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

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 5.25% (1.7 million metric tons) graphite, plus 254.7 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 5.11% (13 million metric tons) graphite.

The measured and indicated resources alone would support a mine capable of producing roughly 50,000 metric tons of graphite annually for 26 years, according to a Graphite Creek Mine prefeasibility study completed last year, and the indicated resources have the potential to support more than 200 years of additional mining at the same rate.

"Our 2022 drill results continue to demonstrate excellent continuity over the length of the anomaly, and we look forward to releasing new resources numbers shortly," said Graphite One CEO Anthony Huston.

Upgrading Graphite Creek

Most of the 2022 drilling focused on upgrading inferred resources within and immediately west of the 26-year mine outlined in the PFS. Highlights from these holes that cut multiple graphite lenses include:

• 6.15 meters averaging 4.67% graphitic carbon from a depth of 19.3 meters, 12.36 meters of 4.77% graphitic carbon from 54.6 meters, 22.16 meters of 6.76% graphitic carbon from 68 meters, and 19.97 meters of 6.69% graphitic carbon from 157.4 meters in hole 22GC071.

• 31.67 meters averaging 5.6% graphitic carbon from a depth of 62.4 meters, and 37.6 meters of 5.21% graphitic carbon from 138.6 meters in hole 22GC072.

• 3.84 meters of 7.59% graphitic carbon from a depth of 13.2 meters, 27.64 meters of 5.08% graphitic carbon from 27 meters, 26.43 meters of 6.21% graphitic carbon from 74.1 meters, and 17.34 meters of 4.29% graphitic carbon from 103.2 meters in hole 22GC073.

• 21.4 meters averaging 4.79% graphitic carbon from a depth of 56 meters, and 12 meters of 6.86% graphitic carbon from 134.9 meters in hole 22GC074.

• 10.5 meters averaging 7.72% graphitic carbon from a depth of 2.6 meters, 32.94 meters of 6.36% graphitic carbon from 41.4 meters, and 2.21 meters of 12.05% graphitic carbon from 72.2 meters in hole 22GC075.

• 53.15 meters averaging 7.47% graphitic carbon from a depth of 72.7 meters, 14 meters of 3.17% graphitic carbon from 161.6 meters, and 35.28 meters of 3.76% graphitic carbon from 179.6 meters in hole 22GC076.

"Our 2022 drilling results come at a critical point as we continue to see the demand for graphite increase," Huston said. "We believe this deposit could potentially supply a major portion of North America's graphite demands far into the future."

One hole drilled about 2.6 miles west of the deposit considered from mining in the PFS and 1.3 miles (2.1 kilometers) west of the nearest hole drilled at Graphite Creek provides further evidence of its future potential.

This hole, 22GC079, cut 31.8 meters averaging 3.43% graphitic carbon from a depth of 5.4 meters, 21.54 meters of 2.55% graphitic carbon from 45.9 meters, 10.67 meters of 2.55% graphitic carbon from 104.3 meters, and 12.93 meters of 5.36% graphitic carbon from 125.9 meters.

Larger mine, drill programs

Click on image for larger Graphite Creek drill map.

Given the size of Graphite Creek, along with the dearth of domestic lithium-ion battery anode material suppliers in the U.S. to fill the rocketing demand being driven by the rapid transition to electric vehicles, Graphite One is investigating the potential for a larger mine as it advances a feasibility study for the western Alaska mine project.

Toward this goal, Graphite One plans to complete a total of 20,000 meters of drilling in 2023 and 2024, subject to financing.

"We will be shifting gears this year and focusing on completing much more drilling during our 2023 summer program. We are well situated for this work, having increased the capacity of the camp at Graphite Creek from 24 to 60 people last year," said Graphite One Vice President of Mining Mike Schaffner. "We will also be switching from a helicopter-based drilling program to a road-based drilling program. With the large amount of fog and rain in the area, we expect to see significant improvements in the amount of drilling we can complete in the summer season with significantly reduced costs."

Author Bio

Shane Lasley, Publisher

Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.

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