Nouveau Monde and Mason Graphite set to form JV to advance Lac Guéret in Quebec 

Nouveau Monde Graphite (TSXV: NOU; NYSE: NMG) and Mason Graphite (TSXV: LLG; OTC: MGPHF) have entered into an option and joint venture agreement to advance Mason Graphite’s Lac Guéret project in northeastern Quebec.

As part of the deal, Nouveau will have the option to own 51% of the property if it invests $5 million in Mason Graphite and spend $10 million on advancing the property. It would also be required to co-fund a preliminary economic assessment and a bankable feasibility study based on a production scale of at least 250,000 tonnes per year of graphite concentrate.  

In addition, Nouveau has inked a non-binding agreement with Mason’s subsidiary, Black Swan, to use the latter’s graphene processing technology in its Phase-1 natural graphite flake concentrator in Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Québec and establish a fully integrated facility for graphite ore and graphene-finished products. 

“The partnership announced today has the potential to propel Québec’s graphite industry on the world stage,” said Pierre Fitzgibbon, Québec’s Minister of Economy and Innovation, in a press release. “By combining the strengths of the two most advanced projects in North America…we are solidifying our battery value chain.”  

Located about 285 km north of Baie-Comeau, the property covers 40 sq. km. and has a resource estimate of 65.5 million tonnes grading 17.2% graphitic carbon for 11.2 million tonnes of graphite in the measured and indicated category. Inferred resources add 17.6 million tonnes grading 17.3% graphite for 3.4 million tonnes of the mineral.