Gratomic Appoints Armando Farhate as Chief Operations Officer and Head of Graphite Marketing and Sales

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 15, 2020 / Gratomic Inc. (“GRAT” or the “Company”) (TSXV:GRAT)(FRANKFURT:CB81)(WKN:A143MR) officially welcomes Armando Farhate aboard as Chief Operations Officer and Head of Graphite Marketing and Sales. Mr. Farhate was previously appointed as Head of the Advisory Board. Due to his extensive and successful experience in the graphite mining industry, Gratomic is thrilled to have him onboard in his new role with the Company.

Mr. Farhate will oversee all operations for the Aukam Graphite Mine in Namibia, Africa. This includes the completion of the final 10% of construction required to take the processing plant into the full commissioning phase. He will also be responsible for the management of graphite product sales and marketing, leading to the procurement of purchase contracts and the vertical integration required for the creation and sale of end-user products. Mr. Farhate’s appointment as Chief Operations Officer is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval

Mr. Farhate’s prior experience in the planning, engineering, project management, marketing and sales areas of the graphite mining industry make him the ideal candidate to fill this role. In past projects, he was responsible for quality management, environmental management, and implementing strategic and tactical planning. In addition to operations and graphite marketing and sales, Mr. Farhate will oversee the quality management of the Aukam Graphite Mine and he will coordinate important decisions regarding processing.

Some notable accomplishments in Mr. Farhate’s experience include Natural Graphite Operations/Product Director with Imreys Graphite and Carbon and COO at National de Graphite Ltda. Some of Mr. Farhate’s responsibilities at Imreys included acting as Operations Director, directly responsible for the mining and processing units in Lac-Des-Îles, QC, and Terrebonne, QC, Canada, with 60 employees and annual sales revenue of $ 18 MM CDN. Farhate obtained 15% of OEE improvement and reduction to zero of lost time accidents. He carried out technical visits and operational due-diligences in projects of new industrial units in several countries, including a project that resulted in a joint venture in Namibia, with assets of US$ 40MM and Imreys holding a 51% share of the joint venture.

While at Imreys, Farhate was also responsible for ensuring that the product offering was adequate to the needs of the target markets, which included the preparation and development of business cases aimed at launching new product lines and new production processes; the definition of sales price policies, and the development of Marketing and Sales plans for new industrial units. He was in charge of the long-term strategy for Natural Graphite, including the definition of new production locations and sourcing strategies.

During his time at National de Grafite Ltda., Armando Farhate was responsible for the direct management of Geology, Mine Planning, Mining, Processing, Industrial Engineering, R&D, Quality System, Environment, and Sales & Marketing. He performed high level contacts with federal and state regulatory public organizations in Brazil, as well as with municipalities and state congressmen, regarding mining permitting and environment licensing processes.

Mr. Farhate coordinated new mine opening processes, including the obtaining of mining permissions and environment licenses. He coordinated, together with specialized consultants, mineral assets evaluation processes and implemented control tools generating integrated information about output, efficiency, cost and inventory levels of three different plants and more than 20 product lines, optimizing production planning and order fulfillment and obtaining OEE improvements up to $1.25 MM/yr. CDN at the three industrial units held by NDG.

He led new product and process development, including the negotiation of partnerships with public and private universities in Brazil and abroad with emphasis on the obtaining of graphite oxide and graphene from natural crystalline graphite, and on the development of process technology for lithium-ion battery anode. He conducted, in partnership with HR and Controlling, a restructuring process on administrative and supporting areas, including upper management, with saving of $300,000/yr CDN.

Mr. Farhate’s experience and expertise will undoubtedly be of great value to the Company.

About Gratomic Inc.

Gratomic is a materials company focused on mine to market commercialization of graphite products and components for a range of mass market products. The Company currently holds two off-take purchase agreements for graphite product sourced from the Aukam facility. One agreement is with TODAQ and the other is with Phu Sumika. The Company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GRAT.

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

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

“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).

SOURCE: Gratomic Inc.

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