NRT.V Presentation

1. Jan 2014
Discovering Graphite Opportunities in
Mexico & Canada
TSX – V NRT
1

2. Cautionary Note
Forward-­‐looking
statements
Certain
statements
contained
herein
cons/tute
“forward-­‐looking
statements.”
Forward-­‐looking
statements
look
into
the
future
and
provide
an
opinion
as
to
the
effect
of
certain
events
and
trends
on
the
business.
Forward-­‐looking
statements
may
include
words
such
as
“plans,”
“intends,”
an/cipates,”
“should,”
“es/mates,”
“expects,”
“believes,”
“indicates,”
“targe/ng,”
“suggests,”
“poten/al,”
and
similar
expressions.
These
forward-­‐looking
statements
are
based
on
current
expecta/ons
and
entail
various
risks
and
uncertain/es.
Actual
results
may
materially
differ
from
expecta/ons,
if
known
and
unknown
risks
or
uncertain/es
affect
our
business,
or
if
our
es/mates
or
assump/ons
prove
inaccurate.
Investors
are
advised
to
review
the
Company’s
Annual
Informa/on
Form
filed
at
www.sedar.com
for
a
detailed
discussion
of
investment
risks.
The
Company
assumes
no
obliga/on
to
update
or
revise
any
forward-­‐looking
statement,
whether
as
a
result
of
new
informa/on,
future
events
or
any
other
reason.
While
Big
North
intends
to
re-­‐
start
the
Nuevo
San
Pedro
mine,
the
Company
has
not
established
mineral
resources
and
has
not
completed
a
valid
mining
study
(as
defined
by
NI
43-­‐101)
to
support
a
produc/on
decision.
Historically,
a
produc/on
decision
under
these
circumstances
results
in
much
higher
economic
or
technical
risk.
Furthermore,
without
a
pre-­‐
feasibility
or
feasibility
study
and
a
graphite
reserve,
there
can
be
no
assurance
that
opera/ons
at
Nuevo
San
Pedro
will
be
profitable.
2

3. Management & Directors
v
Spiro
Kletas,
President
&
CEO,
Director
–
Over
10
years
experience
in
the
financial
industry
with
7
years
in
the
public
capital
markets,
working
for
several
Toronto
Exchange-­‐listed
companies
in
project
procurement,
corporate
development
and
financing.
v
Cesar
J
Guajardo,
Director
–
Has
18
years
of
experience
in
the
graphite
business.
He
is
the
former
owner
and
Chairman
of
the
Board
of
Grafito
de
Mexico
SA
de
CV,
a
private
company
that
formerly
owned
the
El
Tejon
Flake
Graphite
Mine
and
Mill
in
Oaxaca,
Mexico.
Mr.
Guajardo
is
a
graduate
of
the
Universidad
de
Nuevo
Leon,
and
holds
a
degree
in
Industrial
Engineering.
Mr.
Guajardo
spent
22
years
with
Praxair
Mexico
and
was
the
former
Managing
Director
of
Praxair
Mexico
for
ten
years.
v
Dean
Nawata,
Director
–
Over
18
years
of
public
market
experience,
nine
of
which
he
spent
as
a
licensed
stockbroker
focusing
on
financing
of
junior
mining
and
oil/gas
projects
with
NesbiW
Burns,
Research
Capital
and,
most
recently,
Raymond
James.
Mr.
Nawata
currently
holds
a
posiZon
in
Business
Development
for
49
North
Resources,
is
President
and
CEO
of
Olympic
Resources,
CFO/Director
of
Red
Star
Capital
Ventures
and
is
a
Director
of
Prima
Fluorspar
and
Greywacke
ExploraZon.
v
Andrew
Rees,
Director
–
Mr.
Rees
is
currently
President
and
CEO
of
WellStar
Energy
Corp.
and
sits
on
the
board
of
directors
of
several
publicly
trading
companies.
Mr.
Rees
brings
15
years
of
public
company
experience
having
been
involved
with
developing
projects
from
concept
to
producZon.
Mr.
Rees
has
been
directly
involved
in
raising
over
$150
million
for
junior
resource
companies.
v
Eric
Ostensoe
P.
Geo.,
Director
-­‐
Mr.
Ostensoe
is
a
consulZng
geologist
with
more
than
forty
years
direct
involvement
with
the
mining
and
mineral
exploraZon
industries.
Mr.
Ostensoe
supervises
property
exploraZon
and
development
projects
from
"grassroots"
to
advanced
stages
and
provides
recommendaZons
to
management
of
junior
and
medium
sized
public
companies.
v
Connie
Norman,
Corp
Secretary
3

4. Capital Structure
• Issued
&
Outstanding
55.0
m
• Warrants
• OpZons
28.0
m
3.2
m
• Fully
Diluted
86.2
million
4

5. Investment Highlights
• Producing,
purchasing,
processing
and
selling
amorphous
graphite
in
Sonora
Mexico
• 760
tons
sold
to
date
(Aug
–
Dec
2013)
• Amorphous
graphite
accounts
for
approx
50%
of
natural
graphite
market
and
over
90%
of
producZon
was
out
of
China
in
2012
• Big
North
is
the
only
TSX.V
company
conducZng
business
in
amorphous
graphite
• Acquiring
the
El
Tejon
Flake
Graphite
Mine
and
Mill
in
Oaxaca,
Mexico
• Goal
to
further
near
term
cash
flow
by
adding
flake
graphite
producZon
and
sales
5

6. Sonora Mexico Properties
•
•
•
•
•
Big
North
acquired
3
past
producing
graphite
mines
in
Sonora,
Mexico
-­‐
La
Fortuna,
Caraples
and
a
50/50
JV
in
the
Nuevo
San
Pedro
Graphite
mine.
Nuevo
San
Pedro
mine
in
the
process
of
being
re-­‐started:
Big
North
Graphite
to
accelerate
the
start-­‐up
process.*
Started
assembly
of
processing
facility
April
2013
Started
test
mining
May
2013
First
sale
completed
Aug
2013
• Approx.
10
km
East
of
a
rail
line
with
direct
access
to
the
port
of
Guaymas
• Area
of
good
infrastructure
and
access
• Sonora
Mexico
has
produced
graphite
for
over
100
years
• Approx.
50
km
SE
of
Hermosillo,
a
city
of
1
million
people
• Nuevo
San
Pedro
is
approx
1km
away
from
the
La
Lourdes
graphite
mine,
which
has
been
operaZng
for
over
50
years
6

7. Sonora Mexico Property Map
• Nuevo
San
Pedro
is
an
approximately
11
hectare
property.
It
is
a
past
producing
mine,
which
is
in
the
process
of
being
restarted.
• Aki
Wiki
consists
of
approximately
145
hectares.
• Aki
Wiki
is
located
approximately
1.5
kilometers
south
of
the
historic
El
Cochi
graphite
mine.
There
are
two
past
producing
mines
on
the
property,
La
Fortuna
and
Caraples.
7

8. Buying and Processing
April
22,
2013
News
Release:
“Big
North
…
announces
that,
as
part
of
the
Company's
business
plan,
the
Company
has
started
buying
amorphous
graphite
from
local
private
producers
who
do
not
have
processing
capabili/es.
Big
North
has
recently
acquired
approx
100
tons
of
amorphous
graphite
in
an
unprocessed
form
from
two
local
miners.
Big
North
plans
to
purchase
graphite
from
local
producers
to
supplement
poten/al
produc/on
from
the
Nuevo
San
Pedro
project.
The
Company
plans
to
process
the
purchased
graphite
to
the
specifica/ons
of
future
customers
and
re-­‐sell
the
purchased
graphite
at
market
prices,
capturing
the
difference
in
prices”.
ü Increase
“producZon”
without
the
tradiZonal
risks
of
mining
ü Many
small
family
run
graphite
mines
without
processing
ability
ü Minimum
grade
requirement
ü Capture
the
difference
on
pricing,
minus
processing
and
transport
8

9. Amorphous Graphite Stockpiles
Graphite
Stockpiles
at
Big
North
Graphite’s
Processing
Plant,
Sonora
Mexico
9

10. El Tejon Flake Graphite Mine and Mill
• LOI
signed
Dec
2013
• Mexico’s
only
past
producing
flake
graphite
mine
and
floataZon
mill
• Closed
due
to
graphite
prices
in
2002
• Ability
to
jump
start
–
all
infrastructure
in
place
• Produces
flake
graphite
(different
uses
than
amorphous
graphite)
• Cesar
J
Guajardo,
Chairman
of
the
private
company
that
formerly
operated
El
Tejon,
joins
the
Board
of
Big
North
• He
has
18
years
of
graphite
producZon,
processing
and
sales
experience
in
Mexico
10

11. El Tejon Flake Graphite Mine and Mill
• 500
hectare
property
-­‐
consists
of
the
El
Tejon
flake
graphite
mine
and
mill
• The
El
Tejon
Property
is
located
in
the
state
of
Oaxaca,
approx
38
kilometers
Northwest
of
the
City
of
Oaxaca,
in
the
town
of
San
Francisco
Telixtlahuaca.
• The
El
Tejon
Property
is
the
only
flake
graphite
mine
to
have
produced
in
Mexico.
• The
mine
and
mill
were
originally
built
in
1980
by
the
Government
of
Mexico.
In
1989,
a
second
processing
line
was
installed
to
increase
the
capacity
to
approximately
4400
tonnes
per
year
of
finished
graphite.
• El
Tejon
was
an
open
pit
mine,
and
the
mill
was
used
to
crush,
mill,
float,
dry,
screen
and
pack
final
product.
• Closed
in
2002,
due
to
low
graphite
prices.
At
the
Zme
of
closing,
approximately
80%
of
the
graphite
produced
was
sold
to
the
USA.
• Historically,
the
mine
produced
approximately
20%
large
flake
graphite
and
80%
medium
and
fine
flake
graphite.
11

12. Griffith/Brougham Graphite Properties - Ontario
•
Approximately
6,500-­‐hectare
land
posiZon
in
central
southeastern
Ontario
•
High
value,
high
quality
large-­‐flake
graphite
exploraZon
target
•
In
an
area
of
well-­‐established
access
and
infrastructure
•
ProperZes
cover
substanZal
tracts
of
graphite-­‐prospecZve
Grenville-­‐age
marble
+/-­‐gneiss
geology
and
are
unexplored
for
graphite
using
modern
technology.
•
To
the
southeast,
the
Brougham
Graphite
Property
is
anchored
by
two
historic
graphite
occurrences
(based
on
Ontario
Geological
Survey
maps
from
the
1970's)
•
EM
survey
completed
July
2012
•
NI43-­‐101Technical
Report
released
Oct
2012
12

13. Grand Lac du Nord Property - Quebec
Approximately
2,009
hectare
land
package
Located
approximately
140
km
NW
of
Sept-­‐Iles,
by
road
8km
x
2km
graphiZc
paragneiss
formaZon
Similar
geology
to
other
graphite
deposits
and
mines
in
Quebec,
such
as
Focus
Metals
Inc.'s
Lac
Knife
deposit,
Timcal
Graphite
and
Carbon's
Lac
des
Iles
mine.
• Originally
explored
by
SOQUEM
(2000/2001)
• Phase
1
ExploraZon
completed
-­‐
confirmed
a
mulZple
graphite
bearing
structure
covering
an
area
approximately
4
km
by
2
km
with
results
of
up
to
5.31%
Graphite
in
grab
samples
•
•
•
•
13

14. What is Graphite?
• CriZcal
supply
industrial
mineral
• One
of
two
natural
carbon
polymers
(diamonds)
• Light
weight
with
highest
natural
strength
and
sZffness
of
any
material
• Conductor
of
heat/electricity
• Corrosion
and
heat
resistant
• High
natural
lubricity
14

15. Amorphous Graphite
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Global
graphite
producZon
was
1.1
million
tons
in
2012,
approx
50%
of
which
is
amorphous
graphite.
The
United
States,
Europe
and
China
have
included
graphite
among
the
short
list
of
criZcal
metals
The
UnZed
States
produces
no
graphite
and
is
100%
dependent
on
imports
to
meet
it's
industrial
and
technology
needs.
China
produces
70%-­‐80%
of
the
world’s
natural
graphite.
China
produced
over
90%
of
world’s
amorphous
graphite
in
2012.
“Supply
security
is
a
big
concern”
for
amorphous
graphite
users
ConZnuing
government-­‐backed
consolidaZon
programs
in
the
Hunan
Province
is
seeing
over
230
mines
reduced
to
20
Amorphous
graphite
sells
for
$350-­‐800/ton
depending
on
the
carbon
content
which
ranges
from
65%
to
85%+
Amorphous
graphite
producZon
is
dominated
by
China,
with
approx
16K
tpa
from
Austria,
12K
tpa
from
Mexico
and
300
tpa
from
Turkey
Amorphous
graphite
is
mainly
used
as
a
component
in
lubricants,
refractories,
steel
producZon,
brake
linings,
clutch
materials,
gaskets
and
water-­‐based
paints
*Source:
Industrial
Minerals
15

16. Amorphous Graphite + Uses
•
Amorphous
graphite
is
actually
not
“amorphous”
as
all
graphite
is
crystalline.
It
is
microcrystalline
or
cryptocrystalline,
meaning
that
the
“flake”
size
is
very
small.
•
Amorphous
graphite
is
used
in
the
refractories
industry
to
manufacture
crucibles,
ladles,
molds,
nozzles
and
troughs
that
can
withstand
the
very
high
temperatures
associated
with
molten
metal,
parZcularly
the
casZng
of
steel.
•
The
electrodes
used
in
many
electrical
metallurgical
furnaces,
including
the
electric
arc
furnaces
used
in
steel
processing,
are
manufactured
from
graphite.
In
the
producZon
of
steel
itself,
graphite
is
used
as
a
carbon
raiser
to
strengthen
steel.
It
is
also
used
in
blast
furnace
linings
for
the
producZon
of
iron
because
of
its
high
thermal
conducZvity.
•
Amorphous
or
fine-­‐flake
graphite
is
used
in
brake
linings,
gaskets
and
clutch
materials.
•
Foundry
facing
mold
wash
uses
amorphous
or
fine-­‐flake
graphite
in
a
water-­‐based
paint
to
coat
the
mold,
thereby
allowing
ease
of
separaZon
of
the
casted
object
from
the
mold
auer
the
metal
has
cooled.
16

17. Graphite Major End Uses
10%
Steel
&
Refractories
10%
AutomoZve
parts
41%
Lubricants
Carbon
Brushes
11%
BaWeries
Other
14%
14%
Source:
Merchant
Research
&
ConsulZng
(2011)
17

18. Supply/Demand Dynamics
•
Industrial
demand
growing
5%
per
annum
over
last
10
years
due
to
industrializaZon
of
emerging
economies
such
as
China
and
India
•
European
Union
and
USA
named
graphite
a
mineral
in
criZcal
supply
•
Lack
of
exploraZon
and
development
over
last
20
years
and
China
producing
+70%
of
the
world’s
graphite
•
Chinese
producZon
and
exports
expected
to
decline
due
to
China’s
strategy
to
keep
value
added
manufacturing
in
the
country
•
•
Graphite
market
is
more
than
40
Zmes
larger
than
lithium
and
rare
earths
markets
Demand
for
graphite
increasing
globally
for
green
technology
applicaZons
which
have
potenZal
to
consume
more
graphite
than
all
current
uses
combined
Source:
Industrial
Minerals,
Supply
Situa*on
Report:
Graphite
demand
soars
above
pre-­‐crisis
Levels,
April
2011
18

19. Graphite Global Demand
Source:
Industrial
Minerals
Magazine
19

20. Key Milestones
Big
North
Completes
Qualifying
TransacZon-­‐
Dec
2011
Acquired
First
graphite
asset
-­‐
March
2012
Strategic
AcquisiZon
of
addiZonal
assets
–
April/Sept
2012
Commence
ExploraZon
on
Canadian
properZes
-­‐
May/June
2012
AddiZons
to
Management,
OperaZonal
and
Technical
Teams
-­‐
June/July
2012
and
ongoing
AcquisiZon
of
past
producing
Assets
in
Mexico
-­‐
Sept
2012
Close
acquisiZon
of
Mexico
properZes
–
Nov
2012
Start
assembly
of
processing
plant
Accelerate
re-­‐start
of
Nuevo
San
Pedro
Mine
–
ongoing
Commence
test
mining
of
amorphous
graphite
in
Mexico
Amorphous
graphite
sales
Increase
producZon,
enhancing
processing,
growing
sales
and
securing
long-­‐term
ovake
partners
q Move
El
Tejon
project
towards
producZon
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
q
20

21. Contact Info:
Spiro
Kletas,
President
&
CEO
spiro@bignorthgraphite.com
info@bignorthgraphite.com
www.bignorthgraphite.com
Big
North
Graphite
Corp.
Suite
350
-­‐
885
Dunsmuir
Street
Vancouver,
BC
V6C
1N5
604.629.8220
(Office)
21