Mason Graphite announced today that it has signed a letter agreement that will see it pay $700,000 to buy up to 40 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of Group NanoXplore.

Mason Graphite (TSXV:LLG,OTCQX:MGPHF), which last made headlines back in December when it increased the measured and indicated resources at its Quebec-based Lac Guéret graphite project by 658 percent, is back today with more exciting news.
The company said in a press release that it has signed a letter agreement under which it will pay $700,000 to buy up to 40 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of Group NanoXplore, a privately held research and development company “focused on developing low cost, large-scale production of graphene from natural flake graphite.”
The transaction is to take place in two tranches, the first of which will see Mason purchase, for $350,000, a 20-percent interest in NanoXplore on or before January 31, 2014. Mason will gain the right to pay another $350,000 for a second 20-percent interest in NanoXplore on or before July 31, 2014 if it “is satisfied with the business, operations and progress of NanoXplore over the six-month period following the completion of the first tranche,” today’s press release states.
Further, in connection to that transaction, members of the management of Mason and Forbes & Manhattan, a major shareholder of Mason, have fully subscribed for a private placement of 875,000 common shares of Mason priced at $0.80 each. The funds will be used to fund Mason’s equity investment in NanoXplore, as well as for general corporate purposes.
Commenting on today’s news, Benoît Gascon, Mason’s president and CEO, said, “[w]e are thrilled with the synergies between Mason Graphite and NanoXplore. This mutually beneficial alliance will connect our expert teams and combine potential low cost flake graphite production from our Lac Guéret project and potential low cost graphene production from NanoXplore’s process.”
Eventually, Gascon also noted, Mason will “become NanoXplore’s exclusive supplier of natural flake graphite” and “actively be involved in all facets of their sales and marketing activities.”

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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PROJECT UPDATE: Mason Graphite Records 658-percent Increase in Measured and Indicated Resources