Lomiko Metals Forges Strategic Partnership with Graphene Labs and Closes $5 Million Financing

SOURCE: [Technica Pro News] On February 20, 2014 Physics World published an article announcing that Australian and Irish researchers have developed a graphene oxide yarn useful “in a wide range of applications, from clothing that monitors the wearer's environment for dangerous chemicals, to furnishings that alter their appearance in response to ambient light levels.”

A mood-ring couch? Anything seems possible. Graphene is a “miracle substance” tougher than diamonds, more flexible than rubber and more conductive than copper. It is so strong that a sheet of graphene the thickness of “Clingfilm” will support the weight of an elephant.

The commercial potential of graphene has triggered an explosion of activity in patent offices around the world. Currently there are a mind-boggling 10,000+ graphene-based patents pending.

High quality graphite is the one of the base materials for producing graphene. Investors are starting look at the supply chain into this new commercial arena. Lomiko Metals (LMR-TSX.V) currently appears to have a competitive advantage over other potential suppliers of the base material.

On February 12, 2013 Lomiko entered into a Strategic Alliance with Graphene Labs. After nine months of research and development, the alliance formed a new company, Graphene 3D Lab, focussing on the development of high-performance graphene-enhanced materials for 3D Printing.

The smart money is already flowing to Lomiko. March 13, 2014: a consortium of top brokerage houses and private wealth funds participated in a $5,520,800 financing. 26,584,180 units were sold at a price of $ 0.11, and 4,627,000 flow-through units were sold at a price of $0.13 per Flow-Through Unit.

Lomiko owns the Quatre Milles Graphite Property, 175 km northwest of Montreal, Quebec in Canada. The East block of that property consists of 28 contiguous claims totaling approximately 1,600 hectares. The geology hosts drill-tested graphite -bearing structures with high-carbon content flake graphite that is near surface.

3D Printing is a $8 billion manufacturing technology currently morphing from prototyping to mass production. Combining 3D printing with graphene allows products with different components such as printed electronic circuits, sensors or batteries to be manufactured.

“Our involvement in Graphene 3D Lab is a concrete first step into the world of Graphene, 3D Printing and Printed Electronics,” stated Lomiko CEO Paul Gill, “This is a rapidly developing new market for high quality natural graphite.”

Currently Lomiko and Graphene Labs are working toward the integration of graphene-based products into end-user goods as set out in the Strategic Alliance.

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“We anticipate graphene-enabled materials to revolutionize 3D printing,” stated Elena Polyakova CEO of Graphene Labs, citing “strong demand in airspace, automotive, semi-conductor and advanced manufacturing industries.”

Could Lomiko and Graphene Labs be a partnership of the future like Facebook (FB-NASDAQ) and WhatsApp? The synergy is already capturing the attention of research analysts.

“Lomiko Metals is not a typical graphite story because of its collaboration with Graphene Labs,” states a recent Fundamental Research Update, “Although it is too early for us to speculate on the outcome of the initiatives with Graphene Labs, we believe LMR’s downside risks are low as their capital contributions for those initiatives are not expected to be high. Also, LMR maintains a reasonably low burn rate”.

Gary Anderson, an investment analyst and CEO of www.3dprintingstocks.com has written extensively about Lomiko Metals CEO.

“I don’t invest in penny stocks often and only write about them on rare occasions,” stated Anderson in a December 2013 article, claiming that Lomiko “has legitimate upside potential for 3D printing investors based on four factors: 1. The market for their product, 2. Current and potential future value of existing assets, 3. Supply and demand imbalance predicted, 3. Entrance into 3D printing materials market with an established leader.”

At the end of his article, Anderson stated: “I am long shares of Lomiko Metals. I received no compensation from Lomiko Metals or any third party for this article”.

“One of the barriers to widespread use of graphene is the cost of producing it in useable forms,” stated Gill in an interview with Mr. Anderson, “confirming that graphene oxide may be easily created from natural flake graphite, Graphene Labs and Lomiko hope to produce the material on a larger scale and at a reduced price.”

Lomiko Metals has been moving ahead through the first months of 2014 on advancing its projects in graphite exploration, Graphene and 3D Printing.

On January 20, 2014 Lomiko announced that Graphene 3D Lab filed a provisional patent application for the use of graphene-enhanced material, along with other materials in 3D Printing.

“We rely on high quality graphite from Lomiko’s Quatre Milles Property as the base material for producing graphene nanoplatelets, due to their cost and consistency in quality,” stated a company representative.

“Lomiko will provide graphite to Graphene 3D Lab as the exclusive supplier,” confirmed Paul Gill, CEO of Lomiko Metals. “Novel materials based on graphene open new markets for natural graphite; these new markets are expanding at an extraordinary rate. We are happy to participate in the development of this disruptive technology.”

The provisional patent anticipates adding graphene to conventional 3D printing polymers, enhancing mechanical strength and conductivity.

Whether is it supplying materials for 3-D printers or mood couches, Lomiko’s partnership in the graphene space differentiates it from other graphite developers.

Lomiko is currently trading at .10 with a market cap of $8.4 million.