Junior mining company Focus Metals said on Thursday that it plans to expand drilling at its Lac Knife Graphite Property, in Quebec.

The Ottawa-based company said it will place historic resource calculations in a 43-101 framework and obtain significant graphite samples for potential off-take partners, as part of its objective.

"Ultimately, this will enable us to determine how large the resource is," said president and chief executive of Focus Metals, Gary Economo. "It also fits our business strategy."

"This financially responsible decision should satisfy the interests of regulators with an updated 43-101; potential customers with sufficient samples, and; shareholders with greater potential for long-term value," added Economo.

Samples will be drilled out by large-bore machines to depths of up to 300 meters - almost twice the depth of previous drilling - while new areas will be drilled on the southern portion of the Lac Knife property.

The bulk load of graphite samples will be processed to 95%, while a portion of the samples will be purified to 99.9% for some customers, Focus said.

The samples will be sent to potential off-take partners in the United States, Europe and China.

Unlike precious metals, the true economic value of technology grade graphite is dependent on the specifications of end users, said Economo.

The graphite on Focus Metals' property varies from 8% to over 40% grade and can be mined more proficiently as soon as a more complete data picture from drilling is completed this summer, the company said.

Since 1989, the Lac Knife crystalline flake graphite property has undergone two pre-NI 43-101 feasibility studies.

Last year, Focus Metals granted a contract to Roche Consulting Group to evaluate the correlation between the historical resource estimate and new 2010 and 2011 drilling estimates.

An NI 43-101 technical report, which is slated for release this summer, will incorporate the new drilling results.

Additionally, Roche had been contracted to produce a preliminary economic assessment in tandem with the NI 43-101, but a new drilling program may alter results from work previously undertaken.