PCRFY - EXCLUSIVE: 'New Era For Mining' As Nouveau Monde Takes On China In Graphite Supply Chain | Benzinga
Graphite is a mining underdog. It’s one of the least known of the critical materials that go into making batteries.
The market is currently controlled by China — unless Nouveau Monde Graphite (NYSE:NMG) and a handful of other Canadian companies can have a say.
Graphite is used in the negative electrode of a lithium-ion battery, Julie Paquet, VP communications and ESG strategy at Nouveau Monde Graphite told Melanie Schaffer at Benzinga.
“Everybody’s focused on minerals such as copper, nickel, lithium — the high-visibility metals, but the anode is made of 95% graphite, without which, you have no battery,” Paquet said.
Those batteries are in your phone, and your laptop, as well as in electric vehicles (EVs).
China’s Dominance In Graphite Supply
“China controls the supply chain,” Paquet said. “They mine 75% of world’s natural graphite and they control 95% of the spherical graphite market for the lithium-ion batteries.”
However, in October 2023, China announced it was restricting exports of graphite to protect national security, and that it would require permits for the export of many graphite products.
“With ...