Mining Intelligence and News
Canada

Matawinie Project

Click for more information

Categories

Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StageConstruction
Commodities
  • Graphite
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Company’s activities are focused on the planned Matawinie graphite mine and the planned commercial value-added graphite products transformation plant (the “Bécancour Battery Material Plant”), both of which are progressing concurrently towards commercial operations.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. 100 % Direct
The Mining Property claims are wholly owned (100%) by NMG.

Contractors

Lock

- subscription is required.

Deposit type

  • Sedimentary

Summary:

Crystalline flake graphite mineralization has been the focus of exploration by NMG on its Matawinie Property. No other type of mineralization with economic potential has been observed.

Crystalline flake graphite deposits are usually sedimentary in origin. They occur when carbon-rich organic material, accumulated during sedimentation, is transformed into graphitic carbon crystals, or flakes, during metamorphism. This process is due to the burial of the sediments which are eventually subject to high heat and temperatures in the earths crust. Crystalline graphite deposits are commonly stratabound and hosted by porphyroblastic and granoblastic paragneiss, or pelitic gneiss, 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, centimeter 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 mid2014. Prospecting work, performed as a follow-up to the late 2013 airborne survey (Dubé, 2014, GM 69067), resulted in the collection of nine (9) grab samples that returned values in excess of 5 % C(g) (Cloutier, 2015, GM 69069). Subsequent to this discovery, a short ground TDEM survey was conducted over four (4) 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. The best intersections were provided by trenches TO-14-TR-2 and TO-14-TR4, which returned 5.7 % C(g) over 22 m and 5.1 % C(g) over 25.8 m, respectively.

The drilling and trenching of all the mineralized zones located on the Tony Block, including the West Zone, revealed that the mineralized graphitic paragneiss units vary from a few centimetres to tens of metres in thickness. Overall, a stacking of these beds, or horizons, has shown to provide fairly homogeneous and continuous mineralization. The foliation, or gneissosity, of graphitic paragneiss horizons seems to be dipping mostly outwards from the main circular conductive anomaly with the exception of the West Zone, whose mineralized horizons dip at about 60 to 70 degrees towards the South-East (or the interior of the anomaly) at the northern extremity and incrementally dips steeper going South where it becomes sub-vertical and finally dips at about 60 degrees towards the West at the southern extremity. Overall, the dip of the other 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 openat depths greater than 250 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. All mineralized zones, with the exception of the West Zone, are limited by unmineralized to poorly mineralized paragneiss and sometimes metatexite. The Mineralization of the West Zone is usually bounded to the West by metatexite or charnockite and to the East by unmineralized paragneiss and further outside of the mineralization (usually less than 100 m), by charnockite.

The crystalline graphite flakes are mostly aligned parallel to the main foliation and they are disseminated fairly homogeneously within the mineralized horizons. Graphite mineralization is often found in the presence of sulphides, or in the case of the Tony Block, mainly pyrrhotite.

Reserves

Lock

- subscription is required.

Mining Methods

Lock

- subscription is required.

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Lock

- subscription is required.

Processing

Lock

- subscription is required.

Production

CommodityUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Graphite kt 1032,583
All production numbers are expressed as concentrate.

Operational metrics

Metrics
Daily processing rate  ....  Subscribe
Annual ore mining rate  ....  Subscribe
Annual production capacity  ....  Subscribe
Annual processing rate  ....  Subscribe
Stripping / waste ratio  ....  Subscribe
Waste tonnes, LOM  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined, LOM  ....  Subscribe
Total tonnes mined, LOM  ....  Subscribe
Tonnes processed, LOM  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage
Cash costs (sold) Graphite CAD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Graphite CAD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study / presentation.

Operating Costs

Currency2022
OP mining costs ($/t mined) CAD 3.26 *  
Processing costs ($/t milled) CAD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Initial CapEx $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Sustaining CapEx $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Closure costs $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
OP OpEx $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Processing OpEx $M CAD 652.1
Transportation (haulage) costs $M CAD 69.2
G&A costs $M CAD 93.8
Total OpEx $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Mining Taxes $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Total Taxes $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Gross revenue (LOM) $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 10% $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 8% $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 10% $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M CAD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Lock

- subscription is required.

EV - Electric

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Dec 30, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 6, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 6, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Dec 30, 2023

EmployeesYear
...... Subscription required 2022

Aerial view:

Lock

- subscription is required.