Leveraging its vertically-integrated approach from mine to material manufacturing, Graphite One’s intent is to produce high-grade anode material for the lithium-ion Electric Vehicle battery market and Energy Storage Systems, with significant additional production for a range of value-added graphite applications.
Envisioned as a vertically-integrated enterprise to mine, process and manufacture high grade Coated Spherical Graphite (CSG), the Graphite One Project would increase North American supply of high purity CSG that meets or exceeds current requirements for electric vehicle battery anodes, and other critical applications at a time when demand for graphite is skyrocketing.
Qualified Person Statement
Mr. William T. Ellis, P. Geo. and Vice President of Alaska Earth Sciences Inc., has reviewed and verified the scientific and technical information contained in this website. Unless otherwise indicated, Mr. Ellis is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) and an independent consultant to Graphite One Inc. For details of the Graphite One Project, including the quality assurance programs and quality control measures applied and key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate the mineral resource set forth in this website for the Company’s Project, please refer to the NI 43-101 Technical Report entitled 2019 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Update for Graphite Creek, Seward Peninsula, Alaska USA, prepared for Graphite One Inc. by Natalie King, Alaska Earth Sciences, Inc., Chris Valorose, Valorose Consulting, Inc. and William Ellis, P. Geol., Alaska Earth Sciences, Inc. dated May 2, 2019, available on the Company’s profile at sedar.com.
The Property
The Graphite Creek Property, located on the Seward Peninsula in western Alaska about 60 kilometers north of Nome, has been discovered to hold America’s highest grade large flake graphite deposit, with 37.59 million tonnes of measured and indicated resources at a grade of 5.14% that could yield as much as 1,932,000 tonnes of contained graphite material.
Overall, an assumed 44 million tonnes of graphite mineralization at 7% contained graphite (Cg) available to be mined from the company’s Graphite Creek Property could support a project life of 23 years, producing 60,000 tonnes per year of graphite concentrate at 95% Cg with an 80% yield.
Mining
An owner-operated, year-long truck and shovel operation with four active mining areas, the Graphite Creek Mine would develop roughly 4 million tonnes of material each year, once full production is reached in Year 6. About 1 million tonnes, at an average graphite mineralization grade of 7%Cg, would be delivered to the Mineral Processing Plant adjacent to the mine.
Mineral Processing
On an annual basis, the Mineral Processing Plant, estimated to operate 330 days each year, would reduce 1,018,000 tonnes of graphite mineralization to 60,000 tonnes of graphite at 95%Cg, using multiple cruisers and flotation circuits, as well as drying equipment. The dried concentrate would be shipped to the Port of Nome, stored and barged seasonally to the Advanced Graphite Materials Manufacturing Plant.
Purification
Purification into CSG and other value-added graphite processing would occur at Graphite One’s proposed Advanced Graphite Materials Manufacturing Facility at a [still to be determined] U.S. location in proximity of a port. The concentrate would be pelletized and thermally purified to least 99.95%Cg in high temperature electric furnaces with a nitrogen atmosphere.
Advanced Graphite Materials Manufacturing
Once purified, the graphite would be air milled and turned into spheroidal shaped particles in 11 spheronizing machines. The resulting spherical graphite is then coated with a carbon pitch and heated in four carbonization furnaces to graphitize the coating.
Yield
At full production, and on an annual basis, the Advanced Graphite Materials Manufacturing Facility is expected to convert 60,000 tonnes of concentrate into 41,850 tonnes of CSG for end uses in EV and lithium-ion batteries as well as Energy Storage Systems. The remaining 13,500 tonnes per year of purified graphite powders will feed a range of other industrial and tech manufacturing supply chains.
Strong Economics
The Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) projects a Net Present Value (NPV) for the Project on a pre-tax basis of US$1.93 billion using a 8% discount rate, with an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 26%.
On a post-tax basis, the NPV is projected at US$1.36 billion using a 8% discount rate, with an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 22%.
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