By Meg Flippin, Benzinga

Reality Check: From Strategy To Deployment

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - November 13, 2025 (NEWMEDIAWIRE) - The G7’s pivot from “resilience” to a full-fledged Critical Minerals Alliance made headlines last week. No longer is it enough to rely on the near-total control of China, and a pressing need has been to form alliances to diversify and secure the supply chain. But the follow-up is where the strategy becomes tangible. Western governments are no longer simply acknowledging supply chain risks; they are co-investing and partnering with industry to secure critical minerals.

Canada crystallized that shift with a $4.6-billion package of projects under the alliance combining long-term supply contracts, price-stability mechanisms, strategic stockpiling and co-investment tools to accelerate mining and processing projects to serve allied nations. With its abundant resources, Canada's will is clear: it wants to become the trusted, reliable alternative supplier to the Western World.

“We are no longer just talking,” said Canada’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson. “This first round of G7 Alliance projects sends the world a very clear signal: we are serious about reducing market concentration and dependencies; safeguarding national security and sovereignty; mobilizing capital; and driving investments in sustainable critical minerals projects.”

What is emerging is a coordinated industrial policy linking:

• A coordinated, unified approach to critical minerals development

• Cross-border industrial policy alignment across Canada, the U.S. and Europe on battery supply chains

• Treating mineral supply as national security, energy strategy and industrial policy simultaneously

Graphite occupies a key position in this alliance, with China still supplying the overwhelming majority of the world’s processed graphite materials. Allied governments are striving to accelerate projects that can deliver secure, vertically integrated capacity. The goal is twofold: to ensure that locally sourced minerals are not exported to China for processing, and to retain the technological, economic and de-risking added value of advanced materials domestically.

While many projects remain at the planning stage, select developers are moving quickly toward execution.

A Public-Private Signal: A Sold Out Before Construction

One example among the chosen champions is Nouveau Monde Graphite (NYSE: NMG) (TSX: NOU). During the G7 energy summit, Nouveau Monde Graphite was not only featured in the Government of Canada’s announcements as a project aligned with G7 priorities, but also unveiled a series of strategic commercial agreements that demonstrate how government policy is now translating into industrial execution.

• Binding supply and marketing deal with the Government of Canada: Providing 30,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of graphite concentrate to be allocated to Canada and allied countries or entities supporting strategic applications and boosting local economies.

• Updated joint marketing and offtake agreement with Traxys covering North American and European refractory markets for steel with exclusive end-users for 20,000 tpa of graphite concentrate.

• Updated agreement with Panasonic Energy: Fast-tracking the construction and launch of production for 13,000 tpa of active anode material through Nouveau Monde Graphite’s integrated value chain at their Bécancour Battery Materials Plant.

• Advanced negotiations discussions with a leading anode manufacturer to secure an additional up to 30,000 tpa of graphite concentrate from Nouveau Monde Graphite’s Matawinie Mine.

Taken together, these commitments give Nouveau Monde Graphite visibility over nearly 100% of its planned Matawinie Mine output before construction begins. In a sector where most projects secure buyers after financing, this early de-risking stands out.

Nouveau Monde Graphite said these agreements represent a first-of-their-kind public-private delivery in the Western graphite sector: a rare alignment of government, industry and market forces.

Why This Moment Matters: The Pre-FID Window

A position Nouveau Monde Graphite has achieved is not merely as a graphite producer, but as a vertically integrated natural graphite champion, advancing from mine to processed product within a seamless value chain capable of delivering high-purity materials, including anode-grade graphite. This is a material edge, considering graphite’s status as a critical mineral essential to high-growth sectors such as energy storage, electric vehicles, defense and advanced manufacturing.

These agreements not only underscore the diversity of NMG’s customer base and its ability to meet their growing demand but also, according to the company, solidify its position ahead of the final investment decision.

“Commercial agreements crystalized around the future graphite production volumes of the phase-2 Matawinie Mine now provide our targeted financial partners with visibility on the project’s bankability and risk profile, helping move forward with confidence toward a final investment decision and the launch of commercial operations,” said Eric Desaulniers, Founder, President and CEO of NMG. “Our development plan is ever stronger and timed to lessen risks and capitalize on firm orders. NMG stands as a strategic player for supporting energy autonomy, national security, and manufacturing efforts of governments and industries across the Western World.”

NMG currently stands in a strategic window of rare clarity for its investors. At this pre-FID stage, the market may potentially not yet fully reflect the project’s long-term strategic potential marked by commercial alignment, government support and validated demand, with construction in sight. With contracts signed, engineering and permitting largely completed and community partnerships secured, NMG is now advancing toward project financing, with due diligence nearing completion and term sheet negotiations progressing. On track to becoming one of the G7’s largest, fully vertically integrated productions of natural graphite: “We are ready!” concluded Desaulniers.

Executive Insight: Watch The Full Interview

All-Access Interview with Eric Desaulniers
Hear directly from NMG’s CEO on the company’s latest agreements, execution path and role in delivering Western graphite supply.

Watch the full All Access interview
https://www.youtube.com/live/mshDxl4SH6A?si=pUkZZXlqCu5JTokE&t=9936

Featured images courtesy of Nouveau Monde Graphite.

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