Graphite One's Graphite Creek Coordinated Project Plan Posted on the FAST-41 Federal Permitting Dashboard

Coordinated Project Plan (CPP) Brings All Participating Federal Agencies and the Company Together to Identify and Publicly Post All Project Reviews, Authorizations and Timelines

Coordinated Plan Establishes Graphite Creek Permitting Timeline at 13.5 Months

G1's listing on the FAST-41 Dashboard Aligns with the Presidential Critical Mineral Executive Orders calling for "Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production" and "Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential"

VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 5, 2025 /CNW/ - Graphite One Inc. (TSXV: GPH) (OTCQX: GPHOF) ("Graphite One", the "Company", or "G1"), is pleased to announce that the Company's Graphite Creek project (the "Project") – the upstream anchor for G1's complete U.S.-based advanced graphite supply chain ("Graphite Creek")– has completed the FAST-41 60-day Coordinated Project Plan ("CPP") process, with the resulting plan for reviews, authorizations and timeline posted on the FAST-41 Federal Dashboard, which can be accessed here.

Graphite One's project is the first Alaskan mining project to be listed on the FAST-41 Dashboard. 

"The ability to coordinate with all participating federal agencies involved in our permitting, develop a transparent plan for the process and post that plan publicly is a testament to the FAST-41 process and the predictability and transparency it provides," 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."

FAST-41 CPP:

Established pursuant to Title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41), the CPP is a concise plan for coordinating public and agency participation in, and completion of, any required federal environmental reviews and authorizations for the Project. The CPP is developed by the lead/facilitating agency, in consultation with each coordinating and participating agency. FAST-41 encourages lead/facilitating agencies to have preliminary engagement with project sponsors when developing CPPs.

The CPP contains:

• A list of, and roles and responsibilities for, all entities with environmental review or authorization responsibilities for the Project.
• A permitting timetable that includes intermediate and final completion dates for action by each agency on any federal environmental review or authorization required for the Project, and to the maximum extent practicable, the dates by which State permits, reviews and approvals must be made.
• A discussion of potential avoidance, minimization, and mitigation strategies, if required by applicable law and known.
• Plans and a schedule for public and tribal outreach and coordination, to the extent required by applicable law.

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 ("FS") filed 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 ("PFS") – 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, effective March 25, 2025, 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 filing of the FAST-41 CPP received support from the following federal officials:

"As Alaska's first Critical Mineral mining project on the FAST-41 Dashboard, Graphite One is blazing the trail for projects that contribute not only to the American economy but to our national security," said Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy.  "In the 21st Century, the wealth of nations - their ability to provide opportunities for their people, their ability to remain safe in a dangerous world - depends on access to the resources that power our technologies. For our nation, the message is clear: There is no path forward to American Energy Dominance without the minerals, metals and natural gas resources Alaska has in abundance."

"I thank the Permitting Council for recognizing the strategic importance of the Graphite One project and for moving quickly to add it to the FAST-41 dashboard—the first Alaskan mining project on the dashboard," said Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski.  "As China continues to restrict the United States' supply of critical minerals, it is crucial for Graphite One to advance without delay. This is North America's largest deposit of natural graphite, foundational to any effort to rebuild our domestic supply chains, and we now have a concrete timeline of 13.5 months for federal agencies to bring it through the permitting process."

"FAST-41 is designed to provide speed, transparency, and accountability for all groups involved in permitting and approving projects like those offered by Graphite One, and it's encouraging to see G1 complete this process within the allotted 60 day window," said Nick Begich, Congressman for All Alaska. "Domestic supply chains for critical minerals are cornerstone requirements for domestic production and national security. G1 is blazing a trail for additional efforts of this kind - demonstrating how we can work across governmental jurisdictions to unlock the full potential of Alaska for the benefit of all Americans."

"Graphite Creek is critical to achieving President Trump's energy dominance agenda and is exactly the kind of project that can benefit from the transparency and accountability that comes with FAST-41," said Emily Domenech, Executive Director, Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC). "Our team worked with federal agencies to develop an efficient and responsible permitting timetable, and we are ready to partner with Graphite One to get this project to construction."

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, subject to financing, 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 Company entered into a non-binding letter of interest with the EXIM Bank in September 2024 for a potential $325 million loan to fund the Ohio manufacturing facility.

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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 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.

About Graphite One Inc.

GRAPHITE ONE INC. continues to develop its Graphite One Project (the "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 and process natural graphite, and to manufacture artificial and natural graphite anode materials primarily for the lithium‐ion electric vehicle battery and energy storage markets. 

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

"Anthony Huston" (signed)

For more information on Graphite One Inc., please visit the Company's website, www.GraphiteOneInc.com

On X @GraphiteOne

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, including those related to the Fast 41 listing and the anticipated impact of the FAST-41 status, any statements related to the planned production of any mineral reserves and resources, the construction of the Warren, Ohio facility, and events or developments that the Company intends, expects, plans, or proposes are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward‐looking information can be identified by the use of forward‐looking terminology such as "proposes", "expects", "is expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "projects", "plans", "is planning", "intends", "assumes", "believes", "indicates", "to be" or variations of such words and phrases that state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". The Company cautions that there is no certainty that the Fast 41 listing will impact the Company as set forth in this press release, that the Graphite Creek Project produces the minerals set out in the FS or that the facility will be built in Warren, Ohio. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is given as of the date it is expressed in this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable securities laws. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedarplus.ca.

SOURCE Graphite One Inc.

Anthony Huston, CEO, President & Director, Tel: [phone], Email: [email protected]; Investor Relations Contact: Tel: [phone], [email protected]