The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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From rare earths in Northern Maine to lithium in Southern California and graphite in Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey is on a mission to discover minerals critical to the nation's economy and clean energy goals on American soil. Or, more accurately, under American soil. This nationwide endeavor is officially called the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative, but is better known as Earth MRI, a clever moniker that reflects the earth penetrating scans that are providing...
From the Pentagon's multi-million-dollar investment in Graphite One Inc. to China's restrictions on the exports of gallium and germanium, Alaska's current critical minerals supply and future potential was in the headlines and subtext of American news stories over the past month. Alaska as a future source of minerals critical to the clean energy transition grabbed headlines after the mid-July news that the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Graphite One Inc. $37.5 million to...
For those in the know, Alaska's resources aren't just some surprise windfall for renewable energy technologies. While precious metals like gold and silver have been the primary focus of more than a century of mining up north, the 49th State is home to 49 of the 50 materials on the United States' critical minerals list and has a history of stepping up to the plate to provide America with critical minerals when they are needed the most. Looking ahead over the next two to three...
From the $37.5M Pentagon grant to a $5M loan from an Alaskan gold mining company, domestic graphite supply chain plan is broadly backed. From the U.S. Department of Defense and policymakers in Washington, DC, to private Alaska companies and the governor of the 49th State, Graphite One Inc. is receiving broad support as it pushes to establish an all-American supply chain that begins in Alaska and ends in the lithium batteries powering electric vehicles, military hardware, and...
Alaska mining and Washington policy leaders gather to discuss forging a path forward to critical minerals in US's Arctic state. Building upon the discussions and strategic ideas set in motion during the 2022 "Alaska's Minerals: A Strategic National Imperative" summit, the U.S. Department of Energy's Arctic Energy Office co-hosted a two-day summit this week to advance policy recommendations for development of critical mineral resources in the North American Arctic. For the Unit...
Alaska's unparalleled potential to be a major domestic supplier of the minerals and metals critical to the clean energy transition attracted some of North America's top commodities investors and analysts to Anchorage for the second annual Alaska Sustainable Energy conference. The 49th State's rich mineral resources, however, may remain on lockdown due to a "permitting pandemic" that plagues not only Alaska but the entire United States. "Our country is suffering from a...
Graphite One Inc. June 13 announced that it is acquiring a 1% net smelter production royalty interest against 133 state mining claims that make up a portion of the company's Graphite Creek project in Alaska. In exchange for the royalty, Graphite One will issue Alaska pilot and explorer Ronald Sheardown 456,500 company shares. "This purchase of a 1% NSR brings our total purchases to 3% NSR," said Graphite One CEO Anthony Huston. "We anticipate the purchase of the NSR will have...
Coming together to recognize the potential Alaska can bring to the table for the global transition to renewable energy, the 2023 Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference invited leaders in government, academia, industry, and investment from across the globe to participate in discussions and to be educated on the challenges and opportunities that the Last Frontier State presents as it looks forward to the next century of energy. Alaskans often remark about their home being a state...
Graphite One Inc. April 27 announced that it has received the first active anode material for lithium-ion batteries produced from material derived from its Graphite Creek deposit in western Alaska. Active anode material, also known as coated spherical graphite, is the single largest ingredient in the lithium batteries powering electric vehicles. Given the auto sector's rapid transition to EVs, S&P Global Platts' estimates the annual global demand for graphite will rocket to 5...
Updated resource sets stage for next level of expansion at largest graphite deposit in the US. With only 2,150 meters of drilling carried out during 2022, Graphite One Inc. expanded the quantity of graphite contained within the measured and indicated resources at its Graphite Creek deposit in western Alaska by 13%. Located about 35 miles (60 kilometers) north of the legendary gold mining town of Nome, Graphite Creek now hosts 37.6 million metric tons of measured and indicated...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Gathering together leaders, decision-makers, and experts toward the common goal of understanding the value of Alaska's mineral endowment and how to unlock it for America's net-zero emission goals, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management hosted a two-day workshop bringing attention to carbon management and critical minerals and how the Last Frontier will be a keystone in achieving the country's lofty ambition. Held at...
More gold, strong zinc prices helped push value higher; critical minerals could add a boost moving forward. Alaska mines produced approximately $4.51 billion worth of nonfuel minerals last year, a 16% increase over the $3.89 billion in 2021, and an impressive 42.7% jump over the $3.16 billion of mined products during 2020, according to the U.S. Geological Survey's Mineral Commodity Summaries 2023 report. The rise in Alaska mine production value is largely due to increased...
StrategX Elements Corp. March 7 announced that it has added graphite to the impressive suite of energy transition metals identified at its Nagvaak project on Nunavut's Melville Peninsula. Nagvaak features a 6,000-meter-long zone with strong vanadium, nickel, copper, cobalt, molybdenum, zinc, platinum group metals, silver, and now graphite mineralization. "We are excited to add graphite to our energy transition metals portfolio," said StrategX Elements CEO Darren Bahrey. "Our...
Graphite One Inc. Feb. 7 reported assay results from a 2,150-meter 2022 drill program aimed at upgrading and expanding the Graphite Creek resource, including one hole that cut strong graphite mineralization 1.3 miles (2.1 kilometers) west of the nearest hole at this western Alaska project. Considered by the U.S. Geological Survey to be the largest known graphite deposit in the U.S., Graphite Creek hosts 32.5 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 5.2...
Gold dominates Alaska mineral exploration, but a critical shift arises. Since the discovery of gold in what is now the Alaska capital city of Juneau, prospectors, geologists, and fortune seekers have spent more than 140 consecutive summer seasons exploring The Last Frontier's golden potential. With these endeavors turning up rich aurum lodes in every corner of the state, except for the oil-rich North Slope, the nearly century-and-a-half tradition of seeking and discovering wor...
The increasing number of electric vehicles charged with renewable energy, connected to 5G networks, and boasting the computing power of 200 laptops to autonomously traverse global highways is creating a meteoric rise in demand for the minerals and metals critical to clean energy and high-tech. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the foremost authority on lithium battery supply chains, estimates that more than 300 new mines will need to come online by 2035 – just to produce the c...
To better match the world-class size of its Graphite Creek deposit in Alaska to the enormous demand for the graphite going into lithium-ion batteries powering the electric vehicle revolution, Graphite One Inc. is considering a significantly larger advanced graphite materials supply chain in the United States. Last year, S&P Global Platts forecast that by 2030 it will take 5 million to 6 million metric tons of graphite to meet annual global demand for this carbon material that...
Pushes ahead AK mine, WA plant to meet vast EV battery demand. As automakers look to secure the graphite required for lithium-ion batteries that will power the hundreds of millions of electric vehicles expected to traverse global highways over the next three decades, Graphite One Inc. continues to put milestones in its rearview on a journey to develop a mine at its Graphite Creek project in Alaska and advanced graphite processing facility in America's Pacific Northwest. "Our s...
From antimony historically mined near the Interior Alaska city of Fairbanks to the zinc and germanium produced at the Red Dog Mine, America's 49th State is a past producer, and a potential future source of the minerals and metals deemed critical to the United States. Earlier this year U.S. Geological Survey updated and expanded its list of critical minerals to include 50 minerals and metals essential to the economic or national security of the U.S. and which has a supply...
A shortage of the graphite required for the lithium-ion batteries powering the transition to electric mobility is elevating the criticality of Graphite One Inc.'s plans to develop a mine in Alaska and advanced graphite processing and recycling facility in the Pacific Northwest. "Our strategy is to build a complete graphite anode supply chain – from mine to battery – located in the United States," said Graphite One CEO Anthony Huston. "And to complete the circular economy for...
Lack of domestic critical mineral supplies weakens US clean energy ambitions The White House and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are becoming increasingly aware that a lack of secure supplies of critical minerals and metals may be the kryptonite that weakens America's economy, national security, and clean energy ambitions. "The more we dive into this topic of critical minerals, the more I'm certain Superman isn't the only one who can be brought to his knees by rare minerals,"...
Replacing this oft-maligned lithium-ion battery metal comes at a cost Traditionally a headline-grabbing metal due to the perceived human rights and monetary costs it adds to lithium-ion batteries and the electric vehicles they power, cobalt is being overshadowed by the enormous demand and price increases for the lithium and nickel that also go into the storage cells that deliver the "E" to the EV revolution. Cobalt, however, continues to be a vital ingredient that improves...
Electric Vehicles require six times the minerals than their fossil fuel forebearers With even the most basic models boasting sophisticated driver-assist, navigation, infotainment, diagnostics, and other advanced digital systems being fed power from oversized versions of the lithium-ion batteries found in your laptop or smartphone, electric vehicles are becoming personal computers that you can drive. While this puts a whole new spin on the term mobile computing, riding around i...
By 2030, batteries will likely need more than 5x all the graphite mined in 2021 While shortages of the lithium and nickel needed for electric vehicle batteries has dominated news headlines over the past year, the massive demand for graphite has largely been overlooked. As the primary ingredient in the anode side of lithium-ion batteries, graphite is the single largest element in lithium-ion batteries and the mining sector's inability to keep pace with skyrocketing demand of...
Critical minerals can be recycled from decades of e-waste The necessity of reclaiming waste as a means to curb the seemingly impossible material requirements of a renewable future is fostering a different kind of industry – urban mining. "When you're in the renewable energy space, you've got to think through the whole lifecycle – where will EV and lithium-ion batteries go when they are no longer useful? It can't be to a landfill. That's not responsible," said Graphite One Pres...
