Stock head article ... good read Australian graphite producers...

Stock head article ... good read
Australian graphite producers will be competitive with non-Chinese producers as battery makers seek alternative supply sources.
Costs will average US$550/t, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, which thinks prices could more than double to US$880/t by 2034Renascor Resources, Kingsland Minerals and Quantum Graphite among the most advanced domestic players Graphite has been a metal for the true believers but the group of Australian companies that have kept the faith are set to be rewarded.
Prices have remained depressed at below US$500/t due to subdued demand and oversupply.
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence senior graphite analyst Camila Cardili told a webinar last week that most producers were underwater at current price levels, but it was likely that prices had found a floor.
The average C1 cost of producers in China, which dominates graphite production, is less than US$250/t, while average costs for assets outside China is US$570/t, mainly due to cheaper power, labour and consumables in China.“The cost curve is expected to shift in coming years,” Cardili said. By 2034, Cardili said most assets outside of China would sit in the third and fourth cost quartiles.
She said costs for Australian assets were expected to average US$550/t, which was competitive when compared to other non-Chinese projects.“Australia is expected to become a new hub for flake graphite supply,” she said. “When we compare, for example, African projects and Australian projects, they not only represent the lowest capital intensities, but they also figure among the lowest operating cost assets.”Cardili said North American and European assets were expected to be higher capital intensity and have higher operating costs.
“Projects with higher capex intensity will require higher incentive prices to ensure they can be brought online successfully in the future,” she said Benchmark is expecting to see reducing surpluses in graphite and eventual deficits, forecasting a 2034 incentive price of US$880/t.“When the supply-demand reaches deficit, we expect to see prices getting to this level to support these new projects, to be able to not only come online, but operate at healthy levels in the future,” Cardili said.

Australia’s first graphite hub? South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula is home to an estimated two-thirds of Australia’s graphite resources. It’s also home to Australia’s most advanced project, Renascor Resources (ASX:RNU) Siviour battery anode material project. Siviour has a post-tax net present value of $1.5 billion and Renascor expects it to be one of the world’s lowest cost projects with costs of US$405/t of graphite concentrate in the first 10 years. Renascor is advancing optimisation studies and is also looking to commission a purified spherical graphite (PSG) demonstration plant later this year.