MONTREAL – Focus Graphite Inc. said Monday a scoping study (preliminary economic assessment) of its Lac Knife graphite project near the iron ore mining centre of Fermont in Northeastern Quebec indicates it has the potential “to become one of the world’s highest-grade producers.”

The report by Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. and Soutex Inc., covering an open-pit mining operation, metallurgy and mineral processing, says the project offers “robust economics” and requires an initial capital outlay of $154 million. The processing system would operate at an annual rate of 43,600 tonnes of high-grade graphite concentrate.

CEO Gary Economo said 86 per cent of the reserves are battery-grade and talks are underway with several potential international users. In July, he raised the possibility of locating a refinery at South Shore Varennes to make 99.9 per cent purity graphite for new-generation lithium-ion batteries that power smart phones, power tools and e-cars.