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Northern Graphite Well Positioned to Benefit From New Critical Minerals Developments in Ontario
March 30, 2022: Northern Graphite Corporation (NGC:TSX-V, NGPHF:OTCQB, FRA:ONG, XSTU:ONG) (the “Company” or “Northern”) is pleased to provide shareholders and investors with a summary and analysis of a number of important developments with respect to the critical minerals industry in the Province of Ontario. The Company believes that its Bissett Creek graphite deposit is the most advanced critical minerals development project in Ontario and accordingly, that it is well positioned to benefit. Graphite is the largest component in a lithium ion battery (“LiB”) and supply is currently dominated by China. In mid March, the Ontario government announced the launch of a Critical Minerals Strategy, setting a five year roadmap to establish the province as a reliable global supplier of responsibly sourced critical minerals. The six pillars of the strategy include “growing domestic processing and creating resilient local supply chains” as well as “investing in critical minerals innovation, research and development.” This strategy seeks to leverage Ontario’s wealth of raw materials, close proximity to manufacturing plants and markets, and green hydroelectric power to facilitate the production of products with high ESG standards and low carbon footprints. These competitive advantages will enable the province to play a significant role in the development of a North American supply chain that isn’t dependant on raw materials from China. On March 23 Stellantis and LG Energy Solution announced they will establish Canada’s first ever large scale production lithium-ion battery plant in Windsor, Ontario, investing over $5 billion dollars in the joint venture. The new Windsor plant will require approximately 60,000 tonnes per year (“tpy”) of natural graphite to reach its projected production capacity of 45 gigawatt hours (“GWH”) per year. This news followed the announcement on March 16 that Honda will invest $1.4 billion to upgrade its Alliston, Ontario plant, with the 2023 Honda CR-V hybrid among the first models to be built. Honda plans to sell only zero emission vehicles in North America by 2040 and it will upgrade its other plants over the next 20 years. LG Energy Solution recently announced two new projects in Michigan, just across the US border from Ontario. It is investing $1.7 billion to expand its LiB cell plant in Holland, Michigan and has a third joint venture with GM to build a $2.5 billion cell plant in the City of Lansing and Delta County, Michigan. Combined with the investment in Ontario, LG will have a collective LiB production capacity of 200 GWH in North America, requiring 250,000 tpy of graphite. Bissett Creek is the nearest graphite deposit to these megafactories which provides the Company with a unique opportunity to deliver a secure, local, responsibly sourced supply of graphite. Testing has indicated that graphite from Bissett Creek is very well suited for the manufacture of high capacity, durable, long life lithium ion batteries. Bissett Creek is projected to produce 20,000 tonnes of graphite per year in phase 1 of development and has the resources to increase production to approximately 100,000 tpy as demand grows. Canada’s graphite production in 2020 was estimated to be only 10,000 tonnes. “The move towards a green economy has been called a once in a lifetime opportunity and jurisdictions around the world are competing for the investment that is required and the jobs that will be created,” said Northern Graphite CEO, Greg Bowes. “Financial support from the Ontario government has been critical to attracting these EV and battery manufacturing plants to the province and it is essential that investment also flows into the mineral projects needed to supply them,” he added. IWA is a shareholder of Northern Graphite Corporation
Statements which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company’s actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental, and technological factors that may affect the Company’s operations, markets, products, and prices. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission. 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.