Canadian-based Nouveau Monde Graphite (NMG) has issued results of a NI43-101 compliant feasibility study for its vertically-integrated graphite operation comprised of its Matawanie mine and Becancour plant projects.

The operation in Québec Province is being developed as a local, carbon-neutral and traceable turnkey supply of anode battery material for the North American and European markets. NMG’s wholly-owned Matawanie mine is already under construction and according to the latest feasibility study will produce 103,000tpy of high purity flake graphite over 25 years whilst the Becancour plant is set to produce 43,000tpy of anode material in addition to 3,000tpy of purified jumbo flakes, making use of a portion of Matawinie’s production as feedstock. The latest feasibility study indicates an after-tax net present value of US$1,218M with an internal rate of return of 21%. With the release of this feasibility study, NMG is positioning itself as a future dominant North American supplier of natural graphite and anode material to battery and electrical vehicle manufacturers in the region.    

A noteworthy feature of the Becancour plant is the ability to transform fine-to-intermediate graphite flakes into coated spherical purified graphite to be used as anode material for lithium-ion battery applications. The plant makes use of a carbochlorination process instead of hydrofluoric acid to elevate the purity of graphite materials whilst also providing a greener and more sustainable alternative to anode material production. It should be noted that this technology is at the piloting stage and set to continue throughout the remainder of 2022. With these latest announcements, NMG is set to become one of the largest natural flake graphite producers globally outside of China and Syrah Resource’s 350,000tpy Balama Mine in Mozambique.