About Us

COrporate OVERVIEW

Mason Graphite is a Canadian mining and mineral processing company focused on the development of what management believes to be one of the highest grade graphite deposits known in the world. The 100% owned Lac Guéret graphite project is located in northeastern Québec, Canada.

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In December 2018, the Company issued the positive results of an updated Feasibility Study (FS) for the Lac Guéret project that featured a long life, low cost operation with an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 27.7% (details of the FS can be found on the PROJECT page). This study considers only a fraction of the total Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources. “In-Pit” Mineral Resources beyond the Project Life of 25 years represent the ore looking to be extracted after the initial 25 years of mine life, providing the Company with the flexibility of extending the mine life far beyond what was presented in the results of the Feasibility Study. Details of those figures can be found in the Corporate Presentation.

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The company is also advancing a detailed study for large scale production of value-added graphite products, which was initiated in 2015. Such second transformation includes micronization, additional purification, spheronization and coating, resulting in graphite products suitable for a wide range of technical applications (including carbon brushes, brake linings, plastics and lubricants), electrochemical applications (including alkaline batteries, Li-ion batteries and fuel cells), as well as other specialized uses. Mason Graphite has been working on product development and manufacturing processes with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), COREM and Soutex. The management team has more than 30 years of experience in processing and marketing different types of graphite and other carbon products to the alkaline and Li-ion battery industries.

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Mason’s leadership is fully engaged in the realization of a project which respects and even surpasses the recognized standards in sustainable mining development nationally and globally.

Our Vision

At Mason Graphite, our ambition is to become a leading graphite producer, to position ourselves as a profitable and reliable company for all growth pillars (shareholders, employees, suppliers and customers) and to be recognized as a company that benefits community development with which we are partnering. Our growth strategy includes the development of value-added products and acquisitions in our field of activity.

Our Values

LEADERSHIP

Beyond the ambitious results we aim for, we value processes that enable initiative, creativity and innovation. We agree to do things differently and seek continuous improvement in all our practices. We cultivate the competence of our staff as well as the development and sharing of knowledge and expertise. Thus, we adapt with agility to the opportunities that our partnership environment and our markets offer us.

PERFORMANCE

Consideration and respect for human beings and the natural environment are at the heart of our priorities because our sustainability and growth depend on it. Managing responsibly means that our pursuit of high financial returns in the short, medium and long term is the result of our constant efforts to honor our social license to operate.

COOPERATION

We build and maintain relationships of trust and collaboration among members of our organization, the host communities and our other stakeholders by promoting open, transparent and honest communication. The synergy that results from it is both favorable to the development of our business and to the fulfillment of the people and communities with which we work.

PREVENTION

We strive to ensure the health, safety and physical integrity of our staff by maintaining a participatory culture of workplace health and safety based on the elimination of hazards at the source. We adopt the same preventive and proactive attitude to manage the impact of our activities on the population and the environment.

TEAM

FAHAD AL TAMIMI

Chairman of the Board

Mr. Fahad Al-Tamimi is a Saudi-based businessman with global investment activities. Mr. Al-Tamimi is President and Chief Executive Officer of SaudConsult, an engineering firm in Saudi Arabia responsible for many large infrastructure and construction projects in the country. Mr. Al-Tamimi is also the Chairman

and founder of Tamimi Trading and Contracting Co. Ltd. Previously, he was a 50% partner of Worley Parsons Arabia, which undertook major projects in the mining, oil & gas and energy sectors in Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E and Bahrain. He has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a Master of Science in Petroleum & Civil Engineering from the University of Houston, Texas.

PETER DAMOUNI

Executive Director

Mr. Peter Damouni has over 20 years of corporate and investment banking experience with a focus on Natural Resources. He has served as a director or executive officer of a number private and public companies listed on the TSX, TSXV, and LSE and has been instrumental in developing and executing

corporate strategy, financings, restructuring, acquisitions and sale process which has created significant value for shareholders.  

 

He is currently Executive Director of Mason Graphite, Executive Director of Black Swan Graphene, and a Director of Arena Minerals. He also co-founded Chesterfield Resources plc which has Altius Minerals and Polymetal International plc as strategic partners and a Director of Gatling Exploration which is being acquired by MAG Silver Corp. Mr Damouni received his economics and business degree from McGill University. He is a Canadian and British citizen, residing in the United Kingdom.

SIMON MARCOTTE

Co-Founder and Strategic Consultant

Mr. Simon Marcotte is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with over 20 years of experience with a focus on commodities, including more than 10 years in executive positions for junior mining companies, with a focus on battery materials, mainly in the graphite and lithium sectors.

Mr. Marcotte co-founded the Company in 2012 and held the position of Vice-President Corporate Development until February 2018. Under his leadership, the Company was awarded the “TSX Venture Recognition as Top 10 Performing Stock” in 2013, the “Best 50 OTCQX” in 2016 and 2017, and was nominated for “Best Investors Relations” in both 2016 and 2017. At the end of 2017, the Company reached a peak market capitalization of $365 million, with approximately 35 institutional Shareholders, uncommon for a junior mining company. Mr. Marcotte joined Verena Minerals Corporation in 2010, which was then renamed Belo Sun Mining Corp., as Vice‐President Corporate Development, working alongside the President and Chief Executive Officer on all decision‐making processes and helped to develop and implement a turnaround strategy. Mr. Marcotte was also instrumental in raising approximately $100 million in capital for the company, resulting in an increase in market capitalization from $20 million to a peak of $400 million and a share price appreciation of more than 500% over the same period. Mr. Marcotte has been involved with several other mining companies, either as an officer or a director, including Alderon. Prior to his corporate involvement, Mr. Marcotte was working in senior positions in capital markets with CIBC World Markets Inc., from 1998 to 2006, and with Sprott Securities Inc. and Cormark Securities Inc., from 2006 to 2010, where he also was a member of the board of directors. Mr. Marcotte currently acts as an independent consultant and is actively involved in merchant banking activities in the junior mining industry. Mr. Marcotte is a director of Freeman Gold Corp., which is advancing the Lemhi Gold Project in Idaho, USA.

PAUL HARDY

VP Corporate Development

Mr. Paul Hardy’s career spans 30 years in Capital Markets and private enterprise with CIBC World Markets and as the Managing Director of Institutional Equities for Desjardins Securities overseeing offices in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver.

He was intricate in the evolution of the European Trading and was responsible for over $100 million in equity positions in domestic and international markets. He simultaneously grew the revenues by over 800%, in only 8 years.

 

More recently, he Co Founded Thorium Power Canada Inc. where he served as Vice President and helped launch the Thorium Small Modular Reactor business worldwide, meeting with government agencies and regulators along with institutional and private investors from the USA, Mexico, Indonesia, China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Chile.

HENRI WILHELM, Ph.D.

Advanced Applications and Products Specialist

Mr. Henri Wilhelm has more than 15 years of experience in R&D and development of graphite-based products for energy storage applications. He worked for major synthetic graphite producers such as

Imerys Graphite & Carbon and SGL Carbon groups as well as for the French National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS).

He is active as technical advisor for product development and implementation in battery applications. Henri Wilhelm holds a PhD in Physics and Chemistry of Matter and Materials from the University of Lorraine (France).

Carmelo Marrelli, CPA, CA, CGA

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Carmelo Marrelli is the principal of Marrelli Support Services Inc., a Toronto firm that delivers accounting and regulatory compliance services to listed companies on

the TSX, TSX-V and the CSE. Carmelo is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA, CGA) and a member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, a professional body that certifies corporate secretaries. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto. Carmelo also acts as the chief financial officer to a number of issuers on the TSX, TSX-V and CSE, as well as non-listed companies and a director of select issuers.

JULIE GRAVEL

Director Environment and Sustainable Development

Ms. Julie Gravel has more than 25 years of experience in the mining industry. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in geological engineering from École Polytechnique de

Montréal. She has worked in engineering consulting with Met-Chem and SNC-Lavalin, abroad and in Quebec, as well as for mining operations such Troilus mine and ArcelorMittal iron ore mines and pellet plant. Julie Gravel has a good knowledge of the environmental legislation and the permitting process.
 

PASCALE CHOQUET, CPA, CA

Director of Finance and Administration

Mrs. Pascale Choquet CPA, CA, has more than 25 years of experience in operations, finance and human resources (HR). VP clinical operations – Groupe forget, Audio prosthetists

for 18 years. Mrs. Choquet worked closely with management in the development of strategic plans and the implementation of procedures and policies. She also worked as an accounting supervisor for Ultramar Oil. Mrs. Choquet holds a B.B.A. in public accounting. 

TAYFUN ELDEM

Lead Independent Director

Mr. Tayfun Eldem brings over 30 years of operations, business development and strategic leadership experience in the mining and minerals industry. He is currently the Group Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation.

He was a director of the Company from November 2012 to February 2016, including as Chairman of the Board from February 2013 until his resignation from the Board to pursue other interests. Under his leadership, the Company raised significant capital and successfully achieved several technical advancements and regulatory process milestones, setting the stage for an outstanding Share performance. Mr. Eldem also oversaw the seed investment into NanoXplore Inc., which culminated into a significant capital gain for the Company when the shares were sold in 2019 for approximately $28.2 million. More recently, Mr. Eldem was President and Chief Executive Officer of Alderon Iron Ore Corp. (“Alderon”) and Managing Director of Iron Ore & Coal for Hatch Ltd., where he was responsible for business development across five regions of the world. In addition, Mr. Eldem worked for the Iron Ore Company of Canada (“IOC”), a Rio Tinto subsidiary, for more than 20 years. During this period, Mr. Eldem held many senior roles including Vice President, Expansion Projects & Engineering, and Chief Operating Officer, where he oversaw the company operations from the mine through the concentrator and pellet plant to railway and port. At IOC, he also held accountability for the development and delivery of a nearly $2.0 billion program of green and brown fields expansion projects. Mr. Eldem is a professional engineer and holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from Dalhousie University along with Operations Management and Strategic Leadership certificates from the Richard Ivey School of Business and the London Business School, respectively.

François Perron

Director

Mr. François Perron is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Lucky Minerals Inc., a company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSX-V”), as well as Chairman of Northern Superior Resources Inc. and President & Director of Goldstar

Minerals Inc., both of which are TSX-V listed companies advancing assets in the Province of Québec. Prior to his corporate involvement, Mr. Perron was managing resource-focused portfolios for National Bank Alternative Investments and various resource funds for the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec from 2001 to 2007. In 2006, he was recognized by Brendan Woods International as a “Top Gun Asset Manager” in Mining. In 2008, Mr. Perron was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Goose Resources Inc., a TSX-V listed company which was subsequently acquired by Kodiak Exploration Limited in 2010. In 2011, he became the President and Chief Executive Officer of QMX Gold Corporation, a TSX-V listed company, which was advancing the Snow Lake Mine in Manitoba and the Lac Herbin Mine in Québec. Mr. Perron holds a Bachelor of Science, Computer Science, from McMaster University (1986) and an MBA from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Montréal (1992).

ROY MCDOWALL

Director

Mr. McDowall is currently Vice President Corporate Development at Pyure, a private Florida based manufacturer of commercial air purifiers. A capital markets professional with over 25 years of experience with Canadian based boutique and bank owned investment firms, Mr. McDowall served as Managing Director, Head of Equity Sales for Macquarie Capital Markets Canada.

He also held similar positions with Orion Securities, Credit Suisse, CIBC World Markets and National Bank Financial.  Mr. McDowall recently served as Vice President of Investor and Communications at Turquoise Hill Resources, a Montreal based mining company of approximately $8 billion of market capitalization listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. Over his career, Mr. McDowall has been instrumental in over 500 financings for companies globally with a focus on the mining industry, leveraging self-established relationships with Canadian and international institutional investors.

NAV DHALIWAL

Director

Mr. Nav Dhaliwal is a high‐profile mining executive and capital markets expert with a long-running track record of success. Mr. Dhaliwal was the founding Chief Executive Officer of Québec‐based Bonterra Resources Inc., which made the award‐winning Gladiator discovery in Québec.

Mr. Dhaliwal raised over $140 million for Bonterra and played a key role in the company’s market capitalization growth from $10 million to over $150 million. He has founded several other successful companies in the resource sector, including Gatling Exploration Inc., Pacton Gold Inc. and Kanadario Gold Inc., which is currently focused on the exploration and development of the Cameron Lake Property located in the west‐central part of Québec. Mr. Dhaliwal is also the founder of the highly successful RSD Capital Corp., which invests in, and provides management and technical expertise to, public and pre‐IPO companies. Mr. Dhaliwal has a large, international network of financial connections, including numerous analysts, brokers, high net worth investors and investment bankers. He works closely with numerous major gold funds and has been instrumental in raising over $400 million for companies since 2010.

ADREE DELAZZER

Independent Director

Ms. DeLazzer has over 15 years of experience in greenfield and brownfield exploration, with a focus on precious metals, rare earth metals (REE), uranium, and diamonds. Ms. DeLazzer joined Royal Fox Gold as V.P. Exploration in September 2021 and is currently V.P.
Exploration for Northern Superior Resources following the merger with Royal Fox Gold. Most recently, Ms. Delazzer was with Kirkland Lake Gold Limited, where she held the position of Superintendent of Geology for the Detour Lake Gold Mine in northeastern Ontario, the second largest open pit gold producing mine in Canada, as well as Exploration Manager responsible for overseeing several multimillion-dollar exploration campaigns covering 1,000 km2 of greenstone belt in the Abitibi. She is a skilled exploration professional geologist who was notably an integral part of the 58N zone discovery, and of the large West Detour exploration campaigns of 2020 and 2021. Prior to working for Kirkland Lake Gold and Detour Gold, Ms. DeLazzer worked as a Senior Project Geologist on multi commodity targets in Newfoundland and Labrador for Silver Spruce Resources. She also worked as a geologist for BHP Billiton at the Ekati Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories. Ms. DeLazzer has a B.Sc. in Earth Science from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova-Scotia, and is registered in Ontario as a professional geologist.