Northern Graphite Upgrades Concentrate Purity

Ottawa,   Ontario   –   April   19,   2017:   Northern   Graphite   Corporation   (TSXV:NGC,   OTXQX:NGPHF) (“Northern”  or  the  “Company”)  is  pleased  to  announce  the  results  of  additional  metallurgical  test  work designed   to   optimize   the   purity   of   concentrates   that   will   be   produced   from   the   Bissett   Creek   deposit. Testing  was  carried  out  by  SGS  Lakefield  (“SGS”)  and  evaluated  new  approaches  to  graphite  processing that  have  been  developed  since  the  Company  completed  its  Full  Feasibility  Study.

SGS  evaluated  the  effect  on  the  flake  size  distribution  and  carbon  content  of  graphite  concentrates  from using  a  stirred  media  mill  instead  of,  or  as  a  compliment  to,  the  polishing  mill.    The  stirred  media  mill successfully  increased  the  overall  purity  of  an  earlier  pilot  plant  concentrate  from  93.4  to  97.9  per  cent graphitic  carbon  (“Cg”).      The  increase  was  mainly  attributable  to  the  smaller  size  fractions  which  averaged over  97  per  cent  Cg.    High  purity  levels  of  97  to  98  per  cent  had  already  been  confirmed  in  the  important +32  mesh  (XXL)  and  +50  mesh  (XL)  size  fractions  through  locked  cycle  tests.    Graphite  concentrates  are typically  sold  with  80%  meeting  the  required  size  standard.    Smaller  sizes  can  make  up  the  balance  as  long as  the  purity  level  is  maintained  which  will  be  the  case  with  Northern’s  concentrates.

Gregory   Bowes,   CEO   commented   that:   “Bissett   Creek   concentrates   are   already   high   quality   and   the increased  purity  of  the  finer  materials  will  further  enhance  their  price  and  marketability.  Only  10  per  cent of  the  Company’s  production  will  be  -­‐150  mesh,  which  we  believe  is  the  lowest  in  the  industry,  and  it  can easily  be  absorbed  into  larger  size  concentrates.    Almost  every  graphite  mine  has  a  fines  problem  as  they must  be  sold  into  low  growth,  low  value,  competitive  markets  but  this  will  not  be  an  issue  for  Northern.“

Purification  

The  amount  and  nature  of  impurities  in  graphite  concentrates  affects  their  value,  marketability  and  ability to  be  upgraded  for  use  in  higher  value  applications.      Ore  from  the  Bissett  Creek  deposit  fractures  easily, releasing  the  flakes,  which  are  generally  not  interleaved  with  impurities.    As  a  result,  Bissett  Creek  ore does   not   require   fine   grinding   or   multiple   stages   of   polishing   and   cleaning   to   achieve   required   purity levels.    These  steps  increase  costs  and  reduce  the  yield  of  large  flakes.    Concentrates  also  do  not  have  a high  iron  or  carbonate  content,  which  would  make  them  unsuitable  for  the  refractory  market,  or  large quartz   grains   which   would   make   them   unsuitable   for   other   markets   and   which   creates   challenges   in upgrading  them  for  high  purity  markets.    Independent  testing  by  NGS  Naturgraphit  GmbH  did  not  detect any  limitations  on  potential  uses  for  Bissett  Creek  concentrates  (see  March  2,  2015  Press  Release).

The  largest  and  most  important  high  purity  market  is  spherical  graphite  (“SPG”),  the  anode  material  used in  lithium  ion  batteries.    The  main  impurity  in  the  Northern’s  concentrates  is  biotite  which  can  easily  be removed   using   a   cost   competitive,   environmentally   sustainable,   proprietary   process.     The   Company   is currently  testing  its  process  on  SPG  from  a  number  of  other  deposits  and  intends  to  conduct  a  pilot  plant test  to  confirm  the  ability  to  scale  the  process  to  higher  volumes  and  to  refine  capital  and  operating  costs.

About  Northern  Graphite    

Northern  Graphite  is  a  Canadian  company  that  has  a  100%  interest  in  the  Bissett  Creek  graphite  deposit located  in  southern  Canada  and  relatively  close  to  all  required  infrastructure.    Bissett  Creek  is  an  advanced stage  project  that  has  a  Feasibility  Study  and  its  major  environmental  permit.    Subject  to  the  completion  of operational   and   species   at   risk   permitting,   which   are   well   advanced,   Northern   could   commence construction   in   2017   pending   financing.     Northern   believes   that   Bissett   Creek   has   the   best   flake   size distribution,  highest  margin  and  lowest  marketing  risk  of  any  new  graphite  project,  and  has  the  added advantages  of  a  low  capital  cost  and  realistic  production  target  relative  to  the  size  of  the  market.

Gregory  Bowes,  B.Sc.  MBA,  P.  Geo.,  a  Qualified  Person  as  defined  under  NI  43-­‐101,  has  reviewed  and  is responsible  for  the  technical  information  in  this  news  release.

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