The U.S. Department of Defense has given an $37.5 million loan to help boost an Alaska mining project that will create a mineral that is considered vital to batteries and electronics graphite.
The award will be given at Graphite One Inc. which is a Vancouver-based business that is looking to establish an underground mine that is located 37 miles to the north of Nome The department announced the award on Monday.
The funding is designed to assist Graphite One complete its economic feasibility study faster. It was granted through a department office that is focused on increasing manufacturing capacity.
Graphite is well-known for its use in everyday pencils — is regarded as an essential mineral since it is employed in high-temperature lubricants and brushes for electric motors, friction materials as well as fuel cells and batteries as per the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Graphite Creek deposit that Graphite One intends to create is, by far the most extensive of the 10 important graphite deposits in the United States as per the USGS. It is worth noting that the U.S. has not produced graphite in its domestic market since the 1950s and is reliant completely on imports, mainly coming from China, Mexico and Canada in the opinion of USGS.
Aiding Graphite One advance its project is important for the national interest The Department of Defense said in the announcement.
“This investment to boost the capabilities of graphite in the United States is a perfect example of Industrial Base Policy’s dedication to creating a strong industrial base that can meet the current as well as future requirements of national defense,” Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary for Defense to Industrial Base Policy, said in the announcement. “The arrangement to work with Graphite One (Alaska) advances the defense department’s strategy for the use of minerals and other materials in relation to batteries with large capacities.”
Chief executive officer of Graphite One stated that the company is planning to begin the feasibility study accelerated “immediately.”
“This Department of Defense grant confirms our faith in our plan to create an entirely U.S.-based high-tech graphite supply chain starting from mining and refining, to recycling. This grant shows that U.S. simply cannot maintain an 21st Century tech-driven economy without Critical Minerals like graphite,” Anthony Huston, founder and CEO of Graphite One Inc., stated in the Department of Defense statement.
The Graphite One mine should it be developed, would use an expanded Port of Nome as an area for shipping and staging.
The money for the grant is derived through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 A bill that was approved with only Democratic votes.
Graphite production is not a new concept in Graphite Creek. It was the location of an operation to mine graphite on a smaller scale just over 100 years earlier. The first claims were staked in 1900 in accordance with the USGS. A tiny amount of graphite flake was mined during the early decade in the second half of 20th century. It was a handful of tons at the most and then the mining stopped in the year 1917 in the estimation of USGS.
The proposed project of Graphite One will outdo previous mining ventures. The company’s pre-feasibility study published last year details an operation that would last for 26 years, producing 75,026 tons of graphite-based products per year. The proposed project must be large enough to be able to attract buyers and economically viable to build, company officials told Nome residents in April.
In the Nome region, a few residents and officials are pleased with the mining development, whereas some have expressed reservations about the proposed access road, and the impact it will have on subsistence people and the resources. Graphite One officials have made several public presentation to inform the community about the development of the mine, and to discuss the concerns of residents.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy, in a statement said he was happy about the grant.
“Thank for the Department of Defense for recognizing the importance of Alaska’s immense mineral riches, a prime example is Graphite One,” Dunleavy declared in the announcement.
Dunleavy as well as other Republicans who voted against his fellow Republicans who opposed the Inflation Reduction Act when it was in debate and also criticized the act, describing it as unleashing excessive government spending. “When you are spending more money during an inflationary time it’s hard to comprehend how to reduce the rate of inflation,” he said in an interview on Bloomberg TV interview in August.
The work on site continues at Graphite Creek. A spokesperson from Graphite One said that as on Monday there were 53 employees on the site, with three drill rigs in operation, as well as geotechnical and environmental studies are ongoing.
