TORONTO, Aug. 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Great Lakes Graphite Inc., doing business as NovoCarbon Corporation, (“ GLK ”, “ NovoCarbon ” or the “ Company ”) (TSX-V:GLK, OTCQB:GLKIF, FWB:8GL) today announces the receipt and fulfillment of an initial purchase order from a graphene manufacturer located in the United States. The purchase order specified fifty pounds each of two high purity, micronized flake graphite products. The customer has requested confidentiality for competitive reasons.

Senior VP of Sales Michael Coscia said, “Following an extended qualification process with this customer, we are now moving from product trials to purchase orders. They have expressed an intention to work with us in an exclusive supply relationship and we are delighted with the opportunity to fulfill their requirement for high quality graphite materials on an ongoing basis. We began product qualifications with this customer using kilogram quantities and are providing a pre-production quantity with this order. While the size of this initial purchase order is modest, the customer has indicated an intention to begin ordering by the ton in the next few months and to begin placing regular orders by early next year.”

CEO Paul Gorman added, “We’ve had the opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities as a supplier and provide a positive experience while working with this customer to qualify our material. The pricing for this product confirms and validates the assumptions in our business model and increases our confidence that we will be competitive in this market. We are excited because we believe it is more evidence that the graphene market is maturing and making significant progress in migrating from the laboratory and into commercial applications.”

About NovoCarbon Corporation: NovoCarbon is a Clean Technology Minerals Processing Company supplying customers with innovative, high quality value-added carbon products.

There is no significant graphite production in North America now. As pricing and demand continue to rise, NovoCarbon is one of the first new domestic suppliers to a growing regional customer base. We continually work to deliver products of the best quality with outstanding customer service.

The Company is party to an agreement for long-term supply of high quality natural graphite concentrate from Brazil. NovoCarbon is presently working with an established US-based processor for toll micronization services. The Company has partnered with Ashland Advanced Materials for commercial-scale purification operations at Ashland’s 110,000 square foot purification facility located in Niagara, New York.

Through our partner relationships, NovoCarbon began selling micronized synthetic graphite beginning in 2016 and now supplies micronized and high purity micronized natural flake graphite products to a growing customer base.

Further information regarding NovoCarbon can be found on the Company’s website at: www. novocarbon .com .

NovoCarbon trades as GLKIF on the OTCQB market in the US and as GLK on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada.  There are currently 132,656,830 shares outstanding.

Note: The current legal name of the corporation is Great Lakes Graphite Inc., which is doing business as NovoCarbon Corporation until final approval by the shareholders and the TSX Venture Exchange.

For more information, please contact:

Paul Gorman Chief Executive Officer Email: pgorman@greatlakesgraphite.com

Susan Murphy Manager, Administration Email: smurphy@greatlakesgraphite.com 1-800-754-4510 x101

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information: Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward looking information" which involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking information. When used in this press release, such forward looking information may use such words as "may'', "will'', "expect'', "believe'', "plan'' and other similar terminology. Forward looking information is provided for the purpose of presenting information about management's current expectations relating to the future events and the operating performance of the Company, and readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The forward looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Company to fulfill the orders and future orders, regulatory requirements, general economic, market or business conditions and future developments in the sectors of the economy in which the business of Great Lakes operates. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Please see the Company's financial statements, MD&A and other documents available on www.sedar.com , for a more detailed description of the risk factors. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward looking information, whether a result of new information, future results or otherwise, except as required by law.