Privately held Global Battery Materials (GBM) is aiming to restart Ontario’s mothballed Kearney graphite mine in less than two years to tap an expected surge in demand for the mineral amid growing calls for domestic production.
Kearney, which closed in 1994, could initially produce 23,000 tonnes of carbon graphite annually starting in 2028, rising to 50,000 tonnes, CEO Eric Miller said. GBM has hired engineering firm WSP to revise a 2018 feasibility study, and an updated document could be ready by the fall, he said. Toronto-based GBM is also looking at building an anode material plant somewhere in North America.
“This is not a greenfield project, so we don’t need years to turn it on. Twenty months is what we need,” Miller, a two-decade veteran of the manufacturing and automotive industries, told The Northern Miner in an interview.
GBM’s non-executive chairman is Renaud Adams, Iamgold’s (TSX: IMG; NYSE: IAG) CEO. Adams declined to be interviewed for this story, saying he would rather let Miller remain the spokesperson for GBM.
Chinese dominance
The push to restart Kearney comes as Canada, which has designated graphite as a critical mineral, works to cut its dependence on China. Canada’s southern neighbour, which imports all of its graphite, is pursuing a similar strategy.
[More]
