Mr. Hugues Jacquemin reports

NORTHERN GRAPHITE COMPLETES PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT ON RELOCATING PROCESSING PLANT FOR NAMIBIAN OPERATIONS

Northern Graphite Corp. has released the results of a new preliminary economic assessment (PEA) that evaluated moving the processing plant for its Namibian operations located at Okorusu to the Okanjande mine rather than rehabilitating the mill in its current location.

The PEA indicates that economics remain attractive under the new plan, with higher capital costs but lower operating costs. In addition, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are reduced, sustainability is improved and the expansion potential of the project is substantially enhanced.

The PEA, issued July 31, 2023, was prepared by CREO Engineering Solutions and confirms the viability of moving milling operations directly to the Okanjande mine site, which eliminates the cost of trucking mineralized material 70 kilometres to Okorusu. This allows for a more sustainable operation that also includes the use of solar power and lower water consumption.

"Moving the mill also provides room for potential future expansion from the perspective of both processing and tailings capacity, which is something we do not have at the current location," said Kirsty Liddicoat, Northern's chief operating officer. "The new approach also incorporates dry tailings into an integrated waste landform which means less water use and a more sustainable operation in support of the green transition," she added.

The company is also looking at other ways to reduce its carbon footprint after the plant move, including the use of electric pit equipment and purchasing biofuel offsets on shipping concentrates from Namibia. The Okanjande/Okorusu operation is currently on care and maintenance and the goal remains to restart production in late 2024, subject to financing.

The Okanjande graphite mine is a key catalyst in Northern's strategy to become an integrated and sustainable mine-to-battery company, supplying markets in North America and Europe as they embrace the energy transition and widescale electrification. Graphite from Okanjande will also supply traditional markets, from refractory bricks for steelmaking, to heat management in consumer electronics, to friction and lubrication products for the global automobile industry.

"This PEA supports our strategy to develop Okanjande as a competitive asset that can be available to meet the demands of our customers in years to come," said Hugues Jacquemin, Northern's chief executive officer. "Our new mining plan at Okanjande will allow us to move quickly to serve the fast-growing market for battery anode materials and increase our ability to expand the facilities over time."

The Okanjande deposit hosts a weathered resource of 5.9 million tonnes (Mt) containing 248,000 tonnes of graphite in the measured and indicated category, and 500,000 tonnes of inferred resources containing 17,000 tonnes graphite, a transitional resource of 1.2 Mt containing 53,00 tonnes of graphite in the measured and indicated categories, and 100,000 tonnes of inferred resources containing 2,000 tonnes of graphite (at a 2.6-per-cent TCG cut-off grade and $1,250/tonne graphite price for weathered and transitional), and a fresh rock resource of 24.2 Mt containing 1.3 Mt of graphite in the measured and indicated categories, and 7.2 Mt of inferred resources with 400,000 tonnes of contained graphite (at a 3.1-per-cent TGC cut-off grade and $1,250/tonne graphite price). The PEA is based on only processing 6.1 Mt of measured and indicated resources (340,000 Mt of contained graphite), producing an average of 31,000 tonnes per year of concentrate over a 10-year mine life.

"The substantial measured and indicated hard rock resource at Okanjande, which is not yet closed off by drilling, presents a clear opportunity to substantially increase production in the future, and the company intends to complete additional work and prepare a new PEA with respect to an expansion scenario," said Ms. Liddicoat.

"The ability to add 31,000 tpy [tonnes per year] of production at a very reasonable capital cost creates a compelling case for the development of Okanjande," said Mr. Jacquemin. "Okanjande has a very large resource located in one of the most politically stable countries in Africa, with easy access to a deep-water port, which provides substantial competitive advantages over most other African projects."

Technical report and qualified persons

Northern has filed a technical report relating to the PEA. The technical report, entitled "Okanjande Graphite Project -- Preliminary Economic Assessment Study Update Report," is effective June 30, 2023, issued July 31, 2023, and has been prepared for Northern in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects by CREO Engineering Solutions (Namibia), with contributions from The MSA Group (South Africa) and certain other independent consultants, and is available on SEDAR under Northern's issuer profile, as well as the company's website.

CREO Engineering Solutions (Namibia) was responsible for the compilation of information and preparation of the overall PEA, and the following qualified persons (as defined under NI 43-101), all of whom are independent of the company, prepared or reviewed the preparation of the scientific and technical information in this press release regarding the company's Okanjande project, with respect to their respective disciplines:

• Etienne Roux, BEng (chem), SME registered member, lead consultant, CREO Engineering Solutions, was responsible for the technical information pertaining to the Okanjande report;
• Ipelo Golang Rebecca Gasela, PrSciNat, MGSSA, senior mineral resource consultant, The MSA Group, was responsible for the Okanjande resource estimate;
• Mark Mohring, PrEng, MSAIMM, consultant mining engineer, The MSA Group, was responsible for the mining methods;
• Robert Barnett, PrSciNat, FGSSA, consulting geologist, independent consultant, was responsible for the technical information and co-responsible for the mineral resource.

About Northern Graphite Corp.

Northern is a Canadian, TSX Venture Exchange-listed company that is focused on becoming a world leader in producing natural graphite and upgrading it into high-value products critical to the green economy, including anode material for lithium-ion batteries/EVs, fuel cells and graphene, as well as advanced industrial technologies.

Northern is the only significant graphite producing company in North America and will become the third-largest producer outside of China when its Namibian operations come back on line. The company also has two large-scale development projects, Bissett Creek in Ontario and Okanjande in Namibia, which have the potential to generate continued production growth in the future. All projects have battery-quality graphite and are located close to infrastructure in politically stable jurisdictions.

We seek Safe Harbor.