The Canadian government has agreed to provide Northern Graphite with a repayable contribution of up to $6.225 million to support extending the life of the company’s Lac des Îles graphite mine in Quebec.

The interest-free and unsecured contribution will be provided by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and delivered by The Economic Development Agency of Canada for Quebec Regions (CED), under the Regional Economic Growth Through Innovation Program. It will finance 75% of the eligible costs for the pit extension at the mine to support continued production.

LDI, located about 150 km northwest of Montreal, produces approximately 15,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate annually, from an installed capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year.

The funding will help the company avoid putting LDI on care and maintenance at the end of 2025 and allow it to immediately begin work on extending the existing pit.

The goal is to break ground as soon as possible to ensure a continuous flow of material to the plant. First production from the new zones could start in around 6-8 months. In the meantime, Northern will continue supplying customers by processing ore from existing pit and ore stockpiles through the third quarter, and will then fulfill orders from inventory.

The pit extension is based on a resource estimate published in January 2024, which shows potential to extend the life of the mine. It supports Northern Graphite’s plan to meet rising demand by permanently moving the LDI mill to daily operation.

“This support from the Canadian government will help keep the mine in operation and allow us to continue to supply our customer base in industrial markets as well as to pursue our goal of becoming a key supplier to growing defense and battery markets in North America and further afield,” said Northern Chief Executive Officer Hugues Jacquemin. “We are in conversations with other parties to finance the remaining cost of the mine extension and hope to be able to announce something soon.”

Source: Northern Graphite