Northern Graphite’s Quebec processor to feed battery plants eager to skirt China 

Northern Graphite (TSXV: NGC; US-OTC: NGPHF) plans to build a half-billion-dollar plant in Quebec processing battery materials from its own mining projects and others.  

The Ottawa-based company intends to buy a 1.2-sq.-km parcel at Baie-Comeau’s industrial port about 400 km down the St. Lawrence River from Quebec City, the company said in a release on Thursday. The property would cost US$1.2 million for a plant expected to be completed in 2026. Its $500,000 first phase would process 200,000 tonnes a year of anode material such as graphite to be supplied to battery makers.  

The plant would be one of the largest of its kind as Western governments and automakers seek to increase local processing capability instead of relying on China, which controls most current battery metal deposits and nearly all of the processing capacity to refine the material. Canada and other nations have started critical minerals strategies while automakers are seeking to lock in supplies for the surging electric vehicle market.  

“This is a big step forward in our strategy to be an integrated, sustainable, cost-effective mine-to-market supplier,” Northern CEO Hugues Jacquemin said in the release. “From here everything flows.”  
 
Northern is proceeding with design and logistical work to begin construction of the plant which will be fed with hydro-electric power. It will be eligible for assistance from Quebec, Canada and the United States as well as local government, the company said.   

Meanwhile, the company is drilling to expand operations at the Lac des Iles graphite mine 180 km northwest of Montreal and is considering the development of the Mousseau West deposit about 80 away. Both would feed the Baie Comeau plant. As well, the company has proposed producing 20,000 tonnes a year of concentrate from its Bissett Lake project in Ontario.

Northern is also working to restart the Okanjande graphite mine and Okorusu processing plant in Namibia, which were put on care and maintenance in 2018. It released a preliminary economic assessment last year saying the US$15.1 million project could be revived in 12 months.  

Shares in Northern Graphite closed 1.3% lower on Thursday in Toronto at 38¢ apiece, valuing the company at $48.3 million. They’ve traded in a 52-week range of 34¢ and 72¢.