Graphite One Completes Buyback of Net Smelter Production Royalty

US: Graphite One Inc. has taken a crucial step towards building a fully domestic U.S. supply chain for advanced Graphite materials. The company has made an official announcement regarding its decision to repurchase the 1% Net Smelter Production Royalty from Ronald C. Sheardown. This royalty was acquired by Sheardown after the sale of mining claims to Graphite One in June 2015. The agreement is now considered final. This agreement effectively cancels the Sheardown NSR that was linked to 133 Alaska state claims leased or owned by Graphite One.

As part of the agreement to buy back and cancel the Sheardown NSR, Graphite One Inc. will grant 456,500 common shares to Sheardown at a rate of CA$1.48 per share. These shares will be restricted for resale. It is important to note that two NSRs on the Graphite Creek Property remain outstanding. These include a 5.0% and a 2.5% NSR that applies to specific Alaska state claims. To lower these NSRs, Graphite One Inc. has the option to purchase 2% of each for a combined price of US$4 million. After exercising this option, the remaining NSR will be 3.0% and 0.5% respectively on their respective claims.

Graphite One has designed a comprehensive strategy to create an advanced Graphite supply chain within the United States. Since the U.S is solely reliant on imported natural Graphite, Graphite One plans to develop an integrated solution anchored by the Graphite Creek resource. This project plan aims to establish an advanced Graphite material and battery anode manufacturing facility in Washington State, which will be closely linked with the development of the Graphite Creek Property. Additionally, the plan includes a recycling facility that will recover Graphite and other battery materials. This recycling facility will be constructed at the same Washington State site, forming the final piece in Graphite One's circular economy strategy.

GRAPHITE ONE INC. is actively working on its Graphite One Project to become a major producer of high-grade anode materials in the United States. The Project aims to integrate domestic Graphite resources and function as a vertically integrated enterprise that will handle everything from mining and processing to manufacturing anode materials. These materials are primarily intended for use in the lithium-ion electric vehicle battery market. The Company's 2022 Pre-Feasibility Study outlines plans for processing Graphite mineralization extracted from its Graphite Creek Property, located on the Seward Peninsula roughly 35 miles north of Nome, Alaska. The processed concentrate will then be used to manufacture natural and artificial Graphite anode materials, along with other value-added Graphite products at the Company's proposed advanced Graphite materials manufacturing facility in Washington State. The Company plans to make a production decision on the Project once the Feasibility Study is complete.