I gave the below research in another graphite play I hold called "Understanding Graphite demand". Bought a small parcel yesterday. Thought the below might be of interest here too:
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"General:
Graphite prices are a function of two factors, been flake size and purity. Large flake (+80 mesh) with high Carbon (+94%) concentrate varieties commanding premium pricing.
http://www.focusgraphite.com/technology/
Higher mesh means less microns, so the relationship between the two appears to be invesrse
https://www.espimetals.com/index.php/online-catalog/327-technical-data/stainless-steel/334-understanding-mesh-sizes
Quality and Price:
The key graphite product type for naturally occurring graphite is flake, which is what most producers use to produce a 94% (carbon) graphite concentrate. The key for naturally occurring graphite flake is the costs involved in converting graphite concentrate, which is what miners sell,to spherical graphite which is what makes its way, through conversion, to the anodes in lithium ion EV batteries (when compared to synthetic graphite). . Note: graphite is the anode in lithium ion batteries.
http://www.focusgraphite.com/technology/
For naturally occurring graphite flake, it is obvious that larger graphite flakes attract a premium price.The table below comes from the following link – page 12:
https://renascor.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/190503-Optimised-Development-Plan-for-the-Siviour-Graphite-Project.pdf
The prices above match those essentially match those provided by Focus Graphite in their website– see
http://www.focusgraphite.com/technology/
Chemical composition
On a chemical basis graphite is essentially carbon, but there are differences.
http://www.differencebetween.net/science/chemistry-science/difference-between-graphite-and-carbon/
Graphite is also the only non-metal that can conduct electricity.
http://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/bsl/chemistry/graphited.html
In terms of molecular weight, I haven’t got my head around just yet the atomic weight of graphite and how it conducts electricity but theoretically the atomic weight of carbon is 12.01, but because I can’t work out the difference can’t relate back to the Faraday unit of charge and how much electricity is produced (and hence kg need of graphite in the battery anode per kWh, hence relying on industry observations to understand graphite shortfalls, albeit I generally like doing my own equation – discussed further below).So far I am getting to 50% to 70% of the calcs by industry so obviously I think I am having issues around the conversions and probably because need to understand the differences in carbon and how graphite conducts a charge etc etc which I need to drink more VB to work it out LOL). Was able to work it out for lithium, but struggling with graphite, so that is life.
https://www.qmul.ac.uk/sbcs/iupac/AtWt/
Spherical Graphite -natural versus synthetic
The use of higher purity feedstock to make spherical graphite reduces the cost of chemical and or heat treatment to raise the purity to above 99.9 per cent, which is needed for batteries grade.
http://australianminingreview.com.au/commodity-focus-graphite/
The below in italics is from the link just below and is a key IMO in understanding the issues surrounding cost competitive around natural graphite flake been converted to spherical graphite compared to synthetic graphite.(Note: I am taking selective paragraphs from the link itself, and the reason it is in italics is because it is a direct quote). As these issues, particularly recovery rates, are addressed the future for naturally occurring graphite flake to be the graphite of choice for meeting the needs of the EV market will further improve IMO–
http://www.northerngraphite.com/_resources/media/SPG-Summary-2.pdf
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””Spherical graphite is manufactured from flake graphite concentrates produced by graphite mines and is the anode material used in lithium ion batteries (“LiBs”). SPG can be sold as either a coated (“cSPG”) or uncoated (“uSPG”) product. Uncoated SPGis made by micronizing, rounding and purifying flake graphite.
Historically, three tonnes of flake graphite concentrate were required to produce one tonne of uSPG due to losses during the initial micronizing and rounding stages and this represents the major cost. Industry yields have improved to 40-‐50% …………………………… and the larger the flake size the higher the yield.
The flakes must be reduced in size toabout 40 microns, and rounded which essentially involves rolling them up like asnowball. They have also been described as a “clenched fist”or a “cabbage”structure. The final size varies between 5 and 20 microns depending on the application. A human hair is about 45 microns. The round shape is necessary for them to be spread thinly and uniformly during the high speed manufacturing process. The round shape also results in a higher density in the battery,better rate capacity and longer life. For these reasons, micronized, “unroundedflakes” are not used in batteries. The micronized and rounded material is thenpurified from approximately 94%C to99.95%C using hydrofluoric and sulphuricacid as impurities affect battery performance. On its own, wet chemical purification is a low cost process but large quantities of fresh water are required to rinse the graphite. Costs increase if neutralizing agents are added and proper environmental and health and safety practices are followed. This is one of the reasons almost all uSPG is produced in China.
Coating is the final stage in producing SPG. Itis not one simple step. cSPG for common batteries in smalldevices is made by coating the spheres with a pitch or asphalt substance and baking it at over 1,200OC.The coating is essentially a hard carbon shell which protects the sphere from exfoliation and inhibits the ongoing reaction of the electrolyte with the graphite which reduces battery capacity and life. ………………………...Anode material made with natural graphite has a higher capacity and is less expensive than synthetic graphite.Because battery life is much more important in an EV than it is in a cell phone for example, EV batteries have been made from synthetic graphite which costs from$10,000 to $20,000/t.
More recently, three companies (LG,Hitachi and Samsung) have developed the technology to control expansion and extend the cycle life of natural cSPG to meet the rigid requirements of the EV market. This has enabled them to blend natural and synthetic graphite to take advantage of the strengths of each and to manufacture lower cost, long life, high capacity EV batteries. The recipes are a closely guarded secret but it is generally believed that their EV batteries are 40 to 60% natural graphite and that the ratio will increase as natural cSPG manufacturing processes improve..””””””””””””””””
Economic resources
Because China has a lot of low quality graphite resources, in effect flake deposits which could end up been mined, assuming they have sufficient resources, IMO need to grade at least 7% -9% carbon.
How much graphite is in a lithium ion battery
https://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/bu_309_graphite
At the end of the day it depends on the battery itself and the mix of synthetic graphite to natural graphite, the latter produced from graphite flake)
https://leadingedgematerials.com/graphite/
According to this link below there is 635 grams of embedded graphite per kWh in the anode (i.e 54 kg graphite/85 kWh Tesla battery).
https://electrek.co/2016/11/01/breakdown-raw-materials-tesla-batteries-possible-bottleneck/
This article also talks about most batteries requiring up to 70 kg of graphite, suggesting battery sizes of 45 kWh.
http://www.northerngraphite.com/about-graphite/graphite-growth-markets/lithium-ion-batteries/
So essentially, how much spherical graphite is produced from naturally occuring flake graphite (I presume 94% C) concentrate is dependent on the assumption of synthetic to natural occurring graphite in the battery anode, within lithium ion batteries. As a general rule, it is generally assumed that 2kg to 3kg of graphite flake concentrate (94%) is required for each 1 kWh of graphite in the anode sourced from spherical graphite, assuming 50% of the anode comes from naturally occurring graphite and the remainder is synthetic graphite.
Slide 16 and 17 of this link shows this:
www.syrahresources.com.au/investors/downloads/560
Slide 16 is also duplicated in this presentation below – the relationship is essentially that 1 kWh of battery capacity requires 1 kg of spherical graphite/synthetic graphite depending on the mix of input the two in the graphite based anode of lithium ion batteries.Given that two to three units of naturally occurring flake is required to produce 1 unit of spherical graphite, this where the numbers come from.
http://www.sydneyminingclub.org/wp-content/uploads/syrah.pdf
Working out the numbers, I suspect, based on the above, an assumption that 50% of anode material is based on spherical graphite using graphite flake concentrate (i.e. the other 50% coming from synthetic graphite) then you get the figures in the right hand column essentially.
Demand outlook
Currently the majority of natural graphite is used in steel, but over time is expected to move to EVs and battery storage. Given the demand projections for EVs there will be a need for significant increase ingraphite and new mines, and as natural graphite improves its efficiency in batteries (i.e. achieves longer life) then the product mix in graphite batteries between spherical graphite (based on graphite flake) and synthetic graphite will further increase.Forecasts are always difficult to show but these are some that are around in this link – in any event I won’t get into forecasts of EV vehicles here because I did this in another stock I own where Ideal with EV demand, refer this post for some figures Post #: 37817451 and this one Post #: 37866312.Just for yourselves, in 2017 1 million passenger vehicles EVs were produced (not the word passenger) increasing to 2 million in 2018 and forecasts range up to 15 million to 22 million passenger EVs produced in 2025, obviously meaning increased graphite demand (as well as lithium demand).
Obviously the graphite forecasts are really saying that the traditional supply of graphite into the steel market will be overtaken by the needs of EVs.
Essentially the below links supports the view as well of graphite needs:
http://australianminingreview.com.au/commodity-focus-graphite/
https://www.batteryminerals.com/our-business/spherical-graphite-process/
https://www.benchmarkminerals.com/graphite-demand-from-lithium-ion-batteries-to-more-than-treble-in-4-years/
Ultimately demand as it flows through to miners of graphite flake is about costs, grade and the production of spherical graphite from graphite flake concentrate (as against synthetic graphite), and the change in that mix in the graphite anode makeup in lithium ion batteries.
- http://www.indmin.com/downloads/tesla.pdf
All IMO IMO IMO""""""""""""
