Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (NMG) reports on its progress to bring the Phase-2 Matawinie Mine and Bécancour Battery Material Plant toward a final investment decision (“FID”), while planning a Phase-3 expansion via its Uatnan Mining Project and complementary value-added processing facilities. The Company’s multiyear offtake agreements with Anchor Customers Panasonic Energy Co., Ltd. (“Panasonic Energy”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Panasonic Holdings Corporation (“Panasonic”) , and General Motors Holdings LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Co. (collectively, “GM”), combined with improved market dynamics and attractive long-term perspectives provide solid underpinnings for scaling up operations from its Phase-1 facilities to construction and commercial production.
Arne H Frandsen, Chair of NMG, declared: “The fundamentals of NMG’s business model continue to be reaffirmed by governments and manufacturers’ quest to secure resilient, local, and dependable supply chains for energy autonomy, national security, and decarbonization plans.
“NMG’s efforts are centered on crystallizing our position as North America’s first and largest fully integrated producer of natural graphite anode material and creating value for our shareholders and stakeholders at every stage.”
Eric Desaulniers, Founder, President, and CEO of NMG, stated: “Backing from our Anchor Customers, trade restriction from Western governments promoting onshoring and friendshoring of battery materials, plus a clear demand/supply deficit for anode material looming in North America create sustained tailwinds as we near FID for our Phase 2 and start assessing sites for our Phase-3 processing expansion“.
“With nearly $75 million of cash position, Team Nouveau Monde is focused on the disciplined execution of our business strategy through updating of operational parameters of our integrated feasibility study, optimizing CAPEX and procurement, as well as adjusting our project financing structure to leverage tax credits, grants and debt/equity instruments.”
Path to Commercial Production: Phase 2
Using an integrated project team (“IPT”) model, the Company is preparing for the launch of the Phase-2 Matawinie Mine and Bécancour Battery Material Plant once minimum financing is reached. NMG’s in-house team and strategic consultants specializing in engineering, procurement, construction management, and project controls are working collaboratively to advance engineering, and finalize pre-construction deliverables (comprehensive construction sequence, schedule, contracting strategy, programs for health, safety, environment, and quality).
Updated cost projections reflecting the advancement in engineering, cost optimization, and construction planning are being prepared for the updated integrated feasibility study underway. Outputs will support project financing in view of FID. NMG continues to engage with governmental agencies, strategic investors, and lenders to secure a robust capital structure. Additionally, an external tax specialist firm has been tasked with optimizing the Phase-2 CAPEX eligibility for the new Canadian Investment Tax Credit for Clean Technology Manufacturing, which offers a refundable tax credit of up to 30% of eligible capital expenditures.
At the Phase-2 Bécancour Battery Material Plant site, preliminary works were carried out in recent months to complete tree clearing and the construction of an on-site road.
The Company is reporting progress on the development of zero-emission equipment for the Matawinie Mine on the basis of strategic agreements with Caterpillar Inc. (“Caterpillar”). Site visits, prototypes demonstrations and modeling solutions inform dynamically NMG’s electrification plans and the development of an integrated tailored solution for the Matawinie Mine covering the fleet, charging infrastructure and operating site management. In addition, the final path for the dedicated powerline set to connect the mining site to Hydro-Québec’s hydropower network for enabling the full electrification of the Matawinie Mine was reviewed and approved by the regulatory body.