GRATOMIC ANNOUNCES UPDATE ON CONSTRUCTION AT AUKAM GRAPHITE PROJECT

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Thursday January 14, 2021 

 TORONTO, ON / January 14, 2020 / Gratomic Inc. (“Gratomic” or the “Company”) (TSXV:GRAT)(FRANKFURT:CB82) (WKN:A143MR) (OTCQB: CBULF)  is pleased to announce that it has completed the settling reservoir on the mine site and has begun the commissioning process on the settling and water filtration tanks. The Company is thrilled to report that it remains on target for its planned commissioning in March of 2021.

Gratomic has mobilized a crane through local company, Coleman Transport, located in Rosh Pinah, Namibia.  Coleman Transport will assist the team with the placement of the custom engineered plant equipment to allow for final assembly.  The custom equipment arrived on site in October as per the Press Release dated October 15th, 2020.  The Aukam team will begin commissioning the crushing and grinding circuit the third week of January.  Steel Frames and Structures are expected to be installed by the 25th of January. 

The Company welcomes Andre Bennet and Theodoris Stephanus to the Aukam team.  Andre Bennet will arrive at the site Jan 25 as the site’s Lead Mechanic and Maintenance Supervisor.

Prior to accepting the position with Gratomic Inc., Andre Bennet was the Maintenance Manager for Imerys Graphite and Carbon.  He was responsible for plant commissioning, enforcement of safety protocols, plant maintenance, inspections, permitting, certifications, meeting OEM product specifications, and liaising with the Engineering team on a daily basis.  Andre was responsible for the control of all permits to work including, hot work permits, working at heights, scaffolding, confined spaces, risk assessments, lockout procedures, lifting permits and plans. His vast experience also includes the role of Maintenance Manager at Gecko Namibia, time spent as a Certified Engineering Superintendent, Proprietor and operator of A.F. Bennet Engineering, and Plant Manager for African Portland Cement, to list a few of his many accomplishments. 

Theodoris Stephanus will be responsible for the Electric Design and Installation for the final plant assembly phase.  Theo’s vast experience includes 14 additional Certifications in various areas including Risk Assessment, Snakes and Hazards, Heights, Confined Spaces, Lifting and Rigging, Moving Machinery and others.  His background consists of work with various plant components including conveyors, crushers, pumps, raw material handling, compressors, lifts and various elements of the construction process.  Mr. Stephanus has held various important roles including Electrical Engineer for Hernic Ferrochrome Pty Ltd –Shaft Maroelabult, where he was responsible for the maintenance of electrical and reticulation systems, problem solving and troubleshooting electrical equipment and reticulation systems, arranging shift coverage with electricians, supervise during shutdowns, and planning of new projects.

*Above image: Depicts Aukam Team Member sealing the processing plant settling reservoir.

The team will proceed with commissioning of the remaining equipment in the coming month and is on track for its March commissioning as planned. Assembly is strategically planned for each unit, or section of the plant, in order to maintain our strict timelines.  Contingency plans are in place to account for any, and prevent any, potential delays.   

“We are thrilled to have assembled such a fantastic team of people, here at Gratomic, and I am personally grateful for our team members for their hard work and dedication to the Company and the Aukam Graphite Project. We are also grateful to our valued shareholders for their continued support and belief in our vision for Gratomic, we wouldn’t be where we are today, only weeks away from commissioning, without their support.” stated Arno Brand, President and CEO. 

“These are challenging and exciting times for Gratomic’s Aukam teams, as work of different disciplines such as steel structure, hydraulic, electric and masonry will be done simultaneously and need to come together smoothly. The competences in our team are the best we could ask for to make that happen”, stated Armando Farhate, COO & Head of Graphite Marketing and Sales.

 About Gratomic Inc.

Established in 2014, Gratomic is focused on the proposed production of low-cost mine to market carbon-neutral, eco-friendly, high purity vein graphite to be provided to the EV and Energy Storage supply chains. Gratomic is anticipating full operational capabilities in 2021.

Gratomic is in the process of solidifying its plans for micronization and spheronization of its clean Aukam graphite. This significant milestone is a small, additional step in the Company’s proposed eco-friendly processing cycle and is intended to allow it to meet ideal North American battery grade standards for use in Li-ion battery anodes.

The Company plans to deliver mine-to-market traceability and guaranteed quality control. This will be accomplished by providing documented tracking on all graphite generated at its flagship Aukam Graphite Project. The tracking will begin at Aukam and will be verified at every stage during transport.

Two off-take purchase agreements are currently held for lump-vein graphite sourced from Gratomic’s Aukam Graphite Project in Namibia, Africa. Fulfillment of the contracts is anticipated to begin in Q1 of 2021. The agreements exist with TODAQ and Phu Sumika. 

TODAQ is an innovative deeptech company that can containerize assets, transactions & markets, and will partner with Gratomic on its mine-to-market commodity tracking and trading. Containerized assets are verifiably unique, keep an immutable record of who has owned them, have embedded smart logic, can be transferred P2P, and are interoperable with any system.  Asset owners enjoy stronger ownership control, value retention when trading, and ability to prove authenticity in seconds.

Phu Sumika is a large global graphite supplier to battery and lubrication companies.

Gratomic Inc. is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GRAT, on the OTCQB under the symbol CBULF and on the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol CB82. 

For more information: visit the website at www.gratomic.ca or contact:

Arno Brand at abrand@gratomic.ca or 416 561-4095 

Visit us at gratomic.ca/contact/ to be added to our emailing list. 

“Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.”

 

Forward Looking Statements:

This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management’s current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com

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