Imperial Mining and FusiA Groupe Awarded a $2.6 million Federally-Funded Scandium-Aluminum R&D Grant

October 5, 2021 (Source) — Imperial Mining Group Ltd. (“Imperial”) (TSX VENTURE: IPG; OTCQB: IMPNF) and partner FusiA Groupe (“FusiA”), collectively “Consortium”, are pleased to announce that they have been awarded funding, as a Consortium, for a scandium-aluminum material R&D project valued at CAN$2,600,520 from a Federally-funded not-for-profit institution. The project will focus on the industrialization and the development of a vertically integrated supply chain for a scandium-aluminum alloy for 3D printing. The project funding support will be distributed on a 70:30 basis between Imperial and FusiA, respectively.

The project submission process and selection criteria are extremely rigorous, including a detailed financial review, extensive documentation, and assessment by a panel of five independent experts. By being awarded this funding, the Consortium has shown that it is poised to promote job growth, spur on new innovations and support Canada’s industrial landscape.

“This award is a key step in Imperial’s long-term strategic goal of becoming the premier supplier of scandium,” said Imperial President & CEO Peter J. Cashin. “The Consortium has submitted market projections that show growing demand for new innovative light weight scandium-aluminum alloys used in 3D printing applications. The business case has been vetted by the thorough project submission process and deemed to be of high value to the Canadian economy. This project will promote job growth, ensure long-term business opportunities and cement Canada as a leader in new manufacturing technologies. We look forward to working with FusiA Groupe over the coming months and years.”

“The project funding will enable FusiA Groupe to deploy the solid know-how that it has developed over the last 10 years,” said FusiA Groupe founder & CEO Cyrille Chanal. “FusiA became involved in 3D printing in 2011, being one of the first companies to develop expertise in 3D printing of aluminum alloys. By expanding our pallet of alloys to include scandium-aluminum, FusiA Groupe will contribute to the establishment of a secure Canadian supply chain for the alloy for the aerospace & defense industries. Finally, this project will allow FusiA Groupe to maintain its position as one of the Canadian leaders in the production of metal additive manufactured parts using highly-specialized alloys.”

TIMELINE AND TARGET MARKETS

The Consortium plans to carry out the work program from September 2021 to February 2023. The electric vehicle, aerospace, space, offshore wind power, and defence sectors have been targeted by the research program.

CORE CRITERIA FOR PROJECT SELECTION

• The project must be transformative, involving the development of advanced manufacturing capabilities with the potential to confer a significant global competitive advantage to Canadian industry;
• The research must be applied, focused on solutions, supporting later-stage technology and manufacturing-readiness with potential to generate significant long-term commercial and economic benefits, including jobs maintained and created;
• The research must be enduring, leaving a legacy in skills development, tools, testbeds, intellectual property, and/or business knowledge for Canada’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem beyond the partners and timeline of the project;
• The program is collaborative, developing industry relationships, building trust, and sharing in knowledge, risk, investment and the resulting benefits;
• The project must include at least one small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and are encouraged to consider the inclusion of academic and research organizations;
• Due to limitations on public communications following the recent Federal election, additional information about the not-for-profit funding for this project will be made available after October 18^th, 2021.

ABOUT IMPERIAL MINING GROUP LTD.

Imperial is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company focused on the advancement of its technology metals projects in Québec. Imperial is publicly listed on the TSX Venture Exchange as “IPG” and on the OTCQB Exchange as “IMPNF” and is led by an experienced team of mineral exploration and development professionals with a strong track record of mineral deposit discovery in numerous metal commodities.

ABOUT FusiA GROUPE

FusiA Groupe specializes in the additive manufacturing (3D printing) of metal parts in France and Canada. It has gained extensive expertise in 3D printing through sustained investments in R&D since 2011 (more than 25 projects).

Its know-how enables it to offer services from the design phase to production, in accordance with the aerospace sector’s highest standards. Its subsidiary, FusiA Impression 3D Métal, has been based in Québec, Canada since 2014 and has a production facility in Saint-Eustache. FusiA Groupe is also a leader in France through its subsidiary FusiA Aeroadditive, certified by the Safran Group. It recently obtained a series of contracts for more than 1,000 parts from major European aerospace prime contractors.

For further information please contact:

Website: www.imperialmgp.com           Twitter: @imperial_mining         Facebook: Imperial Mining Group

Neither 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.