Mr. Greg Bowes reports

NORTHERN GRAPHITE CONCENTRATES DEMONSTRATE EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE IN BATTERY TESTING

Battery anode material (BAM) manufactured from Northern Graphite Corp.'s Bissett Creek concentrates has demonstrated excellent electrochemical performance during recent battery testing by ProGraphite in Germany. Testing showed that Northern's anode material can be charged to high values which remain stable with high Coulomb efficiency under various discharge conditions. ProGraphite concluded that Northern's anode material is very well suited for the manufacture of high-capacity, durable, long-life lithium-ion batteries.

ProGraphite is one of the world's leading graphite research and development laboratories, with several decades of professional expertise and experience. Its test results demonstrated that Bissett Creek BAM can be charged to lithiation values above 362 mAh/g (milliampere hours per gram) which shows that the capacity of the batteries will be excellent. The delithiation (discharging) performance was also excellent as the batteries delivered stable, high values with a very high Coulomb efficiency under various test conditions. Northern's BAM also proved to be very robust. Even after charging/discharging several times at 10C (i.e. complete charging in only six minutes) and after many cycles, the Coulomb efficiency remained at a very high, constant level indicating almost no degradation of the anode material. This performance is better than many commercial natural or synthetic grades.

Northern chief executive officer Greg Bowes commented that "graphite is generally evaluated based on flake size and purity, but when it comes to making batteries, many other factors are critical and not all concentrates are suitable. High bulk density translates into higher capacity batteries, and ease of purification and high yield result in lower costs. Testing by ProGraphite provides independent, third party validation that Bissett Creek concentrates are of the highest quality."

Electrochemical testing was the third phase in evaluating the use of Northern's concentrates in the manufacture of BAM and follows very successful spheronization and purification testing. ProGraphite demonstrated that material from the Bissett Creek deposit is very suitable for the spheronization process as the tap density is high (0.99 kilogram per litre), particle size distribution relatively steep and the yield was above 50 per cent. All are very desirable qualities (see May 25, 2021, press release). Bissett Creek concentrates can also be easily purified to battery standards using either acid- or alkaline-based processes. Generally, the minimum required carbon content is 99.95 per cent, which means a maximum of 500 parts per million impurities are allowed. The critical impurities are usually iron (less than 30 ppm) and silicon (less than 30 ppm), and often aluminum (less than ppm), calcium (less than three ppm), nicekl (less than five ppm), chromium (less than five ppm) and copper (less than five ppm). The results of acid purification testing were excellent and comparable with the performance of thermal purification as 99.99-per-cent purity was achieved and impurity levels were far below the typical limits required for BAM (see Aug. 16, 2021, press release).

About Northern Graphite Corp.

Northern Graphite is a mineral development and technology company focused on developing its Bissett Creek graphite deposit and upgrading mine concentrates into high-value components used in lithium-ion batteries, electric vehicles, fuel cells, graphene and other advanced technologies. An independent study estimates that Bissett Creek will have the highest margin of any existing or proposed graphite deposit due to its very favourable location, simple metallurgy and the high quality of its concentrates, which the company believes will provide a competitive advantage in manufacturing products for the green economy.

Bissett Creek is an advanced-stage project with a full feasibility study and its major mining permit, which puts the company in position to make a construction decision, subject to financing. The project is located in the southern part of Canada between the cities of North Bay and Ottawa, and close to the Trans-Canada highway providing ready access to labour, supplies, equipment, natural gas and markets.

Qualified person

Mr. Bowes, BSc, MBA, PGeo, a qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and is responsible for the technical information in this news release.

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