graphite: supply critical material ..., page-4

to add:

there is more to a graphite deposit than simply deposit grade

there is also flake size

then there is metallurgy, i.e., can the graphite ore actually be processed to achieve a 94%+ purity (for a high grade end product)

then there is deposit size, which can be irrelevant. to quote:

DH: Yes. All of these graphite products are sold on a supplier/customer direct relationship, with products tailored to the specific requirements of each and every customer. It’s not ‘oh we have 50 mesh material at 95% graphitic carbon – and here it is.’ You work with every customer to produce a product that they want so that – let’s say it is a graphite flake producer – if he has 50 different customers that want materials that are between say 50 and 80 mesh, he could have 50 different grades of that 50-80 mesh material; at 50 different prices.

TD: What about the companies that have enormously large resources. How relevant is it to have a monstrous deposit or a trillion tonnes of graphite?

DH: A lot of graphite juniors companies say, ‘we’ve done more drilling, therefore, we have a larger resource, therefore our stock price should go up.’ Ty, in this kind of business you don’t normally get extra valuation for having a huge resource.

TD: Unlike, for example, a deposit like gold?

DH: That’s right because there is a finite market for the stuff. You can’t have an infinite production capability. Once you get to a certain resource size, you get no added credit for having more resource. You have to have a resource that will give you a reasonable mine life, but anything over and above that, the market place says, ‘big deal!’

See more at: http://investorintel.com/graphite-graphene-intel/understanding-zen-graphite-industry/#sthash.xy2fUtFY.dpuf



below are some tables indicating different sale prices received for graphite. if you do not understand the various specifications in the tables then you do not understand graphite: