Finally an update on the permitting process.
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Sept. 7, 2017) - Mason Graphite Inc. ("Mason Graphite" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:LLG)(OTCQX:MGPHF) announces that it has been informed by the Ministry of Développement durable, Environnement et Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MDDELCC) that a public hearing mandate has been given to the Bureau des audiences publiques en environnement (BAPE) for the Lac Guéret graphite project. The hearing process, with a maximum duration of 4 months, will start on September 25th. To the Company's knowledge, no mining project in Quebec was ever able to avoid this phase. This is the last step in the permitting process before the recommendation by the Minister of MDDELCC to the provincial government cabinet on the decree.
The Company will keep on being actively involved with all stakeholders and local communities. Furthermore, considering the warm reception by the population and the full support of the Pessamit First Nation, as evidenced by the recently announced Impact Benefit Agreement, the Company believes that the project should not face any other hurdle in the remaining permitting steps.
Notwithstanding this hearing process, the Company had already launched and continues several actions usually undertaken only after obtaining the final authorizations, such as the procurement of major equipment and hiring of key personnel. The detailed engineering, ongoing for the last few months, and sufficiently advanced to be construction ready in certain sectors this fall, carries on following the initial schedule. The suppliers of the main process equipment have been selected and orders for the equipment engineering have been placed.
The construction of the new segment of highway 389 being built by the Government, at this time only for Mason Graphite, is advancing well; the road and related services should be completed by the end of 2017.
Benoît Gascon, President and CEO of Mason Graphite commented: "We have spent a lot of time with the local communities and when we made our last presentation, part of the BAPE process, it was clear that the attendees were already well informed on the project and highly receptive. Clearly, the populations of Baie-Comeau and Pessamit are eager to see this project get off the ground."
