Through its economic development arm, NCRR Invests, North Carolina Railroad Company reported that it is investing approximately $500,000 to assist with the design and construction of on-site rail infrastructure and a rail spur for CSX, allowing for the annual shipment of more than 3,400 railcars.
https://www.railwayage.com/freight/class-i/rail-served-ev-battery-plant-coming-to-north-carolina/
1 When will Baie Comeau feasibility study begin?
2 What does environmental require? Are baseline environmental studies required?
Epsilon chose Wilmington NC for their plant. From NC newspaper.
The Mid-Atlantic Rail Industrial Park site was strategically picked as a site for its proximity to the Wilmington Port, automotive suppliers, Southeastern vehicle manufacturing facilities and the local community college, according to EAM.
3 For Hugues what is Baie Comeau close to other then ELK.
Radio Canada article, 5 March 2024
“QcRail applies the brakes
It was to be the final section of a northern rail corridor to connect western and central Canada to the European market. Such a railway would have compensated for the closure of the St. Lawrence Seaway during the winter.
A first phase of the feasibility study, for which Quebec and Ottawa invested $15 million , was submitted last summer. However, there are too many uncertainties for the QcRail railway company to launch the second part of the study.
We know that the Quebec government is in the process of establishing its strategy for woodland caribou. The Innu community of Pessamit has made a request for a protected area in the territory that would be crossed by QcRail. These are elements which make it risky to embark on a phase 2 currently, explains the president of the QcRail railway company, Marcel Furlong.
He also mentions engineering difficulties in spanning the Pribonka and Bersimis rivers. Public consultations were also to be carried out in Lac-Saint-Jean, Baie-Comeau and within the Innu communities of Mashteuiatsh, Pessamit and Essipit.
To recover the economy of Baie-Comeau, Mayor Michel Desbiens is counting heavily on the granting of an energy block for one of the industrial projects piling up on his desk: green hydrogen and ammonia plants of Universal H2 and Hy2gen as well as theNorthern Graphite anode plant .
This last project was recently clarified, but its energy needs remain the main obstacle to its realization, agrees the president and CEO of Northern Graphite, Hugues Jacquemin. This Canadian company says it has submitted the first phase of its factory to the process of granting electricity blocks from the Ministry of Energy. Between 35 and 45 megawatts. For us, the key is to have access to electricity, because without electricity, we cannot produce. Until we resolve this electricity issue with Hydro-Qubec, we will not be able to make a decision one way or the other.
A quote from Hugues Jacquemin, President and CEO of Northern Graphite
The above quote from Hugues J should be enough to remove the Baie Comeau site from discussion.
Q4 for Hugues your own quote provides concern as to the feasibility of Baie Comeau, so why do you keep pushing it in interviews?
In total, the plant would require 375 megawatts to produce the 200,000 anode materials, the equivalent of one and a half times the McCormick power plant, which supplies part of the city of Baie-Comeau. gawatts are needed for its start-ups.
Q5 Hugues you have applied for 35 to 45 megawatts of power but 200,000 tons of anode really requires 375 megawatts of power so why do you keep promoting the Baie Comeau site? Is it your legacy or your ego getting in the way of making the decision to let it go? If a retail shareholder can show this forum you are not leveling with shareholders concerning Baie Comeau what do you think the OEM car manufacturers and battery companies think about your plans for a 200,000 anode plant? Companies such as Ford et als are looking at your comments and everything you have ever done in your life.
Q6 so Hugues if you are granted the 35 to 45 megatwatts it strikes me as iffy as to whether Hydro Quebec will grant you the additional 330 megawatts to produce 200,000 tons of anode material. Do you have any experience in RISK management? in continuing down this road it indicates to me that you have very little risk management experience and if you did some of what you learned regarding risk management has slipped your memory.
It's all about megawatts
Mayor Michel Desbiens is therefore pleading for his city to benefit from an electricity block and to be able to accommodate a new industry. However, he is careful not to promote the Northern Graphite project in front of other industrialists who are eyeing Baie-Comeau.
We are the region that produces the most electricity. We have electricity in our backyard, the electrical stations are ready, everything is ready, he said.
So, it is very important that the government allocates megawatts to companies. Otherwise, I can tell you that it will be very difficult to revive our economy.”
Thoughts for Hugues you need to think about, proximity to markets, indigenous consultations, the fact that the railroad has walked away from their proposed project, environmental requirements, consultations with affected residents in the area and finally if a company the size of Epsilon is spending $650 million to develop a factory to produce 50,000 tons of anode material I doubt any investors believe an 18 cent company is going to get the backing to build a 200,000 ton anode plant.
So far the wild ideas of NGC with regard to Graphex, Neograph, Baie Comeau and Porocarb do not provide any reason for anyone to continue to support this company.
Neograph is gone, next should be Graphex to much Chinese influence, Baie Comeau for the many reasons above. Finally Porocarb needs some further disclosure such as what costs and how much is NGC required to pay? Are there current customers that purchase Porocarb which would help off set these costs.
Shareholders need to see less big wild ideas and more reasonable projects that you and the company can actually EXECUTE and move the company forward.
If this company ends up filing for creditor protection you can consider any hope of your legacy being positive but your ego will be considered bigger then life itself. Why do I say that? You only care about yourself and your legacy you do not care about shareholders of this company. IF YOU DID CARE ABOUT SHAREHOLDERS YOU WOULD BUY SOME SHARES IN THE OPEN MARKET THEN AT LEAST YOU WOULD BE PARTIALLY ALIGNED WITH RETAIL SHAREHOLDERS.