Interesting news article from AllAfrica back in April...
http://allafrica.com/stories/201604200209.html
My points I found most interesting
1. Only two graphite companies of note in Tanzania according to the author. MNS and WKT,
2. EU and USA have designated graphite as "Supply Critical"
3. Graphene enables batteries to charge ten times faster and store ten times more power
4. Only a handful of companies globally have the resource to make graphene (our test results should soon confirm we are in that handful)
5. Tesla and Panasonic need graphene for their next generation batteries
6. Tesla is US based, so is the end user company that is testing our resource, coincidence, i think not
Tanzania to Exploit Graphite Deposits
Arusha — Pula Graphite Partners Tanzania, a subsidiary of the US-based Pula Group LLC, recently released a study of tenements it owns in the south of Tanzania in Lindi, describing it as the highly prospective for its graphite potential.
The Group said, in a press statement, the flake distribution of graphite associated with the Pula licenses in the Lindi find is 70 percent medium to jumbo flakes and 30 percent fine flakes, a ratio superior to the 25:75 ratio observed elsewhere in the world.
Charles Stith, Pula Group Chairman said, "When you look at the region and the projects that are already in progress, namely Magnis and Walkabout, it would suggest that with the quality and the inferred quantity of our find, Tanzania could overtake China as the world's largest graphite producer in the near future."
Tanzania has been projected to become the number two producer of graphite by 2017. On an indicated basis, the mineralized bodies of the project host resources of approximately 100 Mt, with an estimated value of $125 billion.
Stith went on to say, "the quality of the graphite finds in Tanzania make it cost competitive with synthetic graphite. Our finds lie in a belt that runs through Tanzania to Mozambique, which might make it one of, if not the, richest strike zone in the world."
Graphite is a commodity of the future. Both the United States and the EU have designated it "a supply critical mineral" and "a strategic mineral". It can make solar energy fifty to one hundred times more efficient, semiconductors fifty to one hundred times faster, and aircraft seventy percent lighter.
It also has the potential to enable batteries to charge ten times faster and store ten times the power. With companies like Tesla and Panasonic making major investments in developing battery technology, this represents a real boon for the graphite sector.
According to one US-based investment advisory firm, "only a few companies around the world have access to the mineral resources needed to make graphene.
70 percent of the supply is controlled by China. The set-up is perfect for any non-Chinese supply to become an extremely lucrative investment, just like rare earths a few years ago.
