North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Graphite One Resources Inc. Aug. 7 announced the start of a field program to a pre-feasibility study for the company's Graphite Creek deposit about 37 miles north of Nome, Alaska.

A resource estimate calculated early in 2017 outlines 744,000 metric tons of graphite in 10.32 million metric tons of indicated resource grading 7.2 percent graphitic carbon; plus 4.7 million metric tons of graphite in 71.24 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 7 percent graphitic carbon.

This already large resource represents only a small portion of the 11 miles of graphite that has been identified at Graphite Creek.

The unique characteristics of the material at Graphite Creek makes it well suited for being transformed into coated spherical graphite, which is used as an anode material in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and the growing number of portable electronic tools and devises.

Carbon-coated spherical graphite is the finished product used in lithium-ion batteries. The spherical shape allows the graphite to be more efficiently packed into battery cells, while the coating extends the graphite's lifetime capacity.

Due to its importance to lithium-ion batteries, coupled with the fact that the United States is fully reliant on foreign countries for its supply, graphite is on the recent list of 35 critical minerals identified by the U.S. Geological Survey.

A preliminary economic assessment completed for Graphite One Resources early last year outlines plans for a roughly 2,800-metric-ton processing facility at Graphite Creek that produces 60,000 metric tons per year of graphite concentrate. This concentrate would be shipped to an advanced material processing facility that is anticipated to refine these concentrates into 41,850 metric tons of coated spherical graphite and 13,500 metric tons of purified graphite powders annually.

"Our preliminary economic assessment (PEA), envisions, based on exploration results to date, a possible 40-year project life for a vertically integrated manufacturer of high-grade coated spherical graphite with mining and processing facilities near Nome, Alaska and advanced material processing at a dedicated graphite product manufacturing facility," said Graphite One Resources President and CEO Anthony Huston.

Directed by Graphite One COO Stan Foo, the 2018 field work at Graphite Creek will include: roughly 2,000 meters of core drilling to tighten up drill spacing within the resource; collection of core samples for further metallurgical work; assessment of access routes to the project; reconnaissance level fish and wildlife surveys; and ongoing discussions with the communities closest to the project.

"Our 2018 field program is expected to add to our understanding of the value of our project as we move toward a pre-feasibility phase," Huston said. "With the growing demand for graphite in electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries and other energy storage applications – and the inclusion of graphite on the U.S. critical mineral list – we see Graphite One as a potentially significant new source of supply for decades to come."

–SHANE LASLEY