I think it needs to be clarified, restated and discussed further so everyone understands the graphite market, and indeed graphite mineralogy in greater detail. Firstly, graphite is a fairly common mineral. The plethora of listed companies and how quickly the sector blossomed seemingly from nowhere only a few short years ago to where it is today is testament to this. Secondly, the myriad of listed companies each capable of producing a super-pit which could supply the entire world’s demands for natural flake graphite in its current form is further evidence of this.
It is pointless to say my mine is better than your mine. If you’re a serious about graphite as an investment you should consider every single aspect, not just whether or not you need a bulldozer to build a road or the stability of the country in question. Graphite is delicate and needs to be gently scooped from a low depth resource to minimise the damage. It needs to be pure as there isn’t a known technology to strip a number of impurities from the graphite. Indeed almost all graphite can be processed to produce a superior product. But one thing you can’t do without, under any circumstance, ever, is sell graphite to a non-existent buyer.
If you’re serious about investing in graphite my suggestion would be to stop rubbing the mine and flakes until they turn into something they will never be without a customer. In all seriousness, due diligence is required to avoid being burned, TON should be a warning to all. Your story doesn’t matter without customers, it will never matter without customers. There’s too many listed graphite companies for them all to get over the line. There’s so much graphite in the world that thinking this is where the listed plays will end is also naive.
I’m in KNL because it has bankable customers in the EGT, ThyssenKrupp and soon to be Sojitz. These three will underpin the mine and take the entire output of Stage 1. My bet is Sojitz and their spherical graphite plans will take the entire Stage 2 phase as well (I excitedly await confirmation of this any day now).
There are too many charlatans in the world, CEO’s looking to feather their own nest and get a year or two in the top job by selling 99% pure-bulldust. I don’t want anyone, regardless of company view to lose money because of the aforementioned. I just want you all to do your due diligence and approach it from an entirely rational point of view. I’m not saying you’ll wind up at KNL, but it is how I got here.
So I plead with all due respect; can those with nothing but vitriol to spread on the KNL thread please refrain and leave us to our discussions. And can all KNL holders keep KNL discussions to the KNL threads. Two wrongs do not make a right. Let time and the evolution of KNL into the first, possibly second as well, producing graphite mine outside Chine and profitable company be your response. It will speak in absolute terms with indisputable clarity.
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