TORONTO, March 16, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Great Lakes Graphite Inc. ("GLK" or the "Company") (TSX-V:GLK) (OTC:GLKIF) (FWB:8GL) announces today that Jerry Janik has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer of the Great Lakes Innovations ("GLK Innovations" or "GLKI") operating division. In that position, Mr. Janik's initial focus and area of primary responsibility will be the refurbishment, recommissioning and operation of the Matheson Micronization Facility.
Jerry has worked in the mining industry for over twenty-five years. He brings a wealth of experience to the Company, in areas and disciplines that are critical to ensure the successful transition to commercial operations. These include:
- Quality Control
- Mine Planning and Tailings Deposition
- Production
- Project Management
- Process Improvement
- Permitting
- New Product Development
Prior to joining GLKI, Jerry held positions as Vice President of Operations and General Manager, Mining with Ontario Graphite, Area Operations Manager for Carmeuse Industrial Sand in Texas and Plant Manager with UNIMIN Canada Ltd.'s Nepheline Syenite Operations.
Jerry also has extensive knowledge in the design, operation, and management of the micronization of industrial minerals, including an amorphous silica with grades as fine as 99% passing 8 micron and in Nepheline Syenite where the finest product is 99% passing 5 micron.
Jerry also holds part ownership of the patents for this product, and the design of the grinding/classifier systems required to achieve this very fine grade.
Jerry earned dual diplomas in geology and mineral processing from Sir Sandford Fleming College School of Natural Resources in Lindsay, Ontario. Jerry is pleased to be working in his home province, where he and his wife live and form an accomplished photography team. Examples of their work producing designer quality images of flake graphite and micronized flake graphite are proudly displayed on the Great Lakes Graphite website.
Industry Veteran Is Key To Success
Great Lakes Graphite CEO Paul Gorman said, "We are fortunate indeed to be joined by an individual with Jerry's background. In fact, there are very few people as uniquely qualified to refurbish and recommission this particular facility as Jerry Janik. With top notch management for the operations of our business securely in place, we are now free to focus our attention on completing the build out of our sales capability.
About Great Lakes Graphite: Great Lakes Graphite Inc. is an industrial minerals company focussed on bringing carbon products to a well defined market through a vertically integrated supply chain.
As there is currently no significant graphite production in North America, Great Lakes Graphite has the ability to become one of the first domestic suppliers to a growing regional customer base that requires high quality natural graphite, where pricing and demand continue to rise.
The Company, through strategic acquisitions and capable management is becoming a leader in the industrial minerals marketplace.
The Company through its Innovations Division is currently recommissioning an Ontario based Micronization Facility for re-start in late 2015 to achieve the following objectives:
- Establish a position in the upgraded graphite products market with North American customers.
- Create a competitive and disruptive advantage by leveraging existing assets.
- Pursue an accelerated timeline to cash flow and revenue by micronizing and upgrading flake graphite, enabled by supply agreements with current graphite producers.
- Develop customer relationships that will, in the longer term, position the Company to pursue off-take arrangements for Great Lakes' 100% owned Lochaber Graphite Deposit, located in SW Québec.
The Lochaber Graphite Deposit is located just 30km east of Ottawa, in southwestern Québec. The Company has also entered into option and joint venture agreements with Eloro Resources Inc. on the Summit-Gaber Cobalt property located in the La Grande Greenstone Belt in the Baie James region of Québec. Further information regarding Great Lakes can be found on the Company's website at: www.GreatLakesGraphite.com.
Great Lakes Graphite trades with symbol GLK on the TSX Venture Exchange and currently has 78,714,820 shares outstanding (107,602,456 fully diluted).
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.