Canadian graphite developer Nouveau Monde has announced a $22-million capital raise to bring the development of its Matawinie mine project and the Bécancour Battery Material Plant project to a final investment decision.
The company has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters, led by BMO Capital Markets and Cormark Securities, pursuant to which they have agreed to buy on a bought-deal basis 4 850 000 common shares at $4.55 a share.
The Phase 2 Matawinie mine and Bécancour Battery Material Plant projects are located within a 150-km radius of Montréal, Québec. A 2022 feasibility study indicated that the combined project would produce an average of 103 328 t/y of high-purity flake graphite concentrate at Matawinie and 42 616 t/y of anode material plus 3 007 t/y of purified jumbo flakes at the Bécancour plant, using a portion of Matawinie’s production as feedstock.
The feasibility study indicated an after-tax net present value of C$1.58-billion and internal rate of return of 21%.
Some of the proceeds will also be used for the development of the Uatnan mining project, which covers Mason Graphite’s Lac Gueret deposit, in Quebec.