Recognizing China’s dominance, the US Government is finally anteing up for critical minerals funding. Three examples: Graphite One, Perpetua Resources and Lithium Americas – Richard Mills

2024.11.05

The US government has committed billions worth of loans and grants to support a domestic mine-to-battery supply chain — as the country seeks to become more resource-independent and less beholden to China and other countries for minerals critical to a clean-energy future, and to the tech-intensive defense systems that safeguard national security.

China’s grip on critical minerals

Included on the US Geological Survey’s list of 35 critical minerals are the building blocks of the new electrified economy, including lithium and graphite. China has a stranglehold on processing both metals, meaning it can weaponize them during conflicts with its adversaries, as it has done before with Japan (rare earths), and the United States (gallium, germanium, graphite, antimony).

Indeed, when it comes to raw materials for the electric vehicle industry, China is undisputedly the most dominant force on the planet.

For decades, China has dominated critical minerals, with Canada and the US, among other nations, all too willing to let Beijing do the mining and/ or processing and sell the end-products, such as rare earth magnets, lithium batteries and battery-grade graphite, back to us. Even now, rare earths extracted at MP Materials’ California mine are sent to China for processing. 

Almost every metal used in EV batteries today comes from there, either mined or processed. Thanks to its technological prowess in refining, China has established itself as the across-the-board leader in the battery metals processing business.

For decades, China’s “go out” policy has made investments in mining projects in Africa, southeast Asia and South America.  China’s modus operandi in those countries is to build mines and provide infrastructure that supports, and gains the favor of, the local population, such as schools, health clinics, roads and clean water systems. Usually in exchange for offtake agreements.  

Deals are made between governments, usually with a China state-owned enterprise becoming the mine owner and operator. The end goal is to purchase the raw ore from mines in countries China likes doing business with, and then build refineries at home to process the metals into more expensive end-products.

According to the International Energy Agency, the country accounted for roughly 60% of the world’s lithium chemical supply in 2022, as well as producing three-quarters of all lithium-ion batteries.

It also has a tight grip over the world’s supply of cobalt through its mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a nation that has been off-limits to much western investment due to conflict metal concerns. As the U.S. and its allies stepped away from DRC Congo, China stepped in.  Over the next two years, China’s share of cobalt production is expected to reach half of global output, up from 44% at present, according to UK-based cobalt trader Darton Commodities.

The IEA estimates China’s share of refining is around 50-70% for lithium and cobalt, 35% for nickel, and 95% for manganese, despite being directly involved in a small fraction of the latter’s mine production.

The nation is also responsible for nearly 90% of rare earth elements, which are essential raw materials for permanent magnets used in wind turbines and EV motors, as well as 100% of graphite, the anode material in EV batteries. China is also the world’s leading producer of antimony, accounting for 48 percent of global production and 63 percent of U.S. antimony imports.

According to The Economist, China last year ploughed roughly $16 billion into mines overseas, not including minority investments. This compares to $5 billion in 2022.

Of course, there’s no equivalent number for the U.S. Government, as mine development has usually been the responsibility of the free market. 

The article notes that Chinese miners control a large and growing share of the world’s minerals, including about half of nickel and mined lithium, more than two-fifths of cobalt and a fifth of copper.

Tackling Chinese control

Washington has finally begun to recognize its critical minerals vulnerability.

The movement to lessen dependence started in 2019 under then-President Donald Trump. Trump authorized the Pentagon to utilize funding available under Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA) — a tool established during the Cold War to ensure the US could secure goods needed for national security — to support the re-establishment of a US rare earths supply chain.

According to its website, The DPA Title III office works in partnership with the Uniformed services, other government agencies, and industry to identify areas where critical industrial capacity is insufficient to meet U.S. defense and commercial needs. The office partners with U.S. private industry to mitigate gaps in the domestic supply chain through the use of grants, purchase commitments, loans, or loan guarantees.

Its three focus areas are to:

• Sustain Critical Production
• Commercialize Research & Development Investments, and
• Scale Emerging Technologies.

Over the next five years – and under both the Trump and Biden Administrations, a rare instance of cross-party continuity – DoD awarded more than $439 million to establish domestic REE supply chains, including $103 million to MP Materials, which operates the Mountain Pass REE mine in California.

(As noted earlier mining is done there but the rare earths concentrate is shipped to China for processing into rare earth oxide end products).

The largest rare earths funding investment was a $288 million grant that went to a US subsidiary of Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths, which is establishing a rare earths refinery in Texas, expected to open in 2026.

In 2022, a bipartisan group of senators led by Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and West Virginia’s Joe Manchin wrote to President Joe Biden urging him to authorize the Pentagon to tap into DPA funds to bolster domestic supplies of other critical minerals.

.Biden agreed, and over the two years since receiving a Presidential Determination from the White House, the Pentagon has invested more than $260 million of DPA Title III funds into the mining side of critical minerals.

The list below was compiled by North of 60 Mining News. Domestic mining projects that have received DPA funding over the past couple of years include:

• Albemarle Corp. – $90 million to support the reopening of the Kings Mountain lithium mine in North Carolina.
  
• Perpetua Resources Corp. – $75 million to re-establish a domestic supply of antimony at the Stibnite Gold Project in Idaho.
  
• Graphite One Inc. – $37.5 million to support a domestic graphite supply chain that includes a mine in Alaska.
  
• Talon Metals Corp. – $20.6 million to advance exploration and resource definition at the Tamarack nickel-cobalt mine project in Minnesota.
  
• South32 Ltd. – $20 million to jump-start the production of battery-grade manganese at the Hermosa project in Arizona.
  
• Jervois Mining Ltd. – $15 million to support the expansion of the Idaho Cobalt Operations.
  
• Lithium Americas – $11.8 million to accelerate the extraction and processing of lithium carbonate at the Thacker Pass mine project in Nevada.
  
• Doe Run Resources Corp. – $7 million to complete a demonstration-scale cobalt and nickel processing plant at their mining operations in Missouri.

As for Department of Energy-funded projects, Automotive Dive reports the DoE has awarded 25 projects totaling over $3 billion under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to boost domestic production of advanced batteries and battery materials.

See below for a table of 25 DoE-funded projects for battery facilities — the funds aiming to reduce China’s dominance in the battery sector:

EXIM Bank

To be clear, money from the departments of energy and defense are generally grants, whereas funds doled out through the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) are loans that must be paid back.

According to its website,

The EXIM Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States. Our mission is to support American job creation, prosperity and security through exporting. We accomplish this by unlocking financing solutions for U.S. companies competing around the globe. We help level the playing field and fill gaps in private sector financing.

Borrowers must:

• Export US goods and/or services
• Be domiciled in the US; Ownership by foreign nationals or entities is acceptable.
• Have a positive net worth and an operating history of at least one year.

Specific programs and initiatives include:

China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP), established in the 2019 reauthorization, which aims to: (1) counter export subsidies and finance provided by the People’s Republic of China or other designated countries; or (2) advance U.S. comparative leadership with respect to the PRC, or support US innovation, employment, or technological standards in statutory “transformational” export areas (e.g. artificial intelligence, 5G, renewable energy, semiconductors). 

Make More in America (MMIA), approved by the Board in 2022, which provides financing for “export-oriented” domestic manufacturing projects that also meet other criteria, as part of the Biden Administration’s efforts to strengthen US supply chains.

The EXIM Bank was established in 1994 to increase support for exports of environmentally beneficial goods and services. It has grown from 10 transactions in FY ’94, to a high of 68 in FY ’07. Its total portfolio new exceeds $3 billion.

Key priorities are Small Business, Clean & Renewable Energy, Sub-Saharan Africa, Competing with China, Underserved Communities and Frontiers of Technology.

North of 60 reports the Export-Import Bank has emerged as the federal government’s heavy lifter when it comes to funding domestic critical mineral mining projects.

In April, EXIM offered to loan Perpetua Resources $1.8 billion, to go towards its Stibnite Gold Project in Idaho, which would provide the country’s only domestic source of antimony.

A month later, EXIM reached out to NioCorp Developments Ltd. to fund a mine at the Elk Creek project in Nebraska that would provide a domestic source of 17 minerals deemed critical to the US. The company plans to produce niobium, titanium and scandium.

In October it was Graphite One’s turn to be extended a Letter of Interest (LI) from EXIM regarding its Graphite One Project, in the amount of $325 million.

Graphite One

Graphite One (TSXV:GPH, OTCQX:GPHOF) has already received strong support from the US government for developing its “made in America” graphite supply chain anchored by Graphite Creek, the largest graphite deposit in the country and one of the biggest in the world. Two Department of Defense grants have been awarded, one for $37.5 million, the other for $4.7 million.

G1’s feasibility study is now 75% funded by the DoD. It is due out in early 2025.

In addition, G1 qualifies for federal loan guarantees worth $72 billion.

Graphite Creek in early 2021 was given High-Priority Infrastructure Project (HPIP) status by the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Committee (FPISC). The HPIP designation allows Graphite One to list on the US government’s Federal Permitting Dashboard, which ensures that the various federal permitting agencies coordinate their reviews of projects as a means of streamlining the approval process.

Graphite One plans to develop a “circular economy” for graphite. Its supply chain strategy involves mining, manufacturing and recycling, all done domestically — a US first.

The new 25% tariff on Chinese graphite imports will help G1 to develop a home-grown graphite supply chain.

Graphite One’s importance to the US government is exemplified through CEO Anthony Huston’s appearance at a recent White House event.

Graphite has been elevated to the status of rare earths.

China, meanwhile, has imposed restrictions on Chinese graphite exports. Exporters must apply for permits to ship synthetic and natural flake graphite.

Increased usage of natural graphite is expected from non-Chinese sources, who are seeking to establish ex-China supply chains.

Graphite One is at the forefront of this trend. The company has significant financial backing from the Department of Defense, and political support from the highest levels of government, including the White House, Alaska senators, Alaska’s governor, and the Bering Straits Native Corporation.

The project isn’t near a salmon fishery and it has the backing of local communities. Nome has a long history of resource extraction.

Graphite One could take a leading role in loosening China’s tight grip on the US graphite market by mining feedstock from its Graphite Creek project in Alaska and shipping it to its planned graphite anode manufacturing plant in Voltage Valley, Ohio. Initially, G1 will produce synthetic graphite and other graphite products.

Graphite One could supply a significant portion of the amount of graphite demanded by the United States.

Consider: In 2023, the US imported 83,000 tonnes of natural graphite, of which 89% was flake and high-purity, suitable for electric vehicles.

Based on G1’s Prefeasibility Study, not the Feasibility Study expected in Q1 2025, the Graphite Creek mine is anticipated to produce, on average, 51,813 tonnes of graphite concentrate per year during its projected 23-year mine life.

Voltage Valley, Ohio plant

Graphite One plans to build a graphite anode manufacturing plant in Trumbull County, Ohio, between Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

Graphite One to build graphite anode manufacturing plant in Ohio, on site previously used to stockpile critical minerals — Richard Mills

The Vancouver-based company has selected Ohio’s Voltage Valley as the site, entering into a 50-year land-lease agreement on 85 acres. The deal also contains an option to purchase the property once known as the Warren Depot, part of the National Defense Stockpile infrastructure, until the brownfield site was processed through the Ohio EPA Voluntary Action program a decade ago, certifying that the land does not need further cleanup. 

According to Graphite One, the Voltage Valley site is in the heart of the automobile industry (the ‘Rust Belt’ is being transformed into the ‘Battery Belt”), with ample low-cost electricity produced from renewable energy sources. It is accessible by road and rail, with nearby barging facilities. Existing power lines are sufficient for Graphite One’s Phase 1 production target of 25,000 tonnes per year of battery-ready anode material. Land is available for follow-on phases to ramp up to 100,000 tpy of production.

Graphite One plans to start design and engineering at the Ohio Voltage Valley site in 2025 followed by construction and be in production mid 2027 as part of the company’s strategy to become the first vertically integrated producer to serve the US EV battery market. Its supply chain strategy involves mining, manufacturing and recycling, all done domestically.

As Graphite One builds its anode active materials (AAM) production plant, first to accommodate synthetic graphite, then add natural graphite from the Graphite Creek mine, the company has the opportunity to make other graphite products. Two possibilities are silicon-blend graphite, where silicon is embedded within a graphite matrix in the anode; and hard carbon, which improves ionic flow and provides higher power densities in batteries.

The Ohio facility represents the second link in Graphite One’s graphite materials supply chain; the first link is Graphite One’s Graphite Creek mine in Alaska, currently working toward completion of its Feasibility Study in Q1 2025, mostly funded by a $37.5 million Defense Production Act grant from the Department of Defense given in July 2023.

G1’s Voltage Valley AAM manufacturing facility will produce its own synthetic graphite to produce synthetic anode active materials and in the future add natural graphite anode active materials as graphite becomes available from the company’s Graphite Creek mine, located near Nome, Alaska, according to the March 20th news release.

The plan also includes a recycling facility to reclaim graphite and other battery materials, to be co-located at the Ohio site, which is the third link in Graphite One’s circular economy strategy.

Unlike metals that go into the battery cathode, there is no substitute for graphite in the anode. Anode technology such as that being proposed by Graphite One is essential for developing a domestic “mine to battery to EV” supply chain.

Synthetic graphite market and supply chain

Synthetic, or artificial graphite, and natural graphite are both used in battery anode applications, but synthetic dominates the market.

China controls 80% of synthetic graphite production.

Total synthetic graphite consumption is pegged at 3.04Mt this year, compared to 1.68Mt for natural graphite.

A report by Markets&Markets projects anodes will grow from a $12 billion industry in 2023 to $46.5 billion in 2028.

Another report by Polaris Research valued the global anode market at $11.5 billion in 2023. By 2032, revenues should reach $123.7B, with the industry growing at a CAGR of 30.9%.

Despite its higher cost compared to natural graphite from graphite mines, “its well-defined structure facilitates smoother lithium-ion movement, enabling faster charging and higher reliability,” states Markets&Markets. An additional advantage of synthetic graphite is its longer lifespan compared to natural.

According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, synthetic graphite could account for nearly two-thirds of the EV battery anode market by 2025.

Given Chinese export restrictions, and the vast potential of the synthetic graphite market, Graphite One is forging ahead with its plans to build America’s first synthetic graphite production plant.

The important thing here is security of supply. There is currently no commercial US production of synthetic graphite; to get it, a company would have to buy it from overseas companies such as China’s BTR New Energy Materials and Kuntian New Energy Technology. Other possibilities are Resonac Holdings (Japan) and Norway’s Vianode.

Graphite One intends to produce synthetic graphite from scratch, then make bespoke anode materials for their customers. G1 is the first link of a homegrown synthetic and natural graphite supply chain for EV batteries.

Graphite One and EV maker Lucid sign historic Supply Agreement

Graphite One took a huge step forward in its plan to become the first vertically integrated domestic graphite producer to serve the US electric vehicle battery market.

On Thursday, July 25, G1 announced it has entered into a non-binding Supply Agreement with Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ: LCID), a California-based electric vehicle manufacturer, for anode active materials (AAM) used in EV batteries.

“This is a historic moment for Graphite One, Lucid and North America: the first synthetic graphite Supply Agreement between a U.S. graphite developer and U.S. EV company,” said Anthony Huston, Graphite One’s President and CEO.

“G1 is excited to continue pushing forward developing our 100% U.S. domestic supply chain. We appreciate the support from our investors and the grant from the Department of Defense. Subject to project financing required to build the AAM facility, the Supply Agreement with Lucid puts G1 on the path to produce revenue in 2027, and that’s just the beginning for Graphite One as work to meet market demands and create a secure 100% U.S.-based supply chain for natural and synthetic graphite for U.S. industry and national security.”

Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO at Lucid, said “We are committed to accelerating the transition to sustainable vehicles and the development of a robust domestic supply chain ensures the United States, and Lucid will maintain technology leadership in this global race.

“Through work with partners like Graphite One, we will have access to American-sourced critical raw materials, helping power our award-winning vehicles made with pride in Arizona.”

Lucid’s flagship vehicle is the Lucid Air, which has been recognized with a number of awards, including MotorTrend 2022 Car of the Year, World Luxury Car of the Year, and Car and Driver 10 Best. Lucid is preparing a factory in Arizona to begin production of the Lucid Gravity SUV.

Perpetua Resources — a funding comparison

Perpetua Resources (TSX:PPTA) received its Letter of Intent by the EXIM Bank in April —  about six months before G1 got its LI. The company aims to develop an antimony and gold mine in northern Idaho:

Located 50 miles (241 km) north of Boise, Stibnite contains roughly 189 million pounds of antimony, a metal used as a hardening agent for bullets and tanks, as well as in flame retardants and alloys for electric vehicle batteries. China is the world’s largest antimony producer, with nearly 50% market share. Stibnite would be the only American source of the key metal.

(Reuters, April 8, 2024)

EXIM’s communication to Perpetua states: “We are pleased to extend this Letter of Interest in support of the proposed capital funding plan by Perpetua Resources Idaho Inc. for the Stibnite Gold Project. Based on the preliminary information submitted regarding expected U.S. exports and U.S. jobs supported by this project, EXIM may be able to consider potential financing of up to $1,800,000,000 of the project’s costs with a repayment tenor of 15 years under EXIM’s Make More in America initiative.”

“We are seeing a whole of government approach to bring antimony production home,” said Jon Cherry, President and CEO of Perpetua Resources. “From EXIM’s potential financing of up to $1.8 billion to the multiple Department of Defense’s multi-million-dollar awards to Perpetua, there is a profound recognition that we need domestic antimony production now. The EXIM debt funding could fund a substantial portion of the estimated costs to build the Stibnite Gold Project.”

Perpetua has also received $75 million in grants from the Department of Defense, including $34.6M (February 2024) and $24.8M (December 2022) through the Defense Production Act Title III, $15.5M (August 2023) from the DoD’s Ordinance Testing Consortium, and $200,000 (September 2022) from its Defense Logistics Agency.

Perpetua must first apply to EXIM for the loan.

EXIM will conduct all requisite due diligence necessary to determine if a Final Commitment may be issued for Perpetua’s transaction. Any Final Commitment will be dependent on meeting EXIM’s underwriting criteria, authorization process, finalization and satisfaction of terms and conditions. All Final Commitments must comply with EXIM policies as well as program, legal and eligibility requirements. 

A Reuters story says Perpetua has been told by EXIM that it qualifies for two loan programs designed to support those that compete with China — likely referring to the “China and Transformational Exports Program” (CTEP) and “Make More in America (MMIA)”.

If approved, the loan would be one of Washington’s largest-ever investments in a mine; in 2020 the Stibnite Gold Project was estimated to cost $1.3 billion.

On Sept. 5 Perpetua announced a key federal decision authorizing the Stibnite Gold Project to go forward. According to the release, After rigorous permitting, scientific evaluation, and public input, the U.S. Forest Service announced it’s publishing the Draft Record of Decision authorizing Perpetua’s Stibnite Gold Project and the Final Environmental Impact Statement.

Both documents were published on Sept. 6 and the Final Record of Decision (ROD) is anticipated by the end of 2024.

Graphite One on Oct. 18 announced receipt of a non-binding Letter of Interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for potential debt financing of up to $325 million through EXIM’s “Make More in America” and “China and Transformational Exports Program” (CTEP) initiatives. 

Graphite One Receives Indication for Up to $325 Million Financing from the U.S. Export-Import Bank for U.S.-Based Advanced Graphite Material Supply Chain Project

The Letter of Interest states: “We are pleased to extend this Letter of Interest in support of the proposed capital funding plan by Graphite One (Alaska) Inc. for the AAM Manufacturing Facility. Based on the preliminary information submitted regarding expected U.S. exports and U.S. jobs supported by this project, EXIM may be able to consider potential financing of up to $325 million of the project’s costs with a repayment tenor of 15 years under EXIM’s Make More in America initiative.”

“EXIM’s potential financing, following on G1’s two Department of Defense grants under the Defense Production Act and from the Defense Logistics Agency, underscores the urgent need to bring U.S. graphite supply into production, and end the nation’s 100% foreign dependency,” said Graphite One’s CEO Anthony Huston.

EXIM’s funding commitment is conditional upon completing the application, due diligence and underwriting process and receiving all required approvals.

Perpetua says it expects to apply to EXIM by the end of 2024 — just eight months after receiving its LI — compared to Graphite One which plans to submit a formal application to EXIM in 8 months.

G1 is currently working on permitting its AAM manufacturing plant in Ohio.

Like Perpetua, upon receipt of an application for financing, EXIM will conduct all requisite due diligence necessary to determine if a Final Commitment may be issued for Graphite One’s transaction. Any Final Commitment will be dependent on meeting EXIM’s underwriting criteria, authorization process, finalization and satisfaction of terms and conditions. All Final Commitments must comply with EXIM policies as well as program, legal and eligibility requirements. 

Perpetua’s application for $1.8B in debt financing would be for building the mine whereas the purpose of the $325 million for Graphite One would be to fund 70% construction of the Ohio active anode materials (AAM) facility, whose estimated capital and commissioning costs are approximately $435 million.

How good of a deal is EXIM’s for GPH shareholders? Graphite One management decided it was better to go with debt financing because it gives the company the potential opportunity to grow its market capitalization.

G1 could take all the money at once, and pay it back over 15 years, which is a longer term than could be achieved privately. Or it could ask for the funds in tranches corresponding to the steps required to build the AAM facility.

For both Graphite One and Perpetua, they would have to arrange a separate equity component, likely through issuing stock or a royalty on production.

For example, the first phase of constructing the plant might cost $80 million, of which EXIM pays 70% and Graphite One pays 30%. A second phase might cost $150 million, with EXIM paying $105M and G1 raising $45M through a private placement. The plant is expected to begin operating in mid-2027.

The hope is that by raising funds at subsequently higher prices, the company’s market capitalization increases while avoiding dilution.

Lithium Americas

On the cathode side of rechargeable batteries, on Oct. 28, Reuters reported the US Department of Energy finalized a $2.26 billion loan (not a grant) for Lithium Americas (TSX:LAC) to build its Thacker Pass Mine in Nevada.

Like for Graphite One and Perpetua Resources, the loan is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to reduce dependence on critical mineral supplies from China, in this case lithium.

The mine is expected to open later this decade and be a key supplier to General Motors. GM has taken a 38% interest in the project by providing $625 million in cash and a $195 million letter of credit facility, for a total funding commitment of $820 million.

In its first phase, Thacker Pass would produce 40,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate per year, enough for up to 800,000 electric vehicles, Reuters said.

Previously there were restrictions on Department of Energy loans, that required the use of union labor and did not allow the funds to be used to build a mine, although processing facilities qualified.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski challenged the rules, making US critical mineral projects eligible for DoE loan guarantees. According to a May 1, 2024 news release, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) revised the guidance for its Title 17 loan guarantee program to provide eligibility for U.S. mines that will produce critical minerals. The change came after Senator Murkowski repeatedly pointed out DOE’s misinterpretation of federal law that she wrote to make domestic critical mineral projects eligible for its low-cost financing.

U.S. Critical Mineral Projects Eligible for DOE Loan Guarantees After Push from Murkowski

These women are the Senate’s new center of power

The change means that Department of Energy loans can now be used to build critical mineral mines.

The parameters for EXIM funding are broader; the loans can be used for mining, processing and manufacturing.

Conclusion

Perpetua’s $1.8 billion from the EXIM Bank and Graphite One’s $325 million from EXIM could be used for mine building, mineral processing, or even the manufacture of graphite end-products like G1 envisions.

If G1 decides to accept its EXIM funding in tranches rather than all at once, while conducting private placements for its share, there is an opportunity to raise at higher prices and build up the market cap without dilution, thus enriching shareholders.

It’s also a smart strategy to keep both funding doors open. EXIM funding could be deployed to both the manufacturing facility and the mine, which are being developed concurrently. And remember, the DoD’s $37.5 million grant is paying for three-quarters of the cost of the Feasibility Study — limiting the amount that Graphite One will have to go to the market to raise.

Graphite One’s financing options as it goes about ensuring “security of supply” for American end users of graphite appear to be a win-win-win for shareholders, the industry and the government.  Whether there’s a partnership like Lithium America’s with GM in Graphite One’s future remains to be seen.

Anthony Huston, CEO, Director and founder of Graphite One was at the White House with other industry leaders when President Joe Biden imposed tariffs on Chinese imports including natural graphite.

“I was honored to represent everyone at Graphite One in the meeting with President Biden. We appreciate his support for the renewable energy transition and G1 is excited to continue pushing forward to create a secure 100% U.S.-based supply chain for natural and synthetic graphite. The White House meeting underscores that projects like Graphite One’s are important in so many ways — from industrial investment and job creation to the renewable energy transition, technology development and national security.”

Clearly the government’s motivation in extending such large funding packages to small mining companies on the cusp of developing critical mineral mines and in Graphite One’s case, a synthetic anode manufacturing plant, is to reduce China’s dominant market position. The federal government needs to be complemented on putting its money where its mouth is, providing billions of dollars to junior resource companies who own the critical mineral deposits from which the next mines will be built.

And G1’s project has received extremely strong support from Alaska politicians, including Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Congresswoman Mary Peltola, as well as Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy.

In July 2023, Senator Murkowski took the Senate floor to express support for Graphite One and its development of the Graphite Creek deposit near Nome.

In her address, Sen. Murkowski stated, “I’ve always supported Graphite One and what they’re doing in Alaska, but after my site visit there on Saturday, I’m convinced that this is a project that every one of us, those of us here in the Congress, the Biden Administration, all of us needs to support.

Graphite One’s vision is to build a complete domestic supply chain for natural graphite. Their project would be anchored by responsible mining of the Graphite Creek deposit producing tens of thousands of metric tons a year, but it would also extend to a battery anode manufacturing facility in [Ohio] which would be co-located with a battery recycling plant, which is why their CEO Anthony Huston often describes Graphite One as a technology company that mines graphite. This, Mr. President, is a major opportunity for us.”

Regarding the initial $2 million invested in Graphite One by the BSNC, interim president and CEO Dan Graham said:

“This is not just an investment in Graphite One, it is a long-term investment in our region. We at BSNC have watched for years as Graphite One has worked to advance the Graphite Creek project and become a friendly neighbor in the region. Graphite One has told us of its intent to develop an environmentally responsible project and provide an exciting economic opportunity for the region that hopefully will play a crucial role in the nation’s transition to a clean energy future. This is at the heart of our Board’s unanimous support of the project.”

In the cases of graphite and antimony, Graphite Creek and the Stibnite Gold Project would be the first-ever US mines for these minerals.

 A recent report by Atrium Research highlights five attributes of Graphite One that support an investment in the company:

• Sizeable graphite development project with large upside;
• Tailwinds for the advanced anode manufacturing facility;
• Two-pronged approach reduces risks;
• Strong government and community support; and
• Significant discount to peers.

Upcoming catalysts include a Resource Update and Feasibility Study in Q4, and ongoing government grants, partnerships and investments.

At the risk of redundancy, this article’s first paragraph makes for a fine conclusion:

The US government has committed billions worth of loans and grants to support a domestic mine-to-battery supply chain — as the country seeks to become more resource-independent and less beholden to China and other countries for minerals critical to a clean-energy future.

Graphite One Inc.
TSXV:GPH, OTCQX:GPHOF
2024.11.01 share price: Cdn$0.82
Shares Outstanding: 137.8m
Market cap: Cdn$113.9M
GPH website

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Richard (Rick) Mills
aheadoftheherd.com

Richard owns shares of Graphite One Inc. (TSXV:GPH). GPH is a paid advertiser on his site aheadoftheherd.com

This article is issued on behalf of GPH