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Mid-Nickel",103.5,99.73,3.78,13.78,6.78,[518,519,520,522,524,526,528,530,532,534,536,538],{"date":213,"value":512},{"date":216,"value":513},{"date":219,"value":521},99.19,{"date":222,"value":523},96.02,{"date":225,"value":525},98.23,{"date":467,"value":527},99.24,{"date":329,"value":529},101.29,{"date":339,"value":531},87.61,{"date":341,"value":533},92.44,{"date":344,"value":535},90.96,{"date":347,"value":537},92.24,{"date":350,"value":539},95.09,{"id":541,"uuid":542,"name":543,"slug":544,"full_slug":545,"content":546,"relatedArticles":707,"relatedVideos":708},112467927355567,"736a5483-2523-4453-82d0-4e438b4cc76a","Flake graphite supply diversification to reshape the industry’s cost curve ","flake-graphite-supply-diversification-to-reshape-the-industrys-cost-curve","article/flake-graphite-supply-diversification-to-reshape-the-industrys-cost-curve",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":562,"content":572,"excerpt":685,"featured":50,"reporter":686,"_editable":690,"component":691,"seo_title":543,"categories":692,"visibility":699,"author_company":49,"featured_image":700,"seo_description":685,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":705,"formattedArticleDate":706},"51836e55-aed5-4cf1-803a-283690c6a77b","2025-03-14 00:00",[550,553,556,559],{"slug":551,"name":552},"africa","Africa",{"slug":554,"name":555},"australia","Australia",{"slug":557,"name":558},"canada","Canada",{"slug":560,"name":561},"china","China",[563],{"slug":564,"name":565,"content":566},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":567,"image":568,"bio":570,"linkedin":571},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":569},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":573,"content":574},"doc",[575,582,587,599,604,611,616,621,629,634,639,644,649,657,662,667,682],{"type":576,"attrs":577,"content":578},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[579],{"text":580,"type":581},"The emergence of new flake graphite projects outside of China are set to transform the industry’s cost structure over the coming decade, according to Benchmark analysis.","text",{"type":576,"attrs":583,"content":584},{"textAlign":49},[585],{"text":586,"type":581},"Today, China dominates the flake graphite concentrate production cost curve, with the first 65 percentile solely occupied by Chinese mines. This low cost-base is facilitated by access to low-cost electricity (primarily from coal-fired power plants), cheap labour, and lower logistical costs.",{"type":588,"attrs":589},"blok",{"id":590,"body":591},"fe6fd1f7-3b29-4380-8c07-69ffc805a560",[592],{"id":593,"_uid":594,"type":595,"_editable":596,"component":597,"fixed_height":598,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":598,"fixed_height_tablet":598},"22101745","i-b08b16d0-7e80-42fa-b051-c18453a18b4f","visualisation","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-b08b16d0-7e80-42fa-b051-c18453a18b4f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","ContentFlourish","",{"type":576,"attrs":600,"content":601},{"textAlign":49},[602],{"text":603,"type":581},"“Despite China’s cost advantage, we see a number of projects being developed globally to reduce flake graphite supply dependence on China,” said Camila Cardili, senior graphite analyst at Benchmark. “As these projects come online, we expect the flake graphite cost curve to steepen over the coming decade.”",{"type":605,"attrs":606,"content":608},"heading",{"level":607,"textAlign":49},4,[609],{"text":610,"type":581},"Where will new supply come from?",{"type":576,"attrs":612,"content":613},{"textAlign":49},[614],{"text":615,"type":581},"Australia, Canada and several African countries are key for new project development, collectively accounting for 95% of ex-China supply additions through 2034, according to Benchmark estimates.",{"type":576,"attrs":617,"content":618},{"textAlign":49},[619],{"text":620,"type":581},"Africa is currently the largest flake graphite-producing region outside China, with six operational assets across Mozambique, Madagascar, and Tanzania. By 2034, an additional 11 projects are expected to come into production, reshaping the region’s cost profile. Benchmark estimates that mining costs will increase from 17% to 24% of total operating costs in the region.",{"type":588,"attrs":622},{"id":623,"body":624},"1cc87a5a-7e94-41e9-bb9a-b6950250f2ee",[625],{"id":626,"_uid":627,"type":595,"_editable":628,"component":597,"fixed_height":598,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":598,"fixed_height_tablet":598},"22102147","i-9a110b2b-c598-430a-aa1c-525110f7473c","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-9a110b2b-c598-430a-aa1c-525110f7473c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":576,"attrs":630,"content":631},{"textAlign":49},[632],{"text":633,"type":581},"“The new African projects present a higher strip ratio and lower ore grades than existing operations. This means more material must be moved to access the ore required for concentrate production and processing,” said Cardili.",{"type":576,"attrs":635,"content":636},{"textAlign":49},[637],{"text":638,"type":581},"Additionally, many of these new projects are located in remote areas and will rely heavily on diesel generators for electricity, further increasing operating costs. As a result, Africa’s average C1 cost is projected to rise from ~$560/tonne in 2024 to ~$610/tonne by 2034.",{"type":576,"attrs":640,"content":641},{"textAlign":49},[642],{"text":643,"type":581},"While China will continue to have the lowest operational costs, security-of-supply concerns and the spectre of tariffs are promising to reshape global trade, driving investment into jurisdictions that were previously considered economically unattractive for flake graphite mining.",{"type":576,"attrs":645,"content":646},{"textAlign":49},[647],{"text":648,"type":581},"Australia is poised to become a key supply hub, with five projects under development – several of which are directly integrated into uncoated spherical graphite (USPG) processing, a key feedstock for anode active material (AAM). The average C1 cost for these projects is expected to average ~$550/tonne by 2034.",{"type":588,"attrs":650},{"id":651,"body":652},"5b97bf89-41d0-4ad7-9595-89417ab72255",[653],{"id":654,"_uid":655,"type":595,"_editable":656,"component":597,"fixed_height":598,"use_fixed_height":50,"fixed_height_mobile":598,"fixed_height_tablet":598},"22101859","i-34948258-479c-4dac-b744-bcc73b680ba8","\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"ContentFlourish\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"i-34948258-479c-4dac-b744-bcc73b680ba8\", \"id\": \"\"}-->",{"type":576,"attrs":658,"content":659},{"textAlign":49},[660],{"text":661,"type":581},"Canada is also set to expand its flake graphite production, with four projects in development that will add a 112,000 tonnes of new supply by 2034. These projects, anticipated to have lower operating costs than Lac des Iles – the country’s only current operation – are expected to reduce Canada’s average C1 cost by around 27%.",{"type":576,"attrs":663,"content":664},{"textAlign":49},[665],{"text":666,"type":581},"A lower strip ratio is a major factor driving these mining cost efficiencies in Canada, which are set to fall on average 32% between 2024-2034, according to Benchmark analysis.",{"type":576,"attrs":668,"content":669},{"textAlign":49},[670,672,680],{"text":671,"type":581},"“Factoring in both operating and capital costs, Benchmark’s cost analysis implies a long term incentive price of around ~$880/tonne for -100 mesh flake graphite (",{"text":673,"type":581,"marks":674},"compared to a price of $435/tonne as of 5th March 2025",[675],{"type":676,"attrs":677},"link",{"href":678,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":679},"https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/natural-graphite/natural-graphite-prices/table","url",{"text":681,"type":581},"),” Cardili commented.",{"type":576,"attrs":683,"content":684},{"textAlign":49},[],"The emergence of new flake graphite projects outside of China are set to transform the industry’s cost structure over the coming decade, according to Benchmark analysis. Today, China dominates the flake graphite concentrate production cost curve, with the first 65 percentile solely occupied by Chinese mines. This low cost-base is facilitated by access to low-cost […]",[687],{"slug":564,"name":565,"content":688},{"job_title":567,"image":689,"bio":570,"linkedin":571},{"filename":569},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"51836e55-aed5-4cf1-803a-283690c6a77b\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[693,696],{"slug":694,"name":695},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals",{"slug":697,"name":698},"graphite","Graphite","private",{"id":49,"alt":701,"name":598,"focus":598,"title":701,"source":598,"filename":702,"copyright":598,"fieldtype":703,"meta_data":704,"is_external_url":51},"Birds-eye view of an excavator working on a mine","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/5f6f499bc6/bm-natural-graphite-capex-featured-image.jpg","asset",{"alt":701,"title":701,"source":598,"copyright":598},"Mar 14, 2025","14th March 2025",[],[],1780670055006]