Australian Companies Turn to Graphite, Graphene as Minerals with Growing Potential

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Perth, Australia)--There are a number of Australian companies involved in the search for graphite that are working toward establishing mining operations in Australia and overseas. Among the most advanced Australian projects on which Industrial info is reporting are the Mega Graphite and Strategic Energy Resources' joint venture Uley Project; Archer Explorations' (ASX:AXE) Campoona Project; and Lincoln Minerals' (ASX:LML) Koppio/Kookaburra Gully Project.

All of these projects are in known graphite areas in South Australia, but exploration is expanding into previously ignored graphite occurrences in Western Australia and Queensland. Several Australian companies are leading the way with projects at various stages of development in Sweden, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, West Ghana, Madagascar and Canada.

Graphite is traditionally used in the steel industry as a liner for crucibles and ladles; as a component in bricks that line furnaces; as an agent to increase the carbon content of steel, brake linings, gaskets, clutch materials, brushes for electric motors and generators, batteries, lubricants and fire retardants; and as reinforcement in plastics.

Because of its electrical conductivity, light weight and heat transference capabilities, it is expected to become the material of choice for the next generation of advanced batteries that provide power for smart phones, laptops, tablets and hybrid electric vehicles. And like rare earths, the supply of natural graphite for the world market is currently dominated by China.

Unlike rare earths, however, there are many graphite deposits around the world, and it can be mined and processed very simply and cost effectively to produce an end product.

Graphite is a mineral composed of carbon. It is a super-high-grade form of carbon that has an exceptionally high melting point of up to 3,000 degrees. Graphite's carbon atoms appear in hexagonal lattice sheets, which is what makes it "slippery" and a superior lubricant. Graphite is also a superb electrical conductor, very stable, hard, lightweight, chemically resistant and scratch-resistant, and it has exceptional heat transference.

A substance that occurs naturally in graphite is grapheme, which is basically a single layer of graphite. Graphene has unique physical properties that rank it amongst the strongest substances ever found.

If a cost-effective means can be found to produce graphene in commercially usable quantities, it is expected to be an ideal replacement for silicon as the material of choice for computer chips and electronics. It is super-fine, strong, electrically conductive, and can be etched and stacked.

Prices for top-quality graphite have trebled since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis to about $3,000 per tonne.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.