Imperial Mining Group Ltd. announced that it has formally promoted Dr. Luc Duchesne to the position of Chief Science Officer. Since joining Imperial in September 2022, Dr. Duchesne has been instrumental in sourcing and managing government grants, such as the $500,000 grant announced on October 24, 2023, and others reported in the company's October 25, 2023 update. Following his promotion, Dr. Duchesne will notably take on the additional responsibility of managing the environmental permitting process in connection with the development of the Crater Lake Project.

He will also be responsible for delivering an improved flowsheet for producing scandium oxide, working closely with Imperials consultant Yakum Consulting, and being involved in company strategy. Dr. Duchesne bridges the gap between science and business with more than 35 years of experience operating at senior levels in multiple sectors, including pharmaceutical, agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and mining. He has authored and co-authored 85 peer-reviewed scientific articles, literature reviews and books more than 300 non-peer-reviewed and investment articles and op-eds, including one fiction novel.

He is passionate about sustainability and the impact of humankind on the environment. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Guelph in 1988, an MSc from the University of Toronto in 1985 and a BSc in Forestry Sciences from Laval University in 1983. As a former senior scientist with Natural Resources Canada from 1991 to 2003, he received a 5NR Science Award to Leaders in Sustainable Development for advancing and communicating science for sustainable development.