Mining can start right away at Lac Gueret NMG’s new coating line at the Saint Michel des Saints demonstration plant has nameplate capacity of 2000t/a, yet the plant currently produces only 1000t/a of graphite concentrate from Metawinie ore. Presumably, this signals that once the joint venture is approved, the plan is to start mining at Lac Gueret right away, using the existing site permit that allows a 50,000 t/a mining operation. Lac Gueret ore is six times higher in grade, thus concentrate output from the St Michels plant will increase from 1000 to 6000t/a. Prep work has already been done at the mine site and the ore body outcrops at surface, so there should be little overburden stripping required. This ore can be easily trucked or shipped to the Saint Michel plant for processing. This represents a potential revenue stream of about US $5mm/a or more, gets product qualification started early, and gives NMG a better handle on production costs and pricing potential, which is what the bankers will be looking at when it comes time to finance the larger scale mining operation at Lac Gueret.