GRAPHITE: Mason Graphite lines up $25M bought deal for Lac Gueret project

QUEBEC – Mason Graphite of Montreal has lined up a bought deal private placement to raise $25 million for its Lac Gueret graphite project near Baie Comeau. A syndicate of underwriters led by National Bank Financial has agreed to purchase 22.75 million Mason common shares at a price of $1.10 each. The underwriters have also been granted an over-allotment of an additional 3.41 million shares. If the underwriters exercise the over-allotment, gross proceeds of the offering will be almost $28.78 million. Mason Graphite has several uses for the money. About $17 million (or $21 million if the over-allotment is exercised) will be spent on development expenses related to the mine and mill. The total pre-production capital requirement is $165.9 million. Up to $6 million will be paid to Quinto Mining Corp. related to Mason’s acquisition of the property. One million dollars is earmarked for an additional equity investment in Group NanoXplore. Any remaining money will be spent for general corporate purposes. A feasibility study for a project with a life of 25 years has been completed. It and a photo gallery are posted at www.MasonGraphite.com.