Graphite One (TSX-V:GPH) has received public backing from Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, who has highlighted the Graphite Creek Project’s potential role in US critical mineral security.
In an opinion piece published on 31 August 2026, Dunleavy said Alaska hosts known resources of 57 of the 60 minerals designated as critical by the US Government’s critical minerals list. He also described graphite as essential to the country’s security under its Defense Production Act.
Dunleavy singles out Graphite Creek, located north of Nome, as a potentially significant domestic source.
“New estimates suggest that this one reserve alone could provide enough graphite to meet the entire nation’s needs for a century,” Dunleavy writes.
The opinion piece does not detail the assumptions underpinning the century comparison, which would depend on future demand and the project reaching production.
According to the US Geological Survey, Graphite Creek is the largest known graphite deposit in the US and one of the largest worldwide.
The agency’s ‘2026 Mineral Commodity Summaries’ also indicates the US remained 100% net import reliant for natural graphite during 2025.
Graphite One President and CEO Anthony Huston says the comments underscore the project’s strategic importance as the US seeks to establish domestic supplies for advanced manufacturing, energy technologies, and defence applications.
“If America is serious about reducing its dependence on foreign graphite, domestic resources must be developed at scale,” Huston says.
Graphite One says it is pursuing a vertically integrated US supply chain comprising mining and processing at Graphite Creek, transport through the Port of Nome, and advanced graphite materials manufacturing in Ohio.
The company is also considering co-located recycling of graphite and other battery materials as part of a proposed circular supply chain. The development strategy remains subject to financing, permitting, regulatory approvals, and other customary conditions.
Dunleavy previously nominated Graphite Creek as a federal High-Priority Infrastructure Project.
The project was subsequently added to the federal FAST-41 Permitting Dashboard in June 2025, becoming the first Alaska mining development listed as a covered project.
FAST-41 is intended to improve coordination between federal agencies, increase permitting transparency, and establish a public timetable for environmental reviews and authorisations. Its inclusion does not guarantee that Graphite Creek will receive the approvals required for development.
Graphite One is a Canadian critical minerals developer seeking to establish a vertically integrated US graphite supply chain. Its strategy combines the Graphite Creek resource in Alaska with downstream manufacturing in Ohio to produce natural and artificial graphite anode materials for lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries and energy-storage markets.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: Graphite One
