Stratmin graphite mining set for February, 1989

Stratmin Inc. (ME) has signed a 15-year agreement with Asbury Graphite Mills which gives Stratmin the right to lease and operate Asbury’s mill near Notre- Dame- du-Laus, Que.

The lease will enable Stratmin to become Canada’s only current graphite producer. Mill feed will come from the company’s graphite deposit located 45 km north of the Asbury mill, at Mont-Laurier. A preproduction 10,000-tonne bulk sample test is scheduled to begin on Nov 4 and will conclude by month end.

Full production at a rate of 9,000 tonnes of concentrate per year is slated to begin on Feb 1, 1989. Asbury is committed to purchasing the first year of production, which is valued at $7.7 million. Thereafter, Asbury will purchase 5,000 tonnes of concentrate per year during a 5-year renewable option period. Asbury is the largest graphite seller in the United States.

Stratmin is also planning to build a 500-tonne-per-day mill on its Mont- Laurier property. Capable of producing 10,000 tonnes of concentrate per year, the mill remains subject to the results of a feasibility study.

Asbury is also committed to buying the first 5,000 tonnes of production from the new mill. The company also has the first right to purchase an additional 5,000 tonnes of concentrate per year over a 5-year period.

Graphite is used in batteries, steelmaking, brake linings and a variety of other industrial applications. In 1987, the value of graphite consumed by U.S. industries was $13 million(US), according to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Mines (N.M., Aug 29/88).