Premier Mark Carney heralded the start of construction on a Quebec graphite mine slated to be the largest graphite mine in North America, once completed.
Nouveau Monde Graphite’s Matawinie mine in Quebec’s Lanaudière region is expected to produce 106,000 tonnes of graphite annually.
Speaking to journalists at the mine, Carney said that no other G7 country had a mine that could produce as much graphite as the Matawinie site.
He also said that the groundbreaking on construction was a sign that Canada is moving its resources from mines to markets “at an unprecedented pace.”
The Matawinie Mine, located about 120 kilometers north of Montreal, is the latest infrastructure project to be fast-tracked by the Carney government through Canada’s Major Projects Office.
Carney said the mine could generate nearly $2 billion for the Canadian economy and create 1,000 jobs ranging from skilled labor to engineering, noting that graphite is a critical material needed for electric vehicle batteries as well as defense and aerospace technology.
He added that his party hopes to export Quebec graphite to trading partners in Asia and Europe such as Japan and Italy. He admitted that he had spoken with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni about the partnership.
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“Non-U.S. exports are rising sharply, and we are on track to double them in the next decade,” Carney said. “We can supply minerals and energy to countries plagued by fears about their supply chains.”
The government said it is providing a $459 million financing package to support and accelerate the project.
The battery materials factory will be built in Bécancour, Que. to purify the extracted graphite.
The federal government said it was committed to offering Nouveau Monde Graphite a guaranteed selling price of 30,000 tonnes per year for seven years from a list of customers in the strategic, civil and military sectors.
According to the Prime Minister, the Nouveau Monde Graphite mining project was handed over to the Major Projects Office six months ago even though it has had an operating permit since 2021.
Construction of the mine is expected to take two years and the company targets reaching full commercial production by the end of 2028.
Although Carney and Nouveau Monde Graphite founder and CEO Eric Desaulniers said social acceptability and environmental protection are key to the project, some residents in the region are concerned about the mine’s impact on local forests, water and air quality.
A coalition formed in 2016, the Coalition des opponents à un projet minier en Haute-Matawinie, said it opposed the federal government’s decision to fast-track the mining project last November.
Desaulniers said it was “natural for residents to be concerned about a mining project of this magnitude” but assured that “we carried out a very detailed impact study on land, water and air.”
He said various government permits are needed to proceed with the project, including approval from Quebec in 2021.
The chairman of Atikamekw Bangsa Manawan, Sipi Flamand, was present at the announcement and expressed support for the project.
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