graphene seemed to be destined to change the world as we know it. The result of this is what is now known as Grafoid Inc., and is what stands to set Focus Metals apart from virtually all other graphite companies. The added value, that potentially could come to Focus Metals, as a result of this graphene joint venture called Grafoid is phenomenal to say the least. The graphite from Lac Knife has been verified by the Chief Scientist, Dr. Gordon Chiu, as being of unusually high grade. This in turn has a significant impact on the graphene produced from graphite. The following is an excerpt of what Dr. Chiu reported to Gary, " Dr. Chiu reported to us that our raw, unprocessed graphite was much better in quality than the best processed laboratory graphite on the market today."
What I find even more compelling, is the fact that Dr. Chiu has been working on a processing and purification technology, whereby it will allow Focus Metals to produce graphene directly from the ore produced at Lac Knife. This is obviously a stellar accomplishment which will in my opinion bring Focus Metals onto a playing field shared with few if any competitors. This in my opinion speaks volumes of the future of this company and the value they are striving to bring to shareholders. One of the major issues that can significantly impact a company's bottom-line, is of course, the cost of producing the product initially. Since Dr. Chiu has reached a point where the graphene can be produced directly from the graphite ore, this has the over-all effect of lowering the cost of production dramatically.
Focus Metals Inc., through its New York-based joint venture headed by Dr. Chiu, its Chief Scientist, surprised the scientific community in early 2011 when it announced its entrance into the graphene development arena – a domain dominated by industrial heavyweights IBM, Intel and Samsung. When I recently inquired of Gary as to what Dr. Chiu might be working on, I was told "The proprietary nature of some 25 specific projects at this time preclude the company from identifying its commercial development targets." With the reported spending of tens of billions of dollars currently being spent on graphene research globally, at university laboratories and in corporate research and development facilities, in three principal sectors, namely: consumer electronics; computing devices and, industrial materials, it comes as no surprise that secrecy is over-abundant. The fact that we are given the knowledge of some 2 dozen specific projects, which of course will undoubtedly upon successful completion, become large cash cows in the form of patents and licensing agreements, reinforces just how the management team is working diligently to bring more value to this company, and in so doing, also to the shareholders of Focus Metals.
I find all of this quite compelling as an indication of the direction Focus Metals is headed, but there is even more reason to expect great things to come, besides those points I've covered so far. Gary had stated previously that acquisitions were something Focus Metals would continue to consider. In this NR dated September 9, 2011, we find that Focus Metals has not only bought slightly more than 200 additional claims, but have also brought another person on board in the form of, Mr. Tony Brisson, P.Geo., as Vice-President, Exploration. The following is what Gary had to say as he introduces Mr. Brisson,
“Mr. Brisson’s addition to Focus Metals’ management, particularly his strong mining and mine development background in Quebec and abroad, brings additional strength to our core management team as we begin to implement our longer-term corporate agenda,” Mr. Economo said.
“Mr. Brisson’s exploration and mine development skills and experience dovetail with our current mission to expand and enhance our understanding of our Lac Knife, Quebec graphite property and our future domestic and international acquisitions,” Mr. Economo said.
A former recipient of the Quebec Exploration Mining Association’s Prospector of the Year award, Mr. Brisson assumes his responsibilities with Focus Metal after serving seven years as VP Exploration, Cogitore Resources Inc. Mr. Brisson holds a B.Sc. Geology degree from the University Du Quebec a Chicoutimi. His previous experience includes nine years with Cambior Inc., as an exploration and mining geologist and he has held various senior mining management positions with Breakwater Resources Ltd., and Campbell Resources Inc.
Mr. Brisson lives in Rouyn-Noranda. I believe that the addition of Mr. Brisson will be a positive one as we watch Focus Metals continue their push forward to their ultimate goal.
In this same NR, it is reported that Focus Metals has purchased more claims, which Mr. Economo has stated, are known to contain graphite. As we can see from this announcement, this acquisition clearly lends credence to the company's goal of increasing value both for the company and their shareholders.
http://www.focusmetals.ca/news/press-releases/2011-2/sept92011
The following are some maps that were provided, courtesy of Focus Metals, which show the general area in which these claims are located, as well as some other maps that detail the claims. I should add that these maps show the claim application numbers not the actual claim numbers.
The dedication and commitment of the management team just seems to keep getting clearer as we watch the acquisitions begin, the push to expand our drilling, the very busy schedule of meetings and confrences in order to bring Focus Metals before the entire world, and of course the enormous effort of getting Grafoid Inc. incorporated and still maintaining the enormous workload that comes with all the research prsently being conducted.
There is obviously much to be anticipated from Grafoid Inc. as we look forward. The fact that their every move is not being kept as transparent as possible is, in my opinion, not only quite normal but is a prerequisite. Historically, this has been proven, to be the only strategy that a company can use when there are so many competitors competing fr the same technology. Imagine where Apple, Microsoft, and Google would be if they had made their every move completely transparent. We know that Grafoid is currently working on some 25 or more specific projects, and with this in mind, it is with ease that I would expect to hear some astounding news that has the potential to move Focus Metals into a completely new global position. With the global graphene research tab reaching well into the billions of dollars, it should be starting to become more clear that graphene is not going away, but rather will truly continue to undoubtedly become the product that will start us into a new age. In my opinion, to under-estimate just how huge the potential for Focus Metals is, considering all that graphite and graphene have to offer the world, would be a mistake.
If we consider the fact that Focus Metals had the lowest projected cost for production when the company first started, it should be easy enough to appreciate the fact that Dr. Chiu has effectively lowered this cost considerably. The fact that Dr. Chiu has provided the company with a processing and purification technology, whereby Focus Metals can produce graphene directly from the ore at Lac Knife, should be accepted as a very monumental step. I would venture to say that this will add untold value to not only the company, but also to the shareholders.
If this has prompted anyone to consider Focus Metals as an investment choice, I would urge everyone to do their own due diligence. An extremely good starting point would be the Focus Metals website which can be found at www.focusmetals.ca.
For disclosure purposes I have received no compensation for this post or my opinions. I own shares in Focus Metals.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
An expanded look at my trip to Focus Metals' Lac Knife property
In this post I will be writing more about my recent trip to Lac Knife, the deposit owned by Focus Metals (TSXV:FMS)(OTCQX:FCSMF). I am still quite inspired by what I saw, and also by the detailed tour narrative given by CEO Gary Economo. It quickly became evident, why Gary has such an energy and enthusiastic spirit, in regards to Lac Knife. The scenery was beautiful as we dropped below the clouds, as we prepared to land at Wabush airport in Labrador. As we drove from the airport towards Lac Knife in Quebec, it was very noticeable to me that this was indeed such a serene setting. As we got closer to Lac Knife this only intensified, until we actually entered the property.
The following 3 images are some of the outcrops that are visible at surface. All of these outcrops are easy to chip and it becomes clear that these are actually graphite.
As we stopped in various locations on the Lac Knife property, and got out to walk around, it provided a chance to examine many of the surrounding outcrops, of which there were several. As I stood beside a couple of these outcrops, which dwarfed me, and listened as Gary explained that the over-burden is, generally speaking, about 3-6 meters thick. This heightened my sense of what this deposit truly held, and then to consider that this entire deposit is open both at depth and to the south. Considering the size and basic shape of the deposit, it was indeed quite a feeling, as I fully realized what I was standing on. When I reached the southern portion of the mineralized zone, and could look farther to the south, that was when I saw one large outcrop and a few smaller ones. The larger being approximately 2 to 2.5 meters high and approximately 2 meters in diameter. This is an image of the above mentioned outcrop which is beyond the southern edge of the known mineralized zone. As you can see this was not taken on my trip, due to some of my images not being usable, I graciously thank Focus Metals for providing these images.
There was lots of evidence of the last drilling program, with all the holes being clearly marked. As we talked about the previous drilling, Gary pointed out approximately where they would like to drill some of the holes in this expanded drilling program, which was announced on June 30, 2011. http://www.focusmetals.ca/news/press-releases/2011-2/june302011
In this news release, Gary states, " Samples will be drilled out by large-bore machines to depths of up to 300 meters – almost twice the depth of previous drilling – while new areas will be drilled on the southern portion of the Lac Knife property."
Once this drilling begins and Focus Metals begins to test the depth of just how deep the graphite truly goes, as well as drilling in the southern portion of the property, where no drilling has been performed to date, this could truly re-define Focus Metals completely.
Lac Knife reportedly has a 40 year mine life, (non NI43-101 compliant as yet), so it may not seem that important in that respect, however, if the resource can be enlarged, this will undoubtedly add to shareholder value.
According to Gary, the processing plant is most likely to be built in Fermont, Quebec. The distance from Lac Knife to Fermont is approximately 35 kilometers, with a portion of this on a paved provincial highway, and the remaining portion being a gravel road. The gravel portion will need some upgrading, however, the base of the road is in place. This road is maintained by the electric utility company, whose high-voltage transmission line passes with-in 7km of the property.
What I believe makes this deposit stand out from any other is the fact of the grade. Although this is non 43-101 compliant at this point, it has had major studies done as recently as 2001, and it would appear that the grade can be expected to be very close to 17%. This may not hold much meaning for some but it is in reality one of the highest concentrate flake graphite resource in the world at nearly 17% (pre-NI 43-101). It has attracted worldwide attention because of its purity and its economic value.
If that sounds extremely good, then let me tell you what has the potential to take Focus Metals into a leading global position. As we all know graphene has taken the world by storm, and as recent tests suggest, the graphite from Lac Knife has proven to produce some of the highest quality graphene. With the use of graphene actually entering products in our lives as we speak, it is with little difficulty that I can foresee Focus Metals becoming a go-to global company for graphite and graphene, which will obviously lead to enormous wealth for both the company and the shareholders.
I should add, that as we watch the markets as of late, it is evident that most if not all juniors and mid-tier companies are experiencing significant drops in their share price. For many this can become quite disconcerting, but I think this is a time when we need to watch very closely as I believe this is exactly what it takes to afford those with a high risk tolerance to gain some very envious possible entry points.
For those who find Focus Metals attractive as a possible investment choice, I strongly urge you to do your own due diligence on this company. As usual I recommend starting at the Focus Metals web site which can be found at www.focusmetals.ca.
For disclosure purposes I have received no compensation for this post or my opinions. My travel expenses to Lac Knife were paid by Focus Metals. I own shares in Focus Metals.
The following 3 images are some of the outcrops that are visible at surface. All of these outcrops are easy to chip and it becomes clear that these are actually graphite.
As we stopped in various locations on the Lac Knife property, and got out to walk around, it provided a chance to examine many of the surrounding outcrops, of which there were several. As I stood beside a couple of these outcrops, which dwarfed me, and listened as Gary explained that the over-burden is, generally speaking, about 3-6 meters thick. This heightened my sense of what this deposit truly held, and then to consider that this entire deposit is open both at depth and to the south. Considering the size and basic shape of the deposit, it was indeed quite a feeling, as I fully realized what I was standing on. When I reached the southern portion of the mineralized zone, and could look farther to the south, that was when I saw one large outcrop and a few smaller ones. The larger being approximately 2 to 2.5 meters high and approximately 2 meters in diameter. This is an image of the above mentioned outcrop which is beyond the southern edge of the known mineralized zone. As you can see this was not taken on my trip, due to some of my images not being usable, I graciously thank Focus Metals for providing these images.
There was lots of evidence of the last drilling program, with all the holes being clearly marked. As we talked about the previous drilling, Gary pointed out approximately where they would like to drill some of the holes in this expanded drilling program, which was announced on June 30, 2011. http://www.focusmetals.ca/news/press-releases/2011-2/june302011
In this news release, Gary states, " Samples will be drilled out by large-bore machines to depths of up to 300 meters – almost twice the depth of previous drilling – while new areas will be drilled on the southern portion of the Lac Knife property."
Once this drilling begins and Focus Metals begins to test the depth of just how deep the graphite truly goes, as well as drilling in the southern portion of the property, where no drilling has been performed to date, this could truly re-define Focus Metals completely.
Lac Knife reportedly has a 40 year mine life, (non NI43-101 compliant as yet), so it may not seem that important in that respect, however, if the resource can be enlarged, this will undoubtedly add to shareholder value.
According to Gary, the processing plant is most likely to be built in Fermont, Quebec. The distance from Lac Knife to Fermont is approximately 35 kilometers, with a portion of this on a paved provincial highway, and the remaining portion being a gravel road. The gravel portion will need some upgrading, however, the base of the road is in place. This road is maintained by the electric utility company, whose high-voltage transmission line passes with-in 7km of the property.
What I believe makes this deposit stand out from any other is the fact of the grade. Although this is non 43-101 compliant at this point, it has had major studies done as recently as 2001, and it would appear that the grade can be expected to be very close to 17%. This may not hold much meaning for some but it is in reality one of the highest concentrate flake graphite resource in the world at nearly 17% (pre-NI 43-101). It has attracted worldwide attention because of its purity and its economic value.
If that sounds extremely good, then let me tell you what has the potential to take Focus Metals into a leading global position. As we all know graphene has taken the world by storm, and as recent tests suggest, the graphite from Lac Knife has proven to produce some of the highest quality graphene. With the use of graphene actually entering products in our lives as we speak, it is with little difficulty that I can foresee Focus Metals becoming a go-to global company for graphite and graphene, which will obviously lead to enormous wealth for both the company and the shareholders.
I should add, that as we watch the markets as of late, it is evident that most if not all juniors and mid-tier companies are experiencing significant drops in their share price. For many this can become quite disconcerting, but I think this is a time when we need to watch very closely as I believe this is exactly what it takes to afford those with a high risk tolerance to gain some very envious possible entry points.
For those who find Focus Metals attractive as a possible investment choice, I strongly urge you to do your own due diligence on this company. As usual I recommend starting at the Focus Metals web site which can be found at www.focusmetals.ca.
For disclosure purposes I have received no compensation for this post or my opinions. My travel expenses to Lac Knife were paid by Focus Metals. I own shares in Focus Metals.
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