Crystalline flake graphite mineralization has been the focus of exploration by Nouveau Monde on its Matawinie Property, including the Tony Block.

Crystalline flake graphite deposits are usually sedimentary in origin. They occur when carbon-rich organic content accumulated during sedimentation is transformed into graphitic carbon crystals, or flakes, during metamorphism. They are commonly stratabound and hosted by porphyroblastic and granoblastic paragneiss, marbles, and quartzites (Harben and Kuzvart, 1996). Alumina-rich paragneiss and marble units in upper amphibolite or granulite grade metamorphic terranes are the most favourable host rocks. When present, flake graphite usually occurs in thin, centimetre to metre wide bands. In favourable conditions, wider coalescing bands in fold crests can provide sufficient volume needed for an economic deposit.

Crystalline flake graphite mineralization was first discovered on the Tony Block in mid-2014. Prospecting work, performed as a follow-up to the late 2013 airborne survey (Dubé, 2014, GM 69067), resulted in the collection of nine grab samples that returned values in excess of 5% Cg (Cloutier, 2015, GM 69069). Subsequent to this discovery, a short ground TDEM survey was conducted over four areas where the 2013 airborne survey displayed strong conductors. Trenching was then performed in each of these areas, resulting in the discovery of graphitic paragneiss horizons displaying thicknesses of over 20 metres.

Overall, the dip of the mineralized horizons varies from 30 degrees to sub vertical. The main graphitic horizons pinch and swell from 4 m to around 80 m in width along strike, and drilling suggests that they are mostly open at depths greater than 100 m from surface.

The graphitic horizons are interbedded with garnet paragneiss units displaying low graphite content and ranging from a few centimetres to tens of metres in width. Both the graphitic and the garnet paragneiss horizons can contain very little to high percentages of leucocratic mobilizate, thought to be the product of partial melting. The paragneiss is given the name of metatexite when the mobilizate layers of varying thickness are common, and are distributed in a lit-par-lit manner parallel to the foliation. These units are usually sub-parallel to the main foliation and often border the mineralized zones. The mineralized zones are limited by garnet paragneiss on the exterior side of the main circular conductive anomaly, while charnockite granitic gneiss (hypersthene granite) occupies the internal portion of the circular anomaly.

The crystalline graphite flakes are mostly aligned parallel to the main foliation and they are disseminated fairly homogeneously within the mineralized horizons. As mentioned in, graphite mineralization is often found in the presence of sulphides, or in the case of the Tony Block, mainly pyrrhotite. This is made further evident by the correlation between the mineralized intersections and a strong magnetic field, measured using a magnetic susceptibility meter (MPP probe by Instrumentation GDD Inc.) over the drill core.

The Tony Block Project is designed to be a hard rock open pit operation. The mining method selected is a truck and shovel bench mining operation. A small scale mining operation with one (1) 6 m3 shovel, one (1) 8 m 3 wheel loader and seven (7) 65 mt trucks was the preferred option for this mine deposit based on the geological horizons and the required mill feed. The mining equipment type was selected to enable selective mining and a wide range of utilization.

The Run-of-Mine (ROM) mineralized rock will be crushed with a jaw crusher to a particle size of 80 percent passing (P80) 180 mm. The crushed material will be stored in a stockpile dome before being fed to the grinding circuit.

Crushed material is reclaimed from the stockpile using apron feeders and is fed at an average rate of 151 tonnes per hours to the Semi-Autogenous Grinding (SAG) mill. The SAG mill operates in closed circuit with a classifying screen. The SAG mill grinding circuit is designed to reduce the product size to minus 3.35 mm (6 mesh). The screen undersize is pumped to the rougher flotation conditioning tank followed by three (3) rougher flotation cells. The rougher flotation concentrate is sent to polishing mill #1. The rougher flotation tailings are sent to the secondary grinding circuit. The secondary grinding circuit consists of a ball mill in close circuit with classification cyclone. The cyclone overflow feeds three (3) rougher-scavenger flotation cells. The rougher-scavenger concentrate is combined with the rougher concentrate. The rougher-scavenger tailings are sent to the sulphide flotation circuit.

The combined rougher flotation concentrate and rougher-scavenger flotation concentrate are pumped to a dewatering screen prior to being sent to polishing mill #1. The dewatering step controls the pulp density at the polishing mill. Screen oversize flows directly to the polishing mill. The polishing mill is a pebble mill that operates with a light load of ceramic media to minimize degradation of the coarse graphite flakes and scour the surface of minerals. The polishing mill discharge is recombined with the dewatering screen undersize and pumped to the first cleaner flotation conditioning tank followed by three (3) cleaner flotation stages. The first cleaner concentrate flows to the second cleaner flotation stage. The second cleaner concentrate flows to the third cleaner flotation stage. The first cleaner flotation tails are pumped to the sulphide tailings thickener. Tailings from second and third stage are pumped the previous flotation cleaner stage.

The third cleaner flotation concentrate is pumped to a classifying screen. The screen oversize, +180 microns (+80 mesh) which contains the large flakes, is directed to attrition scrubber #1. The attrition scrubber #1 discharge flows to the fourth cleaning flotation stage composed of two (2) flotation cells. The fourth cleaner flotation tails are pumped to the sulphide tailings thickener. The cleaner concentrate is pumped to the final concentrate thickener.

The classifying screen undersize, -180 microns (-80 mesh), is directed to a dewatering thickener before being sent to attrition scrubber #2. The -80 mesh attrition scrubber discharge flows to three (3) cleaner flotation cells. The fifth cleaner flotation concentrate is combined with the +80mesh concentrate and are pumped to the final concentrate thickener. The tailings are directed to the sulphide tailings thickener.