North American markets have bounced back sharply today, with the benchmark indexes in the U.S. and Canada trading higher. Equities are recovering amid hopes that the meeting between major oil producers later this month in Russia will lead to an agreement on a production freeze.
Oil prices have bounced back sharply on expectations of a production freeze and this is also helping equities. The energy sector is in fact the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 today, while the basic materials sector is also up 0.50% in mid-day trading.
One of the biggest gainers in Canadian markets today is Standard Graphite Corp. (TSX-Venture:SGH). Based in Vancouver, SGH is primarily engaged in the acquisition and exploration of graphite mineral properties located in Canada.
The company’s main focus is the exploration and development of its optioned Mousseau East Property and Diego Property located in Quebec. SGH has a 100% interest in 12 graphite properties within known graphite districts in both Quebec and Ontario.
At last check, SGH shares were trading 66.67% higher at $0.0500 on volume of one million, which is more than 10 times the daily average volume of 84,015.
SGH shares are soaring after the company announced the signing of an option agreement for the acquisition of eight lithium properties in Quebec. SGH said that it plans on exploring for lithium in Quebec’s vast territory where the only hard rock lithium production was ever carried out in North America.
The properties are located within the two major lithium districts of Quebec; the Abitibi and James Bay regions, and cover a total area of approximately 1150 hectares over highly prospective geology.
SGH noted that historical data from the property makes mention of grades of up to 0.8% LiO2 which compares favorably with the cut-off grades used for the feasibility at the two most advanced projects in Quebec. However, the company added that a qualified person has not done sufficient work to date to confirm these historical results and there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource.
According to terms of the agreement, SGH will make a cash payment of $25,000 and issue 6,000,000 shares to seller for the acquisition of a 100% interest in the claims. The seller of these properties will retain a 2% NSR on the claims of which 1% can be bought back for $1 million at any time following the acquisition.
