Focus Graphite Launches Phase III Drilling at its 100%-owned Lac T?(C)t?(C)pisca Flake Graphite Project, Qu?(C)bec - 38 Holes Planned (total: 5,750 m)

OTTAWA, Nov.20, 2017(GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Focus Graphite Inc. (TSX-V:FMS) (OTCQX:FCSMF) (FSE:FKC) (“Focus” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the commencement of Phase III drilling at the Company’s wholly owned Lac Tétépisca Flake Graphite Project (“the Project”) located southwest of the Manicouagan reservoir in the Côte-Nord administrative region of Québec. Phase III drilling continues to target the “Manicouagan-Ouest Graphitic Corridor” (MOGC), a 2.0 km-long graphite bearing structure mapped by the Company through prospecting, mechanical trenching and combined ground magnetic (MAG)-EM geophysical surveying from 2012 to 2014.

Phase I drilling conducted in 2014 tested a 600-m section of the MOGC with 16 holes (total: 1,873 m) positioned along four sections spaced 200 m apart. In 2016, the Company completed a second phase of infill and extension drilling on the MOGC which included 18 HQ-diameter holes (total: 2,424 m) drilled along four fences, completing the 200-m line spacing pattern in the extent of the MOGC, plus five (5) additional infill holes drilled at a 100-m spacing between 2014 fences. Fifteen (15) holes from the Phase II program intersected significant graphitic mineralization with grades ranging from 5.6% graphitic carbon (Cg) to 19.35% Cg over a minimum true thickness of 6.2 m (refer to Focus news release dated January 20, 2017, available at www.focusgraphite.com).

Phase III drilling commenced on November 17 using two drills rigs. Thirty-eight (38) HQ-diameter holes are planned (total: 5,750 m). The drilling is designed to further test the continuity, thickness and grade of the main graphitic mineralization within the MOGC at a 50-m hole spacing over a segment of 0.9  km and down to a vertical depth of 150 m. The large diameter drilling is also designed to provide graphite mineralization material to continue with pilot plant metallurgical testwork.

Gary Economo, President and CEO of Focus states: “By the end of this year, Focus will have investigated a 1.4 km segment of the Manicouagan-Ouest Graphitic Corridor (MOGC) with an anticipated total of 9,800 m of systematic large diameter core drilling. The information gathered from the three drilling programs will then be combined to generate an initial mineral resource estimate on the highest-grade section of the MOCG by Q3 2018, which will then form the basis for the preparation of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the Project.”

The fall 2017 exploration program at Lac Tétépisca is designed and operated by IOS Services Géoscientifiques of Chicoutimi, Québec, under the supervision of the Table Jamésienne de Concertation Minière (TJCM) of Chibougamau, Québec. The core drilling contractor is Chibougamau Diamond Drilling Ltd. of Chibougamau, Québec. Focus has earmarked a budget of $1.35 million for the fall exploration program.

Sample preparation will be provided by IOS, while assaying will be provided by the Consortium de Recherche en Traitement de Minerais (COREM) of Québec City. All core will be assayed for graphitic carbon and total sulfur, with an additional 10% of all samples to be assayed for total carbon, inorganic carbon, organic carbon and metallic trace elements. Quality control, monitored by an IOS chemist, will consist of 15% reference materials, including blank samples, certified and internal reference material, as well as 10% duplicates to be assayed by Activation Laboratories of Ancaster, Ontario.

About the Lac Tétépisca Flake Graphite Project

Focus’ 100%-owned Lac Tétépisca graphite property is comprised of 69 contiguous map-designated claims cells (“CDC”) forming a polygon with an area of 3,720.9 ha located on the southwest shore of the Manicouagan reservoir (NTS sheets 22N-03 and 22N-06), in the Côte-Nord administrative region of northeastern Québec. The project area is located 234 km north-northwest of the city of Baie-Comeau and is accessible year-round by logging roads which start from Route 389.

The MOCG is hosted in meta-sedimentary rocks of the Nault Formation, which is part of the Gagnon Group. The graphite-bearing outcrops within the corridor are composed of fine to medium grained quartz-feldspar-biotite schists with local occurrences of garnet and kyanite. Fine to coarse graphite flakes and associated sulphides compose 10% to 20% of the rocks, and up to 50% in strongly mineralized zones.

A map of the Lac Tétépisca project is available on the Company’s website at www.focusgraphite.com.

Qualified Persons

Mr. Réjean Girard, P.Geo., President of IOS Services Géoscientifiques Inc. and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects - has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

Mr. Marc-André Bernier, M.Sc, P.Geo. (Québec and Ontario), a Director of the Company and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the non-technical content of this news release.

About Focus Graphite

Focus Graphite Inc. is an advanced exploration and mining company with an objective of producing graphite concentrate at its wholly owned Lac Knife flake graphite deposit located 27 km south of Fermont, Québec. In a second stage, to meet Quebec stakeholder interests of transformation within the province and to add shareholder value, Focus is evaluating the feasibility of producing value added graphite products including battery-grade spherical graphite.

Focus Graphite is a technology-oriented graphite mining development company with a vision for building long-term, sustainable shareholder value. Focus also holds a significant equity position in graphene applications developer Grafoid Inc.

For more information about Focus Graphite, please visit www.focusgraphite.com.

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).

Neither the 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 accuracy of this release.

Contact:

Focus Graphite Inc.
Mr. Gary Economo
Chief Executive Officer
+1-613-241-4040
geconomo@focusgraphite.com
www.focusgraphite.com