Mr. Pav Jordan reports

NORTHERN GRAPHITE PROVIDES UPDATE ON LAC DES ILES MINE DEVELOPMENT PLANS

Northern Graphite Corp. has put its Lac des Iles (LDI) mine and mill into temporary care and maintenance in order to address an unexpected equipment issue and to accelerate critical maintenance and development work ahead of the company's 2026 pit expansion.

The decision to advance the start of care and maintenance was prompted by a bearing failure at the mill, a long-lead-time component with a replacement window of approximately four to six weeks. Northern has ordered a replacement part and, with the mill temporarily offline, the company has elected to advance other maintenance and repair projects that had originally been scheduled for January, and which will support the transition to mining from the new pit.

"Rather than stopping the plant now and again in January, we decided to start the maintenance program immediately in order to avoid having two separate shutdowns," said Northern chief executive Hugues Jacquemin.

LDI is located approximately 150 kilometres (km) northwest of Montreal, Que., and produces approximately 15,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate per year with installed capacity of 25,000 tonnes per year. Prestripping activity is currently under way as part of phase 1 of an expansion program that could potentially add eight years to the mine life. Stripping is being conducted on a continuous 24-hour basis over an estimated two-month period. The regional economic growth through innovation program, provided by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and delivered by The Economic Development Agency of Canada for Quebec Regions (CED), is financing 75 per cent of the eligible costs through an interest free, repayable contribution of up to $6.2-million for the expansion program.

Mining update

Phase 1 permitting requires a certificate of authorization from Quebec's Ministere de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP) to mine to 203 metres (m) (above sea level). The application for such authorization is in the final stages and is expected to be submitted by the end of the month. The company anticipates it will be in a position to initiate production from the expanded pit in the second quarter of next year. Deepening the pit in phase 2 of the expansion program requires an authorization to mine below the 203 m level and this process will be initiated in due course.

The company is currently authorized to mine to 209 m in the current pit, which is approximately 10 m above the water table. It has now reached that depth and a relatively small amount of material has inadvertently been mined and blasted slightly below 209 m. In an abundance of caution, mining operations have been temporarily halted until the company confirms there have been no adverse impacts and will request a minor amendment to its existing certificate of authorization to mine remaining ore in the current pit to 203 m. This could result in a production gap of approximately two to three months between existing operations and production from the expanded pit.

Mr. Jacquemin stated, "We will be working closely with regulatory authorities to address this situation as we work to extend the life of this strategic Canadian asset and to create a secure, sustainable North American supply chain for one of the minerals most critical to meeting rapidly growing demand from regional and global battery markets."

About Northern Graphite Corp.

Northern is a Canadian, TSX Venture Exchange-listed company that is the only flake-graphite-producing company in North America. Northern 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 (electric vehicles), fuel cells and graphene, as well as advanced industrial technologies. The company's mine-to-battery strategy is spearheaded by its Battery Materials Group, which has a fully equipped, state-of-the-art laboratory in Frankfurt. Northern's graphite assets include the producing Lac des Iles mine in Quebec, where the company plans to increase output to meet growing demand from industrial customers and coming demand from North American battery makers. The company also owns the large-scale, advanced-stage Bissett Creek graphite project in Ontario and the fully permitted Okanjande graphite mine in Namibia, which is currently on care and maintenance, and represents an opportunity to substantially increase graphite production at a lower cost and with a shorter time to market than most competing projects. All projects have battery-quality graphite and are located close to infrastructure in politically stable jurisdictions.

Qualified person

Gregory Bowes, BSc, MBA, PGeo, the chairman of Northern, is a qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the content of this news release.

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