Montreal, Quebec, August 9, 2018 – SRG Graphite Inc. (TSXV: SRG) (“SRG” or the “Company”) announces that the Company’s board of directors has approved a new corporate structure. The Company has appointed Mr. Raphael Beaudoin as Vice-President, Operations, Metallurgy and Process Design, Mr. Elias J. Elias as Vice-President, Legal and Corporate Affairs and Corporate Secretary, Mr. Mathieu Charette as Vice-President Finance and Corporate Controller, and Mr. Michel Labonté as General Manager of SRG Guinea. With these appointments, management and the board of directors are confident this will contribute positively to the Company as it moves closer to construction.
“Having worked with all of these gentlemen, I am thrilled by these appointments given each individuals’ skills, qualifications and experiences. I believe this will directly contribute to creating shareholder value” declared Mr. Benoit La Salle, Executive Chairman of the Company.
“We are delighted to be announcing the bolstering of the executive and operational teams at SRG as we continue to meet our objectives and milestones and move towards advancing the feasibility study,” said Mr. Ugo Landry-Tolszczuk, President and COO of SRG.
Mr. Beaudoin graduated from McGill University in 2010 with a degree in materials engineering. Mr. Beaudoin worked as a plant metallurgist at the Minto Mine in the Yukon before joining the Nunavik Nickel Project for Canadian Royalties Inc. in 2012. He participated in the implementation of the Nunavik Nickel concentrator as a plant metallurgist, and later secured the position of chief metallurgist, where he oversaw many strategic projects of the concentrator. Before joining SRG, Mr. Beaudoin worked as the concentrator superintendent also for Canadian Royalties Inc., overseeing the operations, metallurgy, maintenance and power generation of the concentrator.
In conjunction with the appointment of Mr. Elias, Ms. Kathleen Jones-Bartels has resigned her position as Corporate Secretary and will continue with the Company as Assistant Corporate Secretary.
Mr. Elias has extensive experience in West Africa in both the mining and the energy sectors. Before joining SRG, he served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Windiga Energy Inc., a Canadian-based independent power producer. Previously, Mr. Elias was Legal Counsel at SEMAFO (TSX: SMF), a gold producer with significant presence in West Africa as well as with Gildan Activewear, one of the world’s largest vertically integrated manufacturers of apparel. Mr. Elias holds a civil law degree and a common law degree from the University of Ottawa and is a member of the Barreau du Québec since 2007.
In conjunction with the appointment of Mr. Charette, Ms. Isabelle Gauthier has resigned her position as Chief Financial Officer effective August 31, 2018. The Company would like to thank Ms. Isabelle Gauthier for her services since January 2017. In addition to his position as President and COO, Mr. Ugo Landry Tolszczuk will be taking on the role of acting CFO.
Mr. Charette completed his bachelor’s degree in business administration and further continued his studies in taxation at the HEC Montreal in 2004. Mr. Charette has been a member of the Ordre des Comptables Agréés du Québec since 2006. He has worked in a financial role with mining companies in West Africa since 2008, first as corporate controller with GoviEx Uranimum Inc. (TSX.V: GXU) and then for five years as CFO and secretary for WAI Capital Investments Corp. (TSX.V: WAI). He has over thirteen years of experience in financial management, financial reporting, taxation, budgeting, forecasting and regulatory compliance for private and public companies within multiple jurisdictions.
The appointment of Mr. Labonté as General Manager of SRG Guinea brings to the team a wealth of experience with regards to constructing and operating mines in West Africa. Mr. Labonté has over 40 years of mining experience including over 15 years at Kiena Mine, Placer Dome and a decade of experience in Africa, most notably five years as General Manager of SEMAFO’s flagship Mana mine in Burkina Faso. There, Mr. Labonté oversaw the construction, start of operations and continuous capacity building of the mine from the originally planned 2,500 tonnes per day plant to an 8,000 tonnes per day mine, as well as oversaw the operations of the mine for several years, including managing over 500 employees.
Grant of Stock Options
The Company is pleased to announce that, pursuant to its Stock Option Plan and subject to regulatory acceptance, it has granted an aggregate total of 2,285,000 incentive stock options to certain directors, officers and consultants of the Company, subject to certain vesting provisions. These options will be exercisable at a price of $1.10 per common share and will expire on August 8, 2028.
ABOUT SRG
SRG is a Canadian-based company focused on developing the Lola graphite deposit and the Gogota cobalt-nickel-scandium deposit located in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa. SRG is committed to operating in a socially, environmentally and ethically responsible manner.
For additional information, please visit SRG’s website at www.srggraphite.com.
For more information contact:
| Ugo Landry-Tolszczuk Tel: +1 (514) 679-4196 Email: [email protected] |
Benoit La Salle, FCPA FCA Tel: +1 (514) 951-4411 Email: [email protected] |
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Generally, such forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would” or “might”. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information and other risks and factors described or referred to in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in the Annual Information Form of the Company and the Amended Preliminary Prospectus which will be available at www.sedar.com, all of which should be reviewed in conjunction with the information found in this news release.
Forward-looking information is based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made, including but not limited to, continued exploration activities and no material adverse change in mineral prices. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information has been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company’s business, operations and exploration plans and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is given as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update such forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.