Nouveau Monde Proposes a Change of Name of the Corporation and the Nomination of Six New Directors

GATINEAU, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Jan 18, 2017) - As part of the migration of Nouveau Monde Mining Enterprises Inc. (TSX VENTURE:NOU)(OTC PINK:NMGRF)(FRANKFURT:NM9) ("Nouveau Monde") from an exploration company to a graphite mine developer and aspiring producer, the company's Board of Directors propose a change of name of the corporation as well as the nomination of six new candidates for directorships.

The name change to "Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc." as well as the nomination of the new directors will be proposed at Nouveau Monde's next Annual General Meeting ("AGM"). The AGM will be held on Monday, February 6, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) at Hotel V, 585 de la Gappe Boulevard, Gatineau, Québec, Canada, J8T 8N7.

All shareholders are welcome to join Eric Desaulniers, President and CEO of the corporation, who will present Nouveau Monde's Matawinie project development, the current state of the graphite market and upcoming milestones.

The new nominees to directorships as well as their credentials are listed below. Please note that Éric Desaulniers and Nathalie Jodoin remain as proposed directors of Nouveau Monde.

GUY BOURASSA:

Mr. Guy Bourassa has graduated in law from the Université Laval, Québec, in 1983. He has been a member of the Québec Bar from 1983 to October 2011. During his career as an attorney, he has mainly worked with Québec mining exploration businesses. He is President and Chief Executive Officer of Nemaska Lithium Inc., a lithium development company, since January 2008. He has been President and Director of Radisson Mining Resources Inc. from November 1988 to June 1991. He has also been President and Director of Dufresnoy Industrial Minerals Inc. from May 1994 to November 1996, and Corporate Secretary of Mazarin Mining Corporation Inc. from September 1991 to June 1994. He has previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Monarques Resources Inc. (now Monarques Gold Corp.), an exploration mining corporation, from March 2011 to October 2012. From June 2004 to October 2007, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of T-Rex Vehicles Inc., a corporation specialized in the construction of three-wheel vehicles.

PIERRE RENAUD:

Mr. Pierre Renaud, counsel and head of the Environmental Law Group for the Québec region at McCarthy Tetrault LLP, has 29 years of experience in environmental law. He acts as a strategic advisor to clients and provides guidance from the earliest project stages on matters such as sustainable development, social acceptability, the environmental authorization process, consultation and public participation processes. As former president of the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE) from 2007-2012, he was in charge of appointing and monitoring over 40 commissions of inquiry (public hearings/mediation), in addition to managing and tabling reports with Québec's environment minister on a variety of specific initiatives. Early in his career, he was a legal counsel for the Québec Ministry of the Environment and Hydro-Québec. He completed an internship with the UNEP Ozone Secretariat in Nairobi, Kenya, where he primarily worked on the Montréal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. In parallel with his professional activities, and for more than 10 years he taught in the master's program in environmental law at Université de Sherbrooke and the bachelor's program at Université du Québec à Montréal. In addition to co-authoring two books on mediation, he has written several articles and reports and given more than 100 talks and presentations on topics related to the environment. Admitted to the Québec Bar in 1987, Mr. Renaud has a master's degree in public administration. In 2014, he received the CETEQ`s tribute award in recognition of his achievements and commitment to the sustainable development and promotion of the green economy.

MICHEL DELSAER:

Mr. Michel Delsaer has over 45 years of experience in the organization, coordination, planning, control and management of major projects in all fields. His expertise is particularly sought after for the establishment of project development strategies, the implementation of project execution plans and management systems, the training in project management to corporate managers and in the evaluation of project performance through all phases of the project life cycle. Mr. Delsaer has participated in the development of joint ventures and governance structures for major industrial projects. Since November 2011, he serves as a senior advisor, project and business manager of Groupe Delsaer inc.. Mr. Delsaer has been Chairman of the board of directors of Delsaer Projet Management Inc. from 2007 to 2011.

MARC PRUD'HOMME:

Mr. Marc Prud'homme graduated in 1983 from the Université Laval, Québec with a bachelor's degree and a licence in pharmacy. He was consequently involved in the development of Familiprix, a Canadian group of independent pharmacists, from January 1989 to July 2013. Since February 2015, he owns and participates to the development of L'Auberge du Lac Taureau. As an experienced business administrator, he ensures the touristic and property development of this institution and thus participates to the reputation of Saint-Michel-des-Saints as a favoured tourist destination.

JEAN-PHILIPPE AUBÉ:

Mr. Jean-Philippe Aubé is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV). He holds a bachelor's degree in commerce with specialization in accounting from the University of Ottawa and a graduate diploma in accounting from the Université du Québec en Outaouais. Mr. Aubé is a partner with Sixa Capital Partners Inc., a global financial consulting firm, combining the expertise of several independent professional advisors with extensive investment, financial and business experience, since September 2016. Mr. Aubé is President of PME Performance Inc., a corporation specializing in business valuation, which he founded in January 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Aubé was a partner with SME Business Appraisers Inc., a firm specializing in business valuation, from November 2011 to January 2015.

YANNICK BEAULIEU:

Mr. Yannick Beaulieu is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA). He holds a bachelor's degree in administration (accounting) and a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. He held the position of auditor in a few accounting firms, including his own, for seven years and then Mr. Beaulieu accepted the position of Controller and then Chief Financial Officer for Verval Ltée, a corporation specializing in building envelope in the region of Gatineau / Ottawa. He holds this position since June 2015. Since January 2011, Mr. Beaulieu is a part-time Accounting Lecturer with Université du Québec en Outaouais. He was also an accountant of his holding corporation, Y. Beaulieu CPA Inc., from June 2012 to May 2015.

About Nouveau Monde

In 2015, Nouveau Monde discovered a graphite deposit on its Tony claim block, part of its fully owned Matawinie graphite Property. This discovery resulted in the publishing of a Preliminary Economic Assessment, completed according to NI 43-101 guidelines, in June of 2016. This study demonstrated strong economics with a planned production of 50,000 tpy of high purity flake graphite over a period of 25.7 years which is expected to provide a solid operational margin and relatively low capital expenditures (see press release dated June 22, 2016). The project is located in the Saint-Michel-des-Saints area, some 120 km north of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has direct access to all needed infrastructure, labour as well as green and affordable hydroelectricity. Nouveau Monde is developing its project with the highest corporate social responsibility standards while targeting a low environmental footprint (targeting a net zero carbon emission operation).

This press release was reviewed by Eric Desaulniers, M.Sc., P.Geo., President and CEO of Nouveau Monde, Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 guidelines.

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) has in any way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction or approved or disapproved the contents of this press release.

Except for historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated by such statements. Nouveau Monde will not update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. More detailed information about potential factors that could affect financial results is included in the documents filed from time to time with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities by Nouveau Monde.

Contact

Eric Desaulniers, M.Sc., P.Geo.
President and Chief Executive Officer of Nouveau Monde
(819) 923-0333
edesaulniers@nouveaumonde.ca