Graphite Mining in the US

Coal and Related Carbon Resources / Lignite, Graphite, Graphene, & Carbon Uses

Charlotte McLeod presents a collection of articles from Graphite Investing News looking at the companies shaping investment opportunities. Graphite has a layered, planar structure, with carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice. It is thermally stable and can conduct electricity, but is also valued for its self- and dry lubricating properties. Interestingly, there is more than one type of graphite, with the three main kinds being flake, amorphous and vein. While all are important for different industries, currently flake graphite is getting the most buzz. Flake graphite has become especially important since early 2014, when Tesla Motors Elon Musk announced that his company would be building a lithium-ion battery gigafactory. Graphite is used in lithium-ion battery anodes, and the announcement immediately sparked predictions of how much of the metal the gigafactory might require. That speculation has only continued as Tesla has taken further steps - most recently, it signed its first and second lithium supply deals. Aside from lithium-ion batteries, flake graphite can be used in pebble-bed nuclear reactors, as well as in the refractory and steel industries. It is also used in fuel cells and vanadium-redox batteries.

Amorphous graphite is used in the refractory industry as well, and also in mechanisms like brake linings, gaskets and clutch materials. Vein graphite finds a home in advanced, thermal and high-friction applications. But Tesla and flake graphite are currently gaining a lot of attention in the graphite market as market participants try to guess how much the gigafactory will impact graphite demand (the fact that other megafactories are in the works has not hurt either). However, other factors are impacting the graphite industry as well, with a key one being China. Back in 2013, the Asian nation ordered 55 graphite miners and processors in the city of Pingdu to cease production on environmental grounds. China has been adjusting their production.