Latest news with #GraphiteBull
Herald Sun
10-07-2025
- Business
- Herald Sun
Buxton's graphite ore gets top marks from world's largest anode manufacturer
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. Special Report: Buxton Resources has achieved a major milestone for the Graphite Bull project with the world's largest anode manufacturer qualifying the ore for its production process. Graphite Bull ore gets tick of approval from world-leading anode manufacturer The ore meets performance standards to make lithium-ion batteries Company seeks to fill part of supply gap as graphite deficit looms Graphite is crucial in lithium-ion batteries, acting as the anode material. In fact, there's more graphite in a lithium-ion battery than there is lithium. China has a stranglehold of a whopping 98% of global graphite supply, and the world is scrambling for new sources. This is partly driven by the US Department of Commerce (DoC) decision to impose countervailing duty (CVD) tariffs of up to 721% on synthetic and natural graphite anode material imported from China. While not expected to be finalised until December, the move has prompted research houses like Argonaut to forecast that prices could lift to ~US$36/kg which is ~US$1800 per EV (3.6% of average EV selling price). Buxton Resources' (ASX:BUX) WA project hosts a recently updated resource estimate of 20.7 Mt at 10.8% Total Graphitic Carbon (TGC) and today, the company welcomes the news that BTR New Material Group has qualified Graphite Bull ore for its entire ore-to-anode production process. This follows the company's supply of sample material, including ore and flake concentrates, for extensive testwork. Perfect timing to be a graphite producer The material meets BTR's proprietary specifications for: Flake concentrate produced from ore via simple flotation; and Coated Purified Spheronised Graphite (CPSG), produced from both ore and Buxton-supplied concentrate, via BTR's standard industrial processes. The ore is also compatible with BTR's anode production methods and electrochemical performance standards, meaning that batteries fabricated using Graphite Bull CPSG meet requirements for customers like major battery companies CATL and Samsung. The company said it was seeing growing inbound interest in commercialisation opportunities for Graphite Bull, particularly with graphite being the single largest component of LFP and NMC Li-ion batteries. Last month S&P Global released a Graphite Commodity Briefing Service report which highlighted a bullish outlook for the natural flake graphite market over medium and longer terms with forecast prices to rise as a supply deficit develops. Natural flake graphite prices (94-95%% TGC) are forecast to rise >150% by 2030 and ~180% by 2035, when the supply deficit will approach 1.5Mt. Buxton said all of this and the US-China tariff war, positioned Graphite Bull as a very attractive project, 'being a high-grade deposit located in a Tier 1, US FTA, non FEOC, mining jurisdiction, with ore materials having demonstrated excellent electrochemical performance and with outstanding resource growth potential.' The company has also recently confirmed the discovery of a new graphite mineral system at Blackhawk project, around 100km south from Graphite Bull. This article was developed in collaboration with Buxton Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions. Originally published as Buxton's graphite ore gets top marks from world's largest anode manufacturer
News.com.au
30-04-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Graphite slips under radar as China puts foot on critical minerals supply chain
Move over rare earths, graphite is a key critical mineral too China dominates supply, pushing governments to shore up domestic graphite These ASX stocks could be well placed to secure a spot in the supply chain Rare earths have been in the spotlight lately with the US/China tariff trade war highlighting the need for Western countries to shore up domestic supply chains, particularly around minerals critical to defence and tech applications. But one mineral that's slipped under the radar is graphite. China also has a stranglehold on global graphite supply, but that could present opportunities for ASX stocks with a near-term development projects. Graphite is crucial in lithium-ion batteries, acting as the anode material. In fact, there's more graphite in a lithium-ion battery than there is the eponymous lithium. There are plenty of Aussie players with deposits waiting for their breakout moment. Buxton Resources' (ASX:BUX) Graphite Bull project in WA is one that has the potential to be a supplier of choice for natural flake graphite for lithium-ion battery manufacturers. CEO Martin Moloney says investors have realised China has a dominant position in the supply chain. In the midst of the uncertainty in the market and China's influence on the supply chain, Buxton's approach has been to take the project as far as they can, declaring a resource, doing baseline environmental studies and essentially bringing it to a pre-scoping stage. "We looked at our graphite project and wanted to know could it work as an anode and could we make it a lot bigger,' Moloney said. 'Unequivocally, we've answered those with a resounding yes, it works particularly well as an active anode material.' He also notes that the high grade of the project, and its location in Australia are beneficial in terms of trading with the US. We're going to need both synthetic and natural Then there's the synthetics vs natural flake debate. There are pros and cons, Moloney says synthetic is good because it's consistent, and natural is also good, because it has this extra crystallinity that gives more charge density. He also reckons anode manufacturers like Chinese anode manufacturer BTR, who are undertaking qualification testwork on the company's ore, would rather have a blend of the two. But pricing might impact that. 'The prices of the feedstock for the synthetic graphite have gone through the roof, so it's going to be very difficult for synthetic graphite to remain at ... rock bottom prices,' he said. 'And so consumers, the people making the anodes, are going to start biassing more towards natural because there's this just inherent price advantage there. 'The synthetic market is also massively oversupplied, so what that has meant is that recently a lot of manufacturers of synthetic graphite in China have started falling by the wayside. 'Now, that capacity could come back online relatively quickly, but still just goes to show that the prices currently are not sustainable.' However, there's a fundamental supply deficit for natural graphite too, particularly outside of China. 'And because retail stock market punters have not been backing graphite stocks, there's this looming structural deficit in the natural graphite market,' Moloney said. 'For all the reasons, synthetic's not going to displace it and the other alternative chemistries of anodes aren't going to displace it either. 'So, the future market is kind of bright for natural graphite, particularly if you have the extra advantages of being in Australia.' But realistically, he doesn't think countries will be able to secure supply outside of China in the near-future, and then only if Governments get involved. 'It'd be great to supply a future in 10 years, but actually we need to supply our future in one year, or to buffer in the short term,' Moloney said. 'So, they're not really motivated, but if they've got Governments forcing them, like what Trump's doing with the tariffs, then government intervention is absolutely required because government intervention is basically what's created the problem in the first place.' Shore up supply chain like South Korea Renascor Resources (ASX:RNU) MD David Christensen thinks graphite's importance as a critical mineral is definitely being undervalued at the moment. The company's Siviour project in South Australia has a post-tax net present value of $1.5 billion and Renascor expects it to be one of the world's lowest cost projects, with costs of US$405/t of graphite concentrate in the first 10 years. The company is also advancing optimisation studies and is also looking to commission a purified spherical graphite (PSG) demonstration plant later this year. 'Over the last several years, China has increased its dominance in the production and refining of graphite to the point of having monopoly control of portions of the graphite supply chain,' Christensen said. 'This means that the production of EVs in the US (or any other country) is wholly dependent on China for graphite. 'The recent trade tension highlights the need for secure supply chains for graphite to ensure the EV industry can continue to grow, notwithstanding the current trade tension.' He reckons we should take a leaf out of South Korea's book with POSCO, a company primarily known for its steel manufacturing, becoming increasingly involved in the EV industry. It's been expanding and investing in that arm of the business – including cathode and anode materials, as well as producing steel for EV components. 'South Korea has been the leader outside of China in building out mid and downstream manufacturing capacity in the battery sector,' Christensen said. 'It is no surprise that POSCO is expanding its manufacturing footprint in Korea to free itself of dependence on China. 'To protect domestic manufacturing investments in the battery/EV space, I think we can expect to see similar investments outside of South Korea, including in Japan, which already has established anode producers, as well as the US and EU which have seen significant investment in battery production.' And a scramble is already on to build anode manufacturing capacity outside China. 'Whilst the equity markets have been soft for graphite (as well as other battery minerals) in recent times, we are already seeing significant ex-China expansions by anode makers, who require graphite for their operations,' Christensen said. 'The legacy ex-China anode makers in South Korea and Japan have announced major expansions, and we are seeing some of the tier-1 Chinese anode makers make major investments in Indonesia, Malaysia and Morrocco. 'The one common theme for all of these projects is that they will need graphite sourced outside of China.' Who else has a graphite play? Green Critical Minerals (ASX:GCM) The company has been steadily demonstrating the potential of its VHD Graphite technology to meet the needs of industries requiring next-generation advanced engineered graphite and thermal solutions. Its technology has consistently manufactured a product with the highest density (2071kg/m3) recorded for VHD blocks while the average density of 2011kg/m3 easily exceeds industry standard densities for nuclear graphite (1700-1900kg/m3), which is used as a high-temperature control-rod material, and electrode graphite (1550-1800kg/m3) used in batteries. Testing also found that its VHD Graphite blocks had 3x better thermal diffusivity than aluminium and graphite, 2.6x better than copper as well as a 25x directional advantage. Just last week, GCM signed a collaboration agreement with Australian data centre operator GreenSquareDC highlighting commercial interest in its very high density (VHD) graphite. Under the agreement, which is part of an ongoing targeted customer qualification and engagement program, the companies will collaborate in the development and provision of thermal management products for GreenSquareDC's data centres using VHD Graphite. Sovereign Metals (ASX:SVM) SVM has the Kasiya project in Malawi, the only known natural graphite and rutile project. In February, the company reported that testwork on its graphite either met or exceeded specifications required for use in the expandable and expanded graphite markets. The results can now be used for customer engagement and potential offtake to another two markets, where demand from flame retardants and gaskets, seals and brake linings is approaching 100,000t a year and expanding at a compound annual growth clip of 6-8%. SVM has already shown it can supply material suited for the two largest natural graphite markets, battery anodes and refractories, used in steelmaking, Plus, in January, an optimised PFS reaffirmed the project's globally strategic significance, and potential to become one of the largest and lowest-cost producer of natural rutile and natural flake graphite while generating exceptional economics. Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) is sitting in the background with a major stake of close to 20%, putting a big target on Sovereign's back. Kingsland Minerals (ASX:KNG) KNG's Leliyn project in the NT is Australia's largest graphite deposit with a resource of 194.6Mt at 7.3% total graphitic carbon. Above and beyond that is an exploration target of 700Mt to 1.1 billion tonnes at 7-8% TGC. The company recently sent a bulk sample of concentrate to Germany for extensive metallurgical tests to produce purified spherical graphite, with the results to feed into a scoping study into the production of fine flake graphite. KNG expects Leliyn to be low-cost, as the large, shallow nature of the orebody is likely to lead to a low strip ratio. Notably, the company is backed by new 15.3% shareholder Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners and together the pair are looking at developing downstream processing capacity in Darwin.
