DGAP-News

KEY MILESTONE REACHED AS NOUVEAU MONDE RECEIVES QUEBEC GOVERNMENT AUTHORISATION TO BUILD WHAT IS SET TO BECOME THE WESTERN WORLD'S LARGEST GRAPHITE MINE - Seite 3

Eric Desaulniers, President and CEO of Nouveau Monde, added: "This is a day of celebration. I founded Nouveau Monde 10 years ago, and today's decree is a huge milestone for us all. It is a critical element which our employees, community, clients, and shareholders have been waiting for. We can be proud of the innovation and dedication that we have demonstrated throughout the engineering and environmental review phases; they now favourably position us in the marketplace. With this green light to launch our Matawinie project, we plan to bring to market a responsibly extracted high-purity graphite to supply EV and energy storage sectors with a local and sustainable alternative. Doing so will position Nouveau Monde as a leading anode material provider for decades to come, creating opportunities and unlocking value for all parties involved."

Setting new standards for mining

Nouveau Monde is working towards developing an operation that can provide the volumes required by major auto OEMs and battery manufacturers; the most recent estimates indicate
120.3 Mt combined measured and indicated resources at a 4.26% Cg grade. Geological knowledge of the Matawinie property paired with experience in extracting and concentrating the ore at the Company's demonstration plant have significantly de-risked the project.

Nouveau Monde has also integrated forward-looking and innovative environmental initiatives to limit the project's footprint and protect local biodiversity, namely:

- integrated onsite water management system guaranteeing constant monitoring and treatment that meet the highest quality standards;

- co-disposal of tailings and waste rock in line with requirements of the best practices such as The Global Tailings Review, the International Network for Acid Prevention and the Canadian Mine Environment Neutral Drainage Program. This management solution helps avoid acid mine drainage, provides greater environmental safety in the long term and reduces the infrastructure's footprint;