Mining News: News Nuggets: Graphite Creek claims conflict settled

Graphite One Resources Inc. June 11 reported that its wholly owned subsidiary, Graphite One (Alaska) Inc. has come to an agreement with Ronald Sheardown for 28 Alaska state mining claims covering the same lands purchased by Graphite One in January 2012. This provides the company ownership of both the junior and senior state mining claims that overlap and surround the 24 unpatented federal claims that it leased from Kougarok LLC. In exchange for the claims, Graphite One has agreed to pay US$50,000 and issue 3 million common shares to Sheardown. Sheardown also will receive a royalty interest equal to 1 percent of the net smelter returns received on G1 Alaska claims, subject to Graphite One’s option to purchase the royalty for US$500,000 at any time within 36 months following the start of mine production. Graphite One Bottom of Formalso retained Sheardown to sit on its advisory board for three years. As part of this position, Sheardown has been granted stock options to purchase 1 million Graphite One common shares at C13 cents per share. Graphite One’s Graphite Creek property now includes the 28 state mining claims acquired by G1 Alaska in 2012 plus the claims acquired from Sheardown, 77 state claims staked by G1 Alaska in 2012 and 24 leased federal claims. “With this agreement, Graphite One (Alaska) now fully controls, free of any conflicting locations, the right to possess and extract 100 percent of its identified resource,” said Graphite One CEO Anthony Huston. “The company will also benefit from being able to draw on Ron Sheardown’s extensive experience in major development projects, and he will be a great asset to our board and management. Sheardown has been involved in mineral exploration in Canada, USA, Greenland, Russia and Africa for more than 50 years. He is recognized as the co-discoverer (with Murray Watts) of the Baffinland Iron Mines Corp.’s Mary River deposit in Nunavut and was part of the team that discovered the Asbestos Hill and Raglan Nickel deposits in Quebec and the Black Angle Mine in Greenland.

- Shane Lasley