Northern Graphite plans to put Quebec mine on care and maintenance
Canadian miner Northern Graphite will put its Quebec plant under care and maintenance, effectively stopping production at North America's only graphite producing facility, by the end of 2025 if the company fails to find funding to expand, its CEO said.
Although graphite is not traded on commodity exchanges, its price has crashed by 50% in the last year - in tandem with other battery metals - due to a slow uptick in electric vehicle sales and aggressive pricing by dominant producer China.
China which controls at least 70% of the graphite market, has a monopoly on pricing, industry officials said.
"We're putting a lot of pressure on all stakeholders, including the government, to help us finance," CEO Hugues Jacquemin told Reuters.
"We don't want the only producing graphite mine in North America to be shut down, right, it's like killing the golden goose," he added.
If the mine receives funding, it could run for another eight years, Jacquemin said.
Northern Graphite is seeking C$10-million to expand Lac de Iles mine in the Canadian province of Quebec. The 35-year-old facility primarily sells to US industrial customers. It produced 12 000 metric tons in 2024.
Although Northern Graphite does not supply material to battery makers, it has still felt the pinch of low commodity prices.
Even as prices crashed, China continued to tighten its grip on commodities like graphite, with Beijing's commerce ministry announcing export controls on graphite sent to the US late last year.
Jacquemin said that uncertainty and risk associated with supply from China had caused potential investors to shy away. However, any disruption to supply could impact US industrial customers.
"Whether it's investors, government, or banks, we need some help," he said, adding that once the Quebec plant went under care and maintenance, the company might not consider restarting it, shifting its focus instead to its other mine in Africa.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation