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Arrow Lakes News
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Vol. 89 Issue 50 • Wednesday, December 12, 2012 • www.arrowlakesnews.com • 250-265-3823 • $1.25 •
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Whatshan graphite exploration to continue in spring Claire paradis Arrow Lakes News
This past September, a large hexagon suspended from a helicopter was spotted around Arrow Park. The contraption was part of an expedition by Vancouver-based Noram, a mineral exploration company on the lookout for graphite near Whatshan Lake. What the company saw thanks to their airborne equipment was “just the beginning,” according to president Dave Rees. Once the magnetic resonance survey by helicopter was completed, a ground crew went in and confirmed there was graphite in the sample. “It’s quite accessible,” said Rees, who said the logging roads that crisscross the 144 square-kilometre area northeast of Whatshan Lake are a boon to exploration efforts. In a recent update about the company’s exploration of the Nakusp Flake-Graphite Property published on equities.com, it was stated that Noram has an option to earn a 100 per cent interest in the Property, which is 14,435 hectares in size. What’s all the fuss about graphite? Graphite isn’t just for pencils anymore. It’s found in refractories (substances that are heat-resistant), metallurgy, lubricants brake pads as well as pencils. It’s also found in Lithium-ion batteries which power cell phones, laptops and power tools, and which are the heart of electric car technology. Graphite is a very stable form of carbon that conducts electricity and is hard to ignite. For that reason, it has been used in steelmaking and foundry facings. One particular use, according to Wikipedia, was in the manufacturing of superior cannon balls, and thereby
contributing to the strength of the English navy. It has also historically been used to mark sheep, a much less lofty but also necessary use. In 2012, Canada was the fifth largest producer of flake graphite, running behind China, Brazil, India and North Korea, according to a pamphlet from the Natural Graphite Report 2012 (NGR) from Industrial Minerals. China is far and away the largest producer of the stuff, mining 79 per cent of the global graphite available in 2011. According to the NGR pamphlet, due to the increase in demand for electric cars and to China’s changing focus to exporting finished goods rather than raw materials, and looking to its own domestic needs, the world graphite market is changing. The price of the mineral has increased 140 per cent over the last two years, and graphite sources that were once seen as unprofitable are now being reconsidered. The cost of the NGR may itself be an indicator of the increasing importance and value of graphite. The Industrial Minerals report, which details up-to-date data about the mineral and the market, sells for $6,000 a copy. Graphene is the real potential mineral wunderkind, however. A sheet of single layer-carbon atoms, graphene is a twodimensional material that is lightweight but extremely strong with a breaking strength 200 times that of steel, according to Wikipedia. Not only is it able to be rolled, wrapped and stacked, it is recyclable. According to a 2007 article from the University of Manchester, “graphene is a rapidly rising star on the horizon of materials science and condensed-matter physics.” The authors
Graphite exploration will continue near Whatshan Lake in the spring, said exploration company Noram president. Photo courtesy SKYTEM of the article, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, also state in their article that “the graphene ‘gold rush’ has begun.” Geim and Novoselov won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work with two-dimensional graphene.
The potential uses for graphene are vast in number, with several being actively developed and many more being dreamed up. Solar cells, integrated circuits, flexible screens,
See Graphite page 3
Engineer takes umbrage with council criticism Claire paradis Arrow Lakes News
The former contract engineer for the Village of Nakusp is taking exception to what he believes is an unfair characterization of his work with the Village of Nakusp. Delterra Engineering Ltd.’s Trevor Shephard responded to a village council report by CAO Linda Tynan which stated the Village terminated its contract with Delterra because it was “believed that the
projects were not being effectively managed.” Shepard said there were responsibilities that lay with the village for delays in projects that were not mentioned in the report, making the report one-sided in his opinion. “My company completed many, many successful projects for the village,” Shephard told the Arrow Lakes News. “And they would not be getting their Climate Action Award without my creativity and ideas that got those projects
approved.” Shephard said the Village of Nakusp and other parties bear responsibility for many cost overruns. He pointed to issues of additional work required in response to municipal zoning changes, increased Ministry of Environment requirements and a high turnover of managerial staff in the years since 2005 as factors that increased costs. In a letter to the Arrow Lakes News, he estimates the costs in increased work due to changes
made by the Village to be in the order of $250,000. “I don’t think that was fair at all,” said Shephard about the CAO’s report. “This is important to me because I built my business with projects with the village,” Shephard said. “I did do a lot of stuff for them and for them to end on a note like this is unfair.” When asked for a response to Shephard’s comments, mayor Karen Hamling said it was unfortu-
nate that things have turned out the way they have, and deferred questions to CAO Linda Tynan, pointing out that the day-to-day workings took place between the CAO and the Engineer. “If I could talk to you about the details, you would see a whole different picture, but because it was in camera, I can’t,” said Hamling, who said the CAO was the person to discuss the details. The CAO was unable for comment as she is on vacation until mid January.
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