In a volatile market, one commodity society can depend on is graphite.
It’s used in everything – from pencils to machinery lubricants to car brakes, and more modernly, in electronic devices.
Battery-grade graphite is a key form of the commodity, with global demand expected to grow substantially, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) reports.
The Australian Government agency says more than 80% of future battery demand is expected to be derived from electric vehicles alone, creating significant pressure on global graphite supply chains.
For the battery supply chain, graphite must reach a minimum purity of 99.95%, which illustrates a significant difference in the 95% purity levels required for pencils or lubricants, the CSIRO report says.
Australia currently ranks as fifth in the world for natural graphite resources in Australia’s Identified Mineral Resources report, although the country has limited access to mining and refining operations for battery-grade material.
In 2024, global production of the commodity reached 1.6 million tonnes, marking a 4% increase from the year prior, with China once again taking the lead by producing 1.27 million tonnes and accounting for 79.4% of total production worldwide.
China’s grasp over the broader battery anode sector is strengthened by the country’s processing output of around 95% of the world’s battery anode materials.
Pressing climate change urges and a global shift to sustainable emission outputs only drive the demand for battery-grade graphite higher for its use in lithium-ion batteries.
Investing in the future
Earlier in the December quarter of 2025, Graphinex secured US backing for its graphite project in North Queensland, reeling in a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for US$860 million ($1.25 billion).
The Esmeralda Graphite Project, encompassing a graphite mine near Croydon and a graphite processing plant in Townsville, is expected to create more than 200 jobs.
The project has been fast-tracked by the Queensland Government.
This investment highlights Queensland’s potential for graphite projects, shortly after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with US President Donald Trump in October 2025 to produce a secure supply of critical minerals amid export bans from China.
In February 2024, China – the world’s largest producer of the full range of rare earths – imposed export restrictions on magnet rare earths and tightened graphite exports in December 2024.
These restrictions highlight the importance of developing local graphite mines to ensure supply chains survive.
According to the Department of Industry, Science, and Resources’ (DISR) December 2025 Resources and Energy Quarterly, Australia is expected to have a critical minerals export value of $5.9 million by 2026–27, with forecasted growth over the outlook period.
Australia’s ore reserves of graphite amounted to 1.05 million tonnes in 2017, attributable to the McIntosh Project in Western Australia and the Uley and Kookaburra Gully projects in South Australia, Geoscience Australia says.
CSIRO also reports the country down under to rank eighth in the world for natural graphite with around 4% of the world’s resource, as of December 2023.
The North American hold
Over in the US, Graphite One (TSX-V:GPH) has been working away at its Graphite Creek Project in Alaska.
In the previous quarter, the Graphite Creek deposit was deemed “generational” for technology applications, following independent testing conducted by Activation Laboratory confirmed elevated magnet and heavy rare earth presence, as reported by Mining.com.au.
The company ranked as the eighth top-performing company on the OTCQX’s Best Market ‘Best 50’ list for 2026.
The US Geological Survey recognises Graphite Creek as the “largest graphite deposit in the nation”.
The deposit is listed on the FAST-41 Dashboard, which was created by the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council to assist participants with the federal environmental review and authorisation process, improving timeliness, predictability, and transparency.
Graphite Creek is the first Alaska-based project to make the dashboard, along with the 25 other mining projects across the US.
Graphite One is a graphite developer focused on becoming an American producer of high-grade anode materials.
Meanwhile, Canada-based E-Power Resources (CSE:EPR) has all eyes on its Tetepisca Graphite Project in Grenville, Québec, as the company focuses on moving from discovery to resource definition in 2026.
Former CEO Jean-Michel Gauthier describes graphite as the “blue collar mineral”, describing the commodity to have a less flashy appeal than copper, silver, and gold, though it’s in use just about everywhere, as reported.
The overall Tetepisca district has a measured and indicated resource of 126.6 million tonnes at 14.1% graphitic carbon and 34.1 million tonnes inferred at 14.5% graphitic carbon.
E-Power has uncovered 16 high-priority targets within their discovery pipeline, all yielding high-level results from surface sampling, including 23.97% graphitic carbon over 5.15m at the Captain Cosmos target, which has been drill confirmed and bulk sampled.
E-Power Resources is a junior explorer focused on acquiring, discovering, and developing graphite properties in Québec, Canada.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Mining.com.au, Graphinex & Graphite One
