Graphite isn’t just used for pencils — it’s also a key electric vehicle (EV) battery component due to its high conductivity and quick-charging capacity. As EV sales rise, experts are convinced this battery metal will also take flight.
With the graphite forecast looking hopeful, investors are searching for ways to get exposure to the sector. Australian investors can look to the ASX, which is home to a slew of companies focused on the graphite market.
When learning about an industry, it’s often a good idea to start with key players, and here the Investing News Network has compiled a list of the biggest graphite stocks on the ASX by market cap. Data for the list below was collected using TradingView’s stock screener on November 22, 2023. Read on to learn more about Australia’s largest graphite companies.
1. Syrah Resources (ASX:SYR)
Market cap: AU$473.61 million; current share price: AU$0.665
Syrah Resources is an industrial minerals and technology company with a vision of becoming a leading global supplier of graphite and battery anode products. Its two main focuses are its flagship Balama graphite project in Mozambique and its Vidalia anode materials facility in the US. Syrah’s Balama operation has a projected lifespan of over 50 years, and its combined mining and processing operations allow for the production of 94 to 98 percent pure carbon graphite concentrate.
In 2022, the company was selected to receive an up to US$220 million grant from the US Department of Energy. The funds will support the financing of a potential expansion at Syrah’s Vidalia facility. This means the company could be en route to becoming the world’s first integrated graphite processor outside of China.
More recently, Syrah shared its natural graphite offtake diversification and marketing strategy. The company has already secured binding offtake agreements with Graphex Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of Graphex Group (NYSEAMERICAN:GRFX,HKEX:6128), and with Westwater Resources (NYSEAMERICAN:WWR). Construction of its 11.25 ktpa AAM Vidalia facility is nearing full completion as of October 2023 with production slated to begin in the December 2023 quarter.
2. Talga Group (ASX:TLG)
Market cap: AU$402.241 million; current share price: AU$1.08
Talga Group is a vertically integrated battery anode and materials company, meaning it mines its own graphite and also produces anodes. It has operations in Sweden, Japan, Australia, Germany and the UK.
In April, Talga received environmental approval for its Nunasvaara South graphite mine, which forms part of its vertically integrated Vittangi anode project in Sweden. A few months later, in June, the company received the environmental permit for its battery anode plant; according to Talga, it will be Europe’s first commercial natural graphite anode plant. Construction is underway as of September.
3. Renascor Resources (ASX:RNU)
Market cap: AU$380.911 million; current share price: AU$0.15
Renascor Resources has honed its efforts on helping to power the future with clean energy resources. While the company has five projects, most of its activities are focused on its two fully owned projects in South Australia: the Siviour battery anode materials project and the Carnding gold project.
Renascor announced that its Siviour mine and concentrator received approval from South Australia’s Department for Energy and Mining in late 2022. This approval allows for the processing of up to 1.65 million tonnes of graphite per year, which would put its goal of 150,000 tonnes per year of graphite concentrate well within reach.
In mid-2023, the company entered into a licensing agreement with German battery minerals consultancy Dorfner ANZAPLAN to apply an eco-friendly purification process to produce battery-grade purified spherical graphite at the planned Siviour facility. This was followed by an updated mineral ore reserve estimate supporting the Siviour as the largest proven graphite reserve outside of Africa and the second largest proven graphite reserve in the world. Additionally, the mineral resource estimate for the project increased by 25 percent.
4. NOVONIX (ASX:NVX)
Market cap: AU$356.691 million; current share price: AU$0.715
NOVONIX is a Brisbane-based clean energy technology company with a focus on EVs and energy storage. Its anode materials division is one of the top synthetic graphite suppliers for the North American battery supply chain.
NOVONIX has an agreement with KORE Power, an American battery technology developer, to become its sole supplier of battery anode products. As part of its deal with KORE, NOVONIX is expanding its Riverside facility in Tennessee, US. The company will work to increase Riverside’s capacity to 10,000 tonnes of synthetic graphite per year; it is on track to begin delivering 3,000 tonnes per year starting in 2024 and will hit about 12,000 tonnes per year by 2028.
NOVONIX has a joint venture agreement with TAQAT to produce battery materials in Saudi Arabia, as well as a joint venture agreement with LG Energy Solution to develop graphite anode material. The company has also garnered funding support from both the Canadian and US governments, including C$3 million from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program; and US$100 million from the US Department of Energy.
5. Sovereign Metals (ASX:SVM)
Market cap: AU$239.276 million; current share price: AU$0.43
Sovereign Metals is focused on advancing on its Kasiya rutile-graphite project in Malawi. Rutile is a mineral consisting of titanium dioxide that’s often used to produce titanium metal. Kasiya’s graphite co-product mineral resource estimate is 1.8 billion tonnes at 1.4 percent graphite, containing over 24.4 million tonnes of graphite. The company believes this material has the potential to supply spherical purified graphite for the lithium-ion battery anode market.
In July, Sovereign Metals announced that major miner Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO,ASX:RIO) will make a strategic investment of AU$40.4 million for an initial 15 percent stake in the company. The funds will go to advancing Kasiya, and Rio Tinto will provide technical and marketing help with respect to the graphite co-product. Later in September, Sovereign Metals released a completed pre-feasibility study for Kasiya showing the project has the potential to be the lowest cost producer of graphite globally.
FAQs for investing in graphite
What is graphite?
Graphite is a naturally occurring form of the mineral carbon and is composed of many layers of graphene. The other naturally occurring form of carbon is diamonds, although the two minerals look entirely different due to their molecular structure. Graphite is fragile, but it has a very high heat resistance.
Graphite comes in three forms: amorphous, flake and vein, with flake being the most used. There is also synthetic graphite.
What is graphite used for?
The first thing that may come to mind when thinking of graphite applications is pencil lead. In fact, it is that industry that gave graphite its name — its moniker is derived from the Ancient Greek “graphein,” which means to write. The amount of graphite in a pencil is associated with its hardness; the typical HB writing pencil lead is 68 percent graphite, 26 percent clay and 5 percent wax. However, pencils only make up about 7 percent of graphite consumption.
A popular up-and-coming graphite use is as a component of lithium-ion batteries, which are used in everything from smart phones to EVs. It is a primary material in battery anodes — in fact, in the average electric passenger car, there are 100 kilograms of graphite, and hybrid low-emission vehicles have around 10 kilograms.
Other graphite uses include lubricants and consumer electronics; the commodity is also used as a refractory material in the manufacturing industry and in the creation of graphene sheets.
Is graphite found in Australia?
Even though graphite isn’t produced in Australia (yet), the country sits on 5 million tonnes of ore reserves, and 7.97 million tonnes of economic demonstrated resources, as per government data published in 2022. These reserves and resources are shared between three states: Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
Article by Melissa Pistilli; FAQs by Lauren Kelly.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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