Graphite One Inc. (TSX-V: GPH) (OTCQX: GPHOF), is pleased to announce that the Company’s Graphite Creek project – the upstream anchor for G1’s complete U.S.-based advanced graphite supply chain– has been accepted as a “covered project” onto the FAST-41 Permitting Dashboard.  Graphite One’s project is the first Alaskan mining project to be listed on the FAST-41 Dashboard.

“The approval of Graphite Creek as FAST-41’s first Alaskan mining project is a major step for G1 and our complete U.S.-based supply chain strategy,” said Anthony Huston, CEO of Graphite One.  “With President Trump’s Critical Mineral and Alaska Executive Orders, Graphite One is positioned at the leading edge of a domestic Critical Mineral renaissance that will power transformational applications from energy and transportation to AI infrastructure and national defense.”

Graphite One’s domestic supply chain is planned to produce graphite concentrate from the Graphite Creek deposit North of Nome, Alaska and Anode Active Material at a facility to be constructed in Warren, Ohio, subject to financing.

FAST-41 status follows publication of Graphite One’s Feasibility Study on April 23, 2025, which, with the support of the Department of Defense Production Act (DPA) award, was completed 15 months ahead of schedule.  The annual graphite concentrate capacity of the Graphite Creek Mine in the FS was increased from that in the 2022 Pre-Feasibility Study  – from 53,000 tpy to 175,000 tpy while maintaining a 20-year mine life.  Measured plus Indicated Resources increased to 322% of the PFS resource. The FS projects a post-tax internal rate of return of 27%, using an 8% discount rate, with a net present value of $5.03 billion and a payback period of 7.5 years.

FAST-41 streamlines the permitting process by providing improved timeliness and predictability by establishing publicly posted timelines and procedures for federal agencies, reducing unpredictability in the permitting process.  FAST-41 also provides issue resolution mechanisms, while the federal permitting dashboard allows all project stakeholders and the general public to track a project’s progress, including periods for public comment.

The action drew strong support from Alaska’s leading public officials:

“America’s dependency on foreign minerals and metals is a drag on our economy and a danger to our national security,” said AlaskaGovernor Mike Dunleavy.  “As the largest natural graphite deposit in the nation, adding Graphite Creek to the FAST-41 Permitting Dashboard sends a strong signal that Alaska is key to U.S. Critical Mineral development.”

“Graphite One’s addition to the FAST-41 permitting dashboard is yet another indication that this project is a national priority of strategic importance,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski. “There is no question that developing the largest natural graphite deposit in all of North America is far better for our economy, security, and competitiveness than importing the entirety of our supply from unstable nations like Mozambique. I thank the Trump administration for adding Graphite One to the dashboard and look forward to the day this project comes online.”

“I want to congratulate Graphite One, which has achieved this milestone thanks to funding from the Defense Production Act, something I have been working on relentlessly in the Senate since the project’s inception,” said Senator Dan Sullivan. “This project has the potential to open up our state’s abundant reserves of critical minerals and metals, which would also be very significant for our country’s national security. We must end America’s dependence on China for critical minerals, like graphite, resources that are necessary for alternative energy and sources and critical defense technologies. Thankfully, President Trump understands our state’s great potential, and is determined to help unleash our vast resources and create good paying jobs to Alaskans. Graphite One’s FAST-41 status is great news for our state and our country.”

“Securing our supply chains for critical minerals is a core priority and requires a whole of government approach.” said AlaskaCongressman Nick Begich. “Our national security, sovereignty, and continued self-determination require that we take action, and Graphite One is leading the way.”

Graphite One’s Complete U.S.-Based Supply Chain Strategy

The Project is planned as an integrated business operation to produce lithium-ion battery anode materials and other graphite products for the U.S domestic market on a commercial scale using primarily natural graphite from Alaska. The Project combines the operation of an advanced graphite manufacturing facility to be located in Warren Ohio with the supply of natural flake graphite from the Company’s proposed Graphite Creek Mine in Alaska. The resources associated with the Company’s Alaska State mining claims were cited by the U.S. Geological Survey in January 2022 as America’s largest natural graphite deposit¹, and in 2023, “as among the largest in the world.”  This precedes the FS-verified deposit amount increase. The Ohio manufacturing facility received a $325M Letter of Interest from the EXIM Bank in September 2024.

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¹ https://www.usgs.gov/data/graphite-deposits-united-states

About the Permitting Council and FAST-41

Established in 2015 by Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), the Permitting Council is a federal agency charged with improving the transparency and predictability of the federal environmental review and authorization process for certain critical infrastructure projects. The Permitting Council is comprised of the Permitting Council Executive Director, who serves as the Council Chair; 13 federal agency Council members (including deputy secretary-level designees of the Secretaries of Agriculture, Army, Commerce, Interior, Energy, Transportation, Defense, Homeland Security, and Housing and Urban Development, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chairs of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation); and the Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The Permitting Council coordinates federal environmental reviews and authorizations for projects that seek and qualify for FAST-41 coverage. FAST-41 covered projects are entitled to comprehensive permitting timetables and transparent, collaborative management of those timetables on the Federal Permitting Dashboard. FAST-41 covered projects may be in the energy production, electricity transmission, energy storage, surface transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water resource, broadband, pipelines, manufacturing, mining, carbon capture, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and machine learning, high-performance computing and advanced computer hardware and software, quantum information science and technology, data storage and data management, and cybersecurity sectors.

The Permitting Council also serves as a federal center for permitting excellence, supporting federal efforts to improve infrastructure permitting including and beyond FAST-41 covered projects to the extent authorized by law, including activities that promote or provide for the efficient, timely, and predictable completion of environmental reviews and authorizations for federally-authorized infrastructure projects.

Qualified Person 

Jason Todd, with Barr Engineering Co. is the primary qualified person for the Feasibility Study incorporated in the NI 43-101 technical report that is available under the Company’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca and the Company’s website.  Mr. Todd is a Qualified Person as defined under 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this release.

About Graphite One Inc.

GRAPHITE ONE INC. (TSX‐V: GPH) (OTCQX: GPHOF) continues to develop its Graphite One Project, with the goal of becoming an American producer of high grade anode materials that is integrated with a domestic graphite resource. The Project is proposed as a vertically integrated enterprise to mine, process and manufacture high grade anode materials primarily for the lithium‐ion electric vehicle battery market.