MONTREAL , May 5, 2025 /CNW/ - Canada Carbon Inc. (TSXV: CCB), ("Canada Carbon" or "the Company") announces that it has appealed the decision of the Commission de Protection du Territoire Agricole du Québec ("CPTAQ" or "the Commission") concerning its Miller Graphite Project (the "Miller Project") located in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge ("GSLR"). This is an inexplicable and worrying decision that will have a significant negative impact on the development of projects related to critical and strategic minerals, and the precedent it sets for the Quebec mining industry.

In a ruling handed down on March 18, 2025, the CPTAQ refused to authorize development of the Miller Project, arguing that it would have a negative impact on the general interest of protecting the land and agricultural activities. Contrary to results of the Company's completed Preliminary Economic Assessment, the CPTAQ is also not convinced of the economic benefits associated with the Miller project. This belief has no basis in empirical data.

Canada Carbon believes that this deeply flawed decision contravenes certain principles that govern the CPTAQ's evaluation process. Most notably, the CPTAQ is charged with harmonizing mining activities with agricultural activities, insofar as it is possible to do so.  Additionally, the Commission should attempt to mitigate the impact of mining activities on agricultural activities, by imposing the necessary conditions as part of the authorizations issued.  It is clear that the CPTAQ has made no effort to reconcile and harmonize Canada Carbon's activities with surrounding activities.  As a result, The Commission has not exercised its jurisdiction in compliance with the Mining Act, or in compliance with other jurisprudential principles applicable in similar matters.

Moreover, this decision is out of step with the conditional positive preliminary orientation for the Miller Project, published by the CPTAQ in 2020. At that time, the Commission highlighted several positive attributes of the Miller Project, including:

• The soil located at the Miller Project is shallow and has low potential for crop development.
• The Miller property has unfavorable topography as well as strong rock content at surface.
• The potential of silviculture over the Project is categorized as class 2, 3 and 5.
• The closest animal husbandry is located 3km away from the Project.
• While the proposed Miller Project will cut young maples over an area of 23 hectares, the maple bush management plan developed by the CCB consultants will allow additional maple bush planting, which will increase the maple bush potential and enable faster maple production. The CPTAQ specified that there will be an improvement in the agricultural usage of the land once the proposed recovery plan is completed.
• The CPTAQ considers that the maple bush population located outside of the Project boundaries are at a sufficient distance as to not be affected by the exploitation.
• The CPTAQ's preliminary positive orientation limits Canada Carbon's activities to only the land designated in its application as being needed for planned activities.
• The CPTAQ acknowledged that it has received comments from some stakeholders regarding the potential negative impact of the Miller Project on water reserves, light and sound pollution, and dust emissions however it notes that those issues will be addressed by other governing bodies in the permitting process.

All of these things were true then and is even truer today given modifications to the Company's second application to the CPTAQ.  The CPTAQ decision is not only contradictory to the above orientation, but also internally inconsistent. For example, the Commission considered that the maple bush population located outside the Project boundaries are at a sufficient distance as not to be affected by the operation. However, maple production is one of the reasons cited in the CPTAQ's negative decision on the Miller project. Such inconsistency, which permeates the decision, undermines its validity.

This unfavorable decision by the CPTAQ sets a precedent for the industry that runs completely counter to the federal and provincial government's desire and stated priority to accelerate the development of mining projects.  It also is contrary to the goal of nurturing the commercialization of highly sought-after critical and strategic minerals.  This is particularly true in the case of the Miller Project which is one of only two known deposits of its type in the world. The metallurgical properties of this concentrate and its suitability for use in nuclear power generation could help secure this essential resource for accelerating Quebec's energy transition.

"I am deeply troubled by the CPTAQ's decision regarding the Miller graphite project. We feel that the CPTAQ erred on several points of law in its decision. We have therefore appealed this decision and are confident that it will be overturned by the Tribunal Administratif du Québec", commented Ellerton J. Castor, Chief Executive Officer of Canada Carbon Inc.

He adds: "I'm also concerned about the signal this sends regarding the development of future mining projects in Quebec. This decision is completely at odds with the government's articulated objectives and Premier Legault's recent statements on the need to accelerate the development and exploitation of Quebec's critical and strategic minerals, of which graphite is one. Quebec has long been regarded as one of the most favorable business and mining jurisdictions in the world. This decision sends exactly the opposite message.  We would hope that the government acts to maintain this reputation, so that it can more easily achieve its objectives."

About Canada Carbon Inc.
Canada Carbon Inc. is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of graphite deposits. The company has acquired two historic graphite mines, the Miller and Asbury mines, located respectively in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge and Notre-Dame-du-Laus, Quebec. Canada Carbon is committed to realizing its potential as a producer of high-quality graphite while maintaining the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility.

For more information on Canada Carbon's mining activities, please visit our website at www.canadacarbon.com.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION 

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" ("forward-looking information") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this press release. Any statement that discusses predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such  words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this press release includes statements regarding the development of the Company's Asbury deposit and financing thereof, the entering of the joint venture with Irondequoit Offering, future production from the Company's Asbury deposit, sales agreements and other matters related thereto. In disclosing the forward-looking information contained in this press release, the Company has made certain assumptions. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations of any forward-looking information will prove to be correct. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include but are not limited to: compliance with extensive government regulations; financial abilities; the ability to develop the Asbury deposit; domestic and foreign laws and regulations adversely affecting the Company's business and results of operations; the impact of COVID-19; and general business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information contained in this press release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking information or otherwise.

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SOURCE Canada Carbon