Vom Graphit-Boom profitieren: Standard Graphite

..bezüglich der Nachfragesituation im Graphit-Sektor, Ausblicke und potentielle Preiskatalysten. Im ersten Bild wird die Nachfragesituation mit und ohne den Mega-Trend der Elektrobatterien prognostiziert. Reminder: In modernen Lithium-Ionen Batterien wird 10-30 Mal so viel Graphit wie Lithium verwendet!

 

 

Revenue for Lithium Ion Battery Market Set to Grow by 700% by 2017

By Global Information, Inc.
Posted: 3:56pm on Mar 13, 2012; Modified: 4:00pm on Mar 13, 2012

FARMINGTON, Conn., March 13, 2012 — /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Global Information Inc. would like to present a new market research report, "Electric Vehicle Batteries" by Pike Research. 

Securing energy resources against volatility in the oil industry and reducing transportation emissions in line with clean energy initiatives are among the top agenda items for many countries across the world. While electric vehicles (EVs) will remain a niche market through the current decade, the growth of EVs will play a significant role in both these areas as the global automotive industry continues to move away from the internal combustion engine and toward electric drivetrains. Key to this shift for auto manufacturers will be continued advancement in the capabilities of electric vehicles' batteries, led by lithium ion (Li-ion) chemistries. The engineering of safe, reliable, and economical Li-ion batteries and the convergence of the automotive industry toward battery power will reshape the industry as it moves toward electrification. According to a recent report from cleantech market intelligence firm Pike Research, as manufacturing efficiencies improve and access to lithium expands, the installed cost of Li-ion batteries will fall by more than one-third by the end of 2017.

Revenue in the market for Li-ion batteries for transportation will grow over 700%, from $2.0 billion annually in 2011 to greater than $14.6 billion by 2017..
 

Ganzer Artikel: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/03/13/3936514/...thium-ion-battery.html

 

The Next Rare Earth... One Word, Benjamin: Graphene

By Christian DeHaemer
Monday, March 12th, 2012

When you think of a strong material, wood, concrete, or steel probably come to mind...

But they fail in comparison to the superior properties of graphene.

For those who don't know, graphene is a single layer of graphite, one atom thick.

That's right — it's the same material that's in your pencil tip.

But it is a pure material with unprecedented strength: ten times stronger than steel and six times lighter.

It can also conduct electricity, and therefore can be used as a transistor.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg for this material of the future.

First, let me tell you the amazing story of how it came to be...

Scotch Tape and Dumb Luck

Back in 2004, a couple of scientists working at the University of Manchester wanted to see if they could get a single layer of graphite.

At the time, this nanomaterial — which is shaped like chicken wire (the Buckminster Fuller six-sided shape) — kept wrapping itself in a tube.

The scientists, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, asked a grad student to shave the thinnest layer of graphite he could.

After looking under a powerful microscope, it was determined to be more than 1,000 atoms thick. They then took their sample to a powerful machine that could see and manipulate atoms.

While waiting for their colleague to prepare the highly sensitive equipment, our heroes noticed the operators used Scotch tape to clean the machine, picking up dust and particles...

Eureka!

Our intrepid researchers put a flake of graphite between Scotch tape and pulled it apart. The graphite split, and split, and split until they had a single layer: a sheet of graphite one atom thick.

Thus, graphene was born.

Geim and Novoselov won the Nobel Prizes in 2010 for their discovery. Since then, hundreds of researchers the world over have jumped on the bandwagon in an effort to make this incredible material useful.

What can it do? you ask. Well, I'll tell you...

Miracle Product

Graphene has a high strength-to-weight ratio, making it the perfect material for use in automobiles, rockets, boats, windmill blades, and airplanes.

Nikhil Koratkar, professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer, said:

I’ve been working in nanocomposites for 10 years, and graphene is the best one I’ve ever seen in terms of mechanical properties. Graphene is far superior to carbon nanotubes or any other known nanofiller in transferring its exceptional strength and mechanical properties to a host material.

Not only does graphene have the strength of a flat Buckyball, but it makes excellent transistors.

The sheets are so thin, you can control the binary on/off switch by applying an electric field. This is impossible to do with metals because you can't make metal films thin enough without losing transmission abilities.

As a result, graphene-based transistors can run at higher frequencies and with more efficiency than the silicon transistors in common use today.

That means graphene is faster and uses less power.

Furthermore, graphene can replace indium-based electronics for light-emitting diodes. This means lower-cost display screens in mobile devices.
 

The benefits continue:

• Graphene can be used to store hydrogen for fuel cell powered vehicles.
• Graphene is used in medical sensors to diagnose diseases. This miracle material has a unique property in that it has a wide surface area with which it attracts certain molecules that are sensitive to particular diseases.
• A researcher named Fazel Yavari has developed graphene foam: “a new sensor to detect extremely small quantities of hazardous gases. The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute doctoral student harnessed the power of the world’s thinnest material, graphene, to create a device that is durable, inexpensive to make, and incredibly sensitive.”
• Graphene is resistant to powerful acids and alkalis, and so can be used as an inert coating.
• It can be used as an ultra-capacitor with better performance than batteries.
• The University of Technology in Sydney has developed a graphene paper that is super thin, yet strong enough to be used in rockets. And as graphene doesn't show up on radar, it would invisible.

Graphene is the material of the future. But like rare earth metals, it is in limited supply...

 

Link: http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/graphene-stock/3424

 

 

Top news: Nächste Woche wird der CEO von Standard Graphite, Mr. Chris Bogart, nach München kommen und dort in einem exklusiven Vortrag die Story um des lukrativen Graphitexplorers vorstellen. Davor wird der Graphitexperte und renommierte Dr. Dietmar Siebholz die Makrostory, die fundamentale Situation und die Aussichten des Graphitsektors dem Publikum erläutern.

 

Treffen Sie spannende Rohstoff-Firmen vor Ort in Deutschland

Der direkte Kontakt zu Rohstoff-Firmen ist oft schwierig: Die meisten Unternehmen stammen aus Nordamerika und sind nur sehr selten direkt in Deutschland vor Ort. Doch von Zeit zu Zeit gibt es immer mal wieder die Chance, das Management direkt in Deutschland zu treffen. Das hat für deutsche Investoren gleich verschiedene Vorteile: Man kann das Management persönlich treffen und offene Fragen im direkten Gespräch klären. In der kommenden Woche haben interessierte Anleger die Chance, gleich zwei aussichtsreiche Unternehmen in Deutschland zu treffen. Im Einzelnen sind das Standard Graphite und Great Panther Silver.

Standard Graphite: Aussichtsreiche Aktie im neuen Graphitsektor Eine neue Aktie im noch kleinen Graphitsektor ist Standard Graphite (WKN: A1JTSS). Der kanadische Explorer startet jetzt mit insgesamt 12 Graphit-Projekten in Quebec und Ontario. Spannend ist: Diese Vorkommen befinden sich in Gegenden, in denen das großflockige und damit teure Graphit zu finden ist. Doch neben den Projekten hat Standard Graphite noch ein Ass im Ärmel: Das ist Antoine Fournier, der Chefgeologe des Unternehmens. Fournier gehörte zu den Verantwortlichen bei der Entdeckung des Lac Knife Graphit Vorkommens, dass derzeit noch ein ganz entscheidender Teil des Portfolios von Focus Metals (WKN: A1C7E4) ist.

Doch dieses Unternehmen wird derzeit rund auf dem neunfachen Niveau von Standard Graphite gehandelt. Standard Graphite ist mit nur 22 Millionen Aktie und einer Marktkapitalisierung von rund 11 Mio. CAD eben noch am Anfang.

Doch das kann alles sehr schnell gehen, denn bei Graphit geht die Entwicklung von Vorkommen sehr viel schneller als bei vielen anderen Rohstoffen. Standard Graphite CEO Chris Bogart ist in der kommenden Woche in Europa auf einer Road Show unterwegs. Am Mittwoch den 28. März ist Chris Bogart dann um 12 Uhr beim Finanzdienstleister CM Equity AG&Co KG Financial Services in der Kaufinger Str. 20, 80331 München zu Gast und wird sein Unternehmen und die Perspektiven des aufstrebenden Graphitsektors interessierten Investoren präsentieren.

Zu Beginn der Veranstaltung wird Dr. Dietmar Siebholz einen Einleitungsvortrag über den weltweiten Graphitmarkt halten. Darin wird er ebenso auf die aktuellen Marktteilnehmern wie auch auf die fundamentalen Schätzungen der künftigen Nachfrage eingehen.

..

Anmeldungen zu den beiden Veranstaltungen in München sind unter info@cm-equity.de möglich. 

Link: http://miningscout.de/Kolumnen/...Ort_in_Deutschland/page_1/_76/__432

 

Interessant auch folgender Fakt - das könnte für einige positive Kursimpulse die nächsten Wochen sorgen:

"Standard Graphite CEO Chris Bogart ist in der kommenden Woche in Europa auf einer Road Show unterwegs.."

Das Interesse von Institutionellen und größeren Investoren dürfte durch diese Road Show maßgeblich zunehmen! 

 

Standard Graphite released vielversprechende Ergebnisse von den elektromagnetischen Gutachten auf dem Black Donald Projekt:

• Sie entdecken u.a. zwei größere Adern, welche auf signifikante Graphit-Mineralisierungen schließen lassen (siehe EM Map unten)
• Das Black Donald Projekt umschließt quasi nahe zu die historische Black Donald Mine: Nordamerika's ehemals wertvollste und größte Graphit-Mine, welche zu den aktiven Zeiten für mehr als als 90% von Ontario's Graphit-Produktion verantwortlich war; in den letzten 10 Jahren förderte man aus der Mine Erz mit Graphit-Gehalten von 25-30%
• Standard Graphite erwirbt aufgrund der guten Resulate der elektromagnetischen Gutachten, weitere claims, die an das Black Donald Projekt angrenzen
• Die 2 großen, indizierten Adern liegen in einem 10km langen Korridor im nördlichen Teil des Projektes, der 5km durchgehend mineralisiert ist
• Die hohen EM-Werte auf dem nördlichen Korridor lassen auf signifikante Graphit-Mineralisierungen schließen, welche schon knapp unter der Erdoberfläche beginnen könnten

Der CEO ist mit den Ergenissen ebenfalls sehr zufrieden, das nächste Programm auf dem Black Donald Mine Projekt wird schon vorbereitet. Sie planen mit dem ersten Bohrprogramm im Sommer 2012 zu starten, dann wird es erst richtig spannend werden. Standard ist voll auf Kurs und hat große Chancen, die nächste bedeutende Graphit-Discovery in Kanada zu erreichen.

Die news wird fürs Erste auch an der Börse gut aufgenommen:

March 26, 2012

Standard Graphite Completes Successful EM Survey at Black Donald and Secures Strategic Claims

Vancouver, B.C. - March 26, 2012 - Standard Graphite Corp. (TSXV: SGH) (the "Company") is pleased to report that it has identified two very large conductors through its recently completed EM Survey performed in January over its Black Donald Property, located some 140 km due east of Ottawa, Ontario. Additionally, the company has acquired additional claims in the Black Donald area following the interpretation of the airborne TDEM survey to secure the important claims that were associated with these newly identified conductors.

The survey highlighted two very long parallel and well-defined conductors lying North of Black Donald Lake; these appear to replicate the trend of the former Black Donald Mine. Some historical graphite occurrences are associated with these conductors that confirm the significance of this discovery. The trend is discontinuous and bends northward at its eastern edge, terminating in the Coronation Resources occurrence. Drilling in 1982 had produced very encouraging results of up to 5.80% Cg over widths up to 32ft (Storey, C.C. and Vos M.A., Industrial Minerals from the Pembroke - Renfrew Area, Part 2, Ontario Geological Survey, Mineral Deposits Circular 22, 1981).

 Please click the following link for the EM Map for Black Donald:
http://www.standardgraphite.com/i/pdf/BDonald.pdf

These results prompted the company to extend the claim blocks by acquiring adjacent properties totaling ~ 500 ha. with the following terms:

Upon signing a Binding Agreement, C$5,000 and 15,000 common shares; 12 months from TSX approval, $10,000 and 20,000 common shares; 24 months from TSX approval, $15,000 and 25,000 common shares; 36 months from TSX approval, $50,000.

Chris Bogart, President and CEO states: "Standard is excited about this new acquisition and our excellent EM results. The project is now consolidated and the company is confident that this survey has greatly improved our ability to prioritize targets. We can now start the implementation of the next phase of work, a field reconnaissance program scheduled for April, 2012".

The Black Donald Property surrounds the now flooded Black Donald Mine that produced high purity graphite between 1895 and 1950, and that was reputedly one of the richest graphite deposits in the world. This property is the largest of the three (3) claim blocks optioned by Standard Graphite for the acquisition of a 100% interest (see press release November 21 2011). It covers approximately 9500 ha. and is underlain by Grenvillian gneisses, favorable host rocks for graphite. During the month of January 2012, an airborne TDEM survey, consisting of 1492 line kilometres, was conducted by Prospectair Geosurveys over the properties located in Ontario to evaluate the extent of the known occurrences and help in the discovery of new mineralization.

Antoine Fournier, P. Geo., manages Standard's exploration and development programs and is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. He supervised the preparation of the technical information in this release.

Black Donald Mine, EM Map:

 

Quelle: http://www.standardgraphite.com/s/news.asp?ReportID=514121

 

 

 

 

Ein neues informatives Interview mit Bob Moriarty - u.a. über den Graphit-Sektor - wurde gestern online gestellt:

http://graphitestocksblog.agoracom.com/2012/03/26/...d-for-500-gains/

Reminder: Bob Moriarty hat Standard Graphite (damals Orocan Resources) bereits Ende 2011 empfohlen.

 

As such, when someone like Bob Moriarty speaks, it behooves all of us to listen.  So what did we talk about today?

1. Why the explosion of interest, investment and growth in new graphite mine development? Is it for real?

2. Why graphite is an analog of oil.

3. Why the present ratio of the XAU (Philly Gold and Silver Index) over gold almost guarantees a 500% return on gold shares over the next two years.

4. Why the banking system is going to collapse / The implications of $708 trillion dollars in derivatives.

5. Middle East tension

This was a great interview.  One of the best we’ve had with a major market commentator, which have included the likes of  Eric Sprott, JF Tardif, Barry Ritholtz , Paul Kedrosky and Eric Coffin.  What made it one of our better ones? Though I agree with much that Bob had to say, I challenged him by playing Devil’s Advocate and arguing the case as presented by Wall Street and the mass media.  Though Bob didn’t budge and argued his case even harder, he was kind of enough to tell me how pleased he was with the interview.

The ultimate judge will be you, so listen in on the first few minutes and see if it carries you through to the fireworks at the end.

On behalf of myself and the entire listening audience, I want to thank Bob for taking time out of his Sunday to speak with us.

 

Standard Graphite bekommt heute eine weitere, ausgezeichnete Promotion - wieder einmal Mal von Chris Berry höchstpersönlich, nun in der aktuellen Ausgabe des Energy Reports (TER). Mr. Berry war u.a. auch bei der 1. Graphit-Konferenz in Vancouver dabei und gilt als einer der Vorreiter in diesem Sektor. Das gesamte Interview ist absolut lesenswert!
 

Energy Metals Bonanza: Chris Berry

TICKERS: EFR, EUU; TGP, FMS, LI, NGC; NGPHF, RCK; RCKTF; RJIA, SGH, STM; STHJF, TLH, WLC; WLCDF

Source: Brian Sylvester of The Energy Report  (3/27/12)

It's a great time to be invested in energy metals, says Chris Berry, president and founder of House Mountain Partners. The current worldwide desire for a higher quality of life is a trend that will continue, argues Berry. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Berry highlights the amount of research and development underway in the tech and energy sectors and why it spells a bullish message for lithium, graphite and uranium..

..

TER: What are some plays that you're following?

CB: Northern Graphite Corporation (NGC:TSX; NGPHF:OTCQX) is a company that we've followed from before its initial public offering and still really like. It has extremely strong management that has experience in graphite mining. The metallurgy of its Bissett Creek property right off of the Trans-Canada Highway is very well understood, thanks to recent findings by the company as well as a great deal of historical work. Northern Graphite is well on its way to producing a bankable feasibility study in Q112 or Q212. It's a highly scalable resource that appears open in multiple directions and is likely to grow the overall tonnage. Bisset Creek demonstrates a low capital expenditure of CAD$70-80M and competitive cash costs of $1,000/t. Finally, Northern Graphite released successful pilot plant test results earlier this year, where results showed that more than 50% of the concentrate produced will be jumbo-size +48 mesh flake, averaging 97.7% graphitic carbon. All of this adds up to what I think will be a very high-margin business.

We also have been following Standard Graphite Corp. (SGH:TSX.V). Again, when we look at these types of companies, the first thing we look for is management. We would characterize this an incubator company and the CEO, Chris Bogart, has experience in the energy metals space. He ran Magnum Uranium Ltd., which was taken out by Energy Fuels Inc. (EFR:TSX). The vice president of exploration for Standard is Antoine Fournier, who was on the team that discovered the Lac Knife deposit, which is now the primary asset of Focus Metals Inc. (FMS:TSX.V). It has 100% ownership of 12 properties in Ontario and Quebec, all of which are early stage. There is no resource estimate on any of these properties, but several of its properties surround Bissett Creek and the Lac Knife deposit, so you can very loosely use what we know about those properties as a proxy for what the Standard Graphite properties might resemble with respect to grades and tonnage. Standard also owns properties near the Lac des Illes graphite mine currently owned by Timcal.

One of Standard's properties is also near a past-producing graphite mine in Ontario called Black Donald. This was a prolific producer of high-grade, large-flake graphite for many years. Having 12 wholly owned properties is a good thing. I view it as de-risking—in other words, you can conduct exploration on these properties and find the best resource(s) and move forward on it as opposed to putting all your chips in one basket and hoping that your single project is a world beater, when it might not be. The company is going to spend $5M this year on an exploration budget. It's conducting electromagnetic (EM) surveys right now on the properties and should have drill targets prioritized by this summer. The stock has moved upwards in tandem with other graphite plays this year, but I think it holds additional potential for upside pending results from its exploration program.

..

Quelle: http://www.theenergyreport.com/pub/na/12928

 

 

 

Die Road Show scheint bis dato ausgezeichnet zu laufen. Standard Graphite kann sich mit den fortgeschrittenen Graphit-Playern wie Focus Metals und Northern Graphite deutlich vom Gesamtmarkt absetzen und läuft heute, sowohl an der TSX-Venture, als auch an den deutschen Börsen, auf ein neues ATH.

Info von letzter Woche:

"Interessant auch folgender Fakt - das könnte für einige positive Kursimpulse die nächsten Wochen sorgen:

"Standard Graphite CEO Chris Bogart ist in der kommenden Woche in Europa auf einer Road Show unterwegs.."

Das Interesse von Institutionellen und größeren Investoren dürfte durch diese Road Show maßgeblich zunehmen!" 

 

 

Eine neue, informative Infoseite über den Graphit-Sektor: http://www.graphite-investor.com/  

Sehr informativer Artikel, den jeder Investor u. Interessent im Graphit-Sektor durchlesen sollte.

Riding the graphite bull

Andrew Topf | March 27, 2012 

Chris Berry, founder of Mountain Partners asset management company, provided an interesting summary of the graphite space while speaking at the recent Graphite Express Conference in Vancouver.

The conference featured a keynote address from Berry and 5-minute presentations from some of the key graphite explorers, including Zimtu Capital Corp., Northern Graphite, Lomiko Metals, Strike Graphite, Focus Metals, Graphite One Resources, First Graphite, and Standard Graphite. A similar conference followed in Toronto.

Investor interest in graphite has been growing. Last December saw the first graphite conference in London, UK presented by online journal Industrial Minerals.

The journal has a useful page on graphite and provides the following key facts on the mineral:

• graphite comes in three forms: amorphous, flake and vein/lump. Amorphous graphite contains 70-75% carbon and is the most common. Flake graphite is 85-90% carbon and is used for higher value applications like batteries. Vein/lump graphite is 90-96% carbon and is most valuable because it requires the least processing.
• graphite is used in refractories – used to line high-temperature equipment; pencils; lithium-ion batteries – used in consumer electronics and electric vehicles; fuel cells; and Pebble Bed nuclear reactors. It is used in foundries, lubricants and brake linings. Graphite is also used to produce graphene, a tightly packed single layer of carbon atoms that can be used to make inexpensive solar panels, powerful transistors, and even a wafer-thin tablet that could be the next-generation iPad.
• Graphene, extremely light and strong, has been called “the world’s next wonder material.”
• the closure of graphite mines in China, which produces 75% of the world’s graphite, has resulted in a fall in global graphite production to 1.3 million tonnes per annum in 2011. Like rare earths, China is restricting the export of graphite to protect its own domestic industries. The second largest producer is India, followed by Brazil, North Korea, Austria and Canada.
• Graphite exploration is focused in Canada, with eight companies exploring properties in Quebec and Ontario. Europe has a number of mothballed mines that could return to production.

Berry, a former Wall Street broker and co-publisher of the Morning Notes investment newsletter, presents the case for graphite as a key solution in solving the global dilemma of how to provide electrification to millions in the developing world, and as a critical metal for developing new battery and nuclear power technology.

What follows below are his key points:

• The United States, Europe and China have included graphite among a short list of critical metals.
• the US Geological Service estimates the graphite market to be 10 times the size of the market for rare earth elements. The graphite market is about the same size as the market for nickel. 60% of the market is amorphous graphite and 40% is flake graphite. Most of the growth is in flake graphite (see bullet point below)
• natural graphite can be processed to make synthetic graphite useful for high-value applications like lithium-ion batteries, but the process is expensive – $10,000 to $20,000/ton versus $3-4,000/t for flake graphite. The result is a race to find the best flake graphite deposits.
• graphite is different from gold, silver, copper, etc because users require a specific carbon purity level. “It’s security of supply that keeps you up at night,” says Berry.
• 33% of the graphite market produces refractories and crucibles (used in foundries); only 5% is for batteries. But the lithium-ion battery market is expected to grow by 25% a year.
• Three of the largest lithium-ion battery makers in the world, GS Yuasa Corp, LG Chem and Liotech, a consortium between Russia and China, are building the largest lithium-ion battery plant in the world, in Russia. “Just these three heavy hitters in the battery space are making multi-million dollar bets on the future of lithium-ion technology, which cannot push forward without graphite,” says Berry.
• future uses of graphite could include vanadium-redox batteries and hydrogen fuel cells. Graphite could also potentially replace silicon in microchips and silver used in solar panels.
• by 2020 world consumption of graphite will be 1.9m tonnes, which does not include graphite needed for batteries, fuel cells and Pebble Bed nuclear reactors.
• China will require 400,000 tonnes of large flake graphite for Pebble Bed nuclear reactors and lithium-ion batteries will require 327,000 tonnes. The current supply of large flake graphite is 400,000t, so there will be a need to double the supply of large flake graphite used in batteries and nuclear reactors in the next eight years. ”The takeaway is if you buy into the electrification thesis, and I’m halfway right, demand should easily outstrip supply,” says Berry.

Gary Economo, CEO of Focus Metals, also makes a number of useful points about graphite in his recently penned article in Proactive Investors USA & Canada. A select few appear below:

• If there is any doubt about graphite’s importance as a commodity, one only has to look at the trebling of market prices for 97% graphite concentrate during the last decade.
• Green, off-petroleum technologies are driving demand growth towards a market bubble that even a tsunami of new global production will be unable to deflate by 2020.
• Industrial Minerals reports that graphite prices between mid-2011 and the end of January 2012 appear to have stabilized after dropping through the end of last year.
• A current surplus of product in the world market and end-user depletion of stockpiles contributed to the downturn.
• The United States produces no graphite and is 100% dependent on imports to meet its industrial and technology needs. As a continental neighbor, it makes sense for Canada to look south first, then Europe and Asia as it builds its customer base. 

Quelle: http://www.mining.com/2012/03/27/riding-the-graphite-bull/

 

Graphite Content to be Twenty Times Greater than Lithium in Li-ion Batteries

The graphite content of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries could be up to twenty times greater than lithium in order to meet demand for electronic consumer products and, increasingly, to meet demand for electric vehicles. Indeed, electric cars, once hampered by heavy batteries, slow recharging times and low performance have been making remarkable progress thanks to Li-ion batteries. Graphite, and eventually graphene once the methods for mass producing this material are perfected, offer much greater conductivity, energy storage and recharging cycles than any other materials known such that graphite, which has mostly been used by the steel industry (still accounting for some 90% of demand), has become an indispensable item to fuel the modern consumer culture. Battery manufacturers now account for some 5% of total graphite flake production; nevertheless, the quality of flakes used by the steel industry is lower than what the battery industry requires. Larger flakes of increasing purity are being sought in order to meet the specifications of ever more powerful and smaller batteries.

China, which is the world’s largest producer of graphite, is stocking up on this material in order to prepare for what automobile industry analysts expect to be a surge in demand for electric and hybrid vehicles in the next few years. Their projections suggest that by 2025, a quarter of all automobiles worldwide will be electric. Electric car batteries require some 55 kg of graphite per unit in order to generate the performance now expected from electric vehicles. In addition, pebble-bed nuclear reactors (PBR), which are expected to become more popular thanks to their superior safety record as compared to conventional water cooled reactors. The PBR reactors use pyrolytic graphite pebbles as the moderator (the agent to reduce or absorb the high kinetic energy neutrons from the reaction to conserve energy), allowing for far more effective resistance to high temperatures, ensuring a higher degree of passive safety. A PBR reactor uses about 3,000 tons of graphite to start operating and 1,000 tons a year to continue running..

Quelle: http://www.graphiteblog.com/2012/03/...thium-in-li-ion-batteries.html

 

The Hottest Market is Graphite

GraphiteBlog broke our all-time high yesterday. Probably because this is the hottest sector to watch, so allow me to make a few points about its use and long-term demand. It seems the graphite sector is going the way of the rare earths and as graphite’s application’s become more prevalent it begs questioning about its potential role in national defense and security systems. With the US fully dependent on imports for meeting its own graphite demands and without viable alternatives -- can’t help but wonder about what will happen next in the graphite sector.

China has imposed a 20% export duty, a 17% value added tax (VAT) and an export licensing system in trying to control the graphite market, as it has done with rare earths. Additional tightening of the reins on graphite supply is also expected and this will push prices for graphite and particularly the flake kind even higher.

The European Commission, the British Geological Survey and the US State Department have all declared graphite as critical raw material based on its importance in traditional industries such as steelmaking alongside its importance to new and emerging technologies. A third factor is that China controls a large amount of the graphite industry and currently produces in excess of 70% of the world’s graphite supply -- this includes the majority of the supply for the amorphous and flake graphite markets. Graphite is also produced in India, Brazil, North Korea, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and Canada.

A press release dated June 17, 2010, on the Europa.eu website, the official website of the EU, titled Report Forecasts Shortages of 14 Critical Mineral Raw Materials states that “For the critical raw materials, their high supply risk is mainly due to the fact that a high share of the worldwide production mainly comes from a handful of countries: China (antimony, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite, indium, magnesium, rare earths, tungsten), Russia (platinum group metals), the Democratic Republic of Congo (cobalt, tantalum) and Brazil (niobium and tantalum). This production concentration, in many cases, is compounded by low substitutability and low recycling rates.”

The graphite market primarily includes three types of graphite: amorphous graphite, flake graphite and lump graphite. Each type occurs in different types of ore deposits. The many traditional and emerging uses of graphite have been detailed in various posts on GrahiteBlog already. However here’s a very brief rundown.

Historical applications include the use of graphite in pencils, steelmaking, brake linings, foundry facings and lubricants. These applications require mostly amorphous and lump graphite and the automotive and steel industries account for the majority of consumption. Graphite is used to augment to carbon content of steel and in turn it increases the strength of the steel and makes it capable of withstanding higher temperatures. It is estimated that the steel industry and the automotive industry grow by 5% per year.

The energy sector also requires graphite for pebble-bed nuclear reactors, lithium-ion batteries, fuel cells and photovoltaic panels. These applications are propelling the increased demand for high-grade, large-flake graphite and as green energy technologies become more economical and more prevalent the demand for graphite will also rise. Graphite is also key component of vanadium redox battery technology that requires 300 tonnes of flake graphite for 1,000 megawatts of storage. Production of the vanadium redox battery is expected to rise with the increase alternative energy such as wind and solar power. The combination of vanadium and graphite enable long-term storage or an unlimited capacity of excess energy and this technology is a solution to interrupted power production often associated with wind and solar energy.

Lithium ion batteries are widely used in consumer electronics like cell phones, laptops and power tools. These batteries are replacing nickel-metal-hydride batteries used in electric vehicles, electric motorcycles and scooters. Interestingly, the lithium-ion battery’s name does not reflect that fact they contain 20-times more graphite than lithium. Future demand for consumer electronics is also forecasted to increase and this will also increase the demand for graphite. It is estimated that the demand for graphite for use in lithium-ion batteries will grow 25% per year meaning that the production of lithium-ion batteries would require more than 1.6 million tonnes of high-grade flake graphite during the next decade. Considering that electric vehicle (EV) production is forecasted to grow to as much as 6 million units and that each EV requires 40 pounds of graphite, 240 million pounds of graphite will be needed to meet that demand.

The quality of flake graphite depends on grade and particle size. These factors also determine its price with most consumers of flake graphite preferring to use high-grade and large-flake in their products. For example amorphous graphite for steelmaking trades for about $850 per tonnes whereas flake graphite depending on the flake size is being sold for $2,000 to $3,000 per tonne.

The supply of graphite is not experiencing the same growth as its demand. A recent report by Canaccord states “Annual flake graphite production will have to increase by a factor of six by 2020 to meet incremental lithium carbonate requirements for batteries.” 

Quelle: http://www.graphiteblog.com/2012/03/...h-so-allow-me-to-make-a-f.html

 

Standard Graphite's Chart sieht überragend aus, nach Northern Graphite der Graphit-Wert mit der größten Dynamik im Kurs.

 

 

Graphene Ready for Commercialisation.

The Centre for Graphene Science has now got 44 researchers plus the same number again in post-docs and PhD students.

Graphene is now ready for commercialisation, according to the presenters at the Centre for Graphene Science, a cooperative effort by the Universities of Bath and Exeter in the southwest of England. They are probably right, although the jump from lab to industrial application to products in High Street stores is usually easier said than done.  

My best guess is that apart from some touch screen consumer electrics, where some graphene products are just starting to come on to the market we are probably still a couple of years away before we see graphene products really start to intrude into our lives. Early contenders are in the Lithium-ion batteries needed for electric vehicles, and for megawatt grid storage projects to tame the intermittency aspect of wind and solar energy production. In time they could also store the non peak-time output of all existing power stations, making the problems of peak electricity demand a thing of the past.  Other areas of relatively quick to market products, I suspect will be in chemical and biological sensors. Military and police needs for better mobile bomb detectors is an obvious priority, while better industrial, medical and water filtration systems is another. Commercialisation, one way or another is coming. Next decade, I suspect, we will all wonder how we got along before graphene. How did people live before electricity?

Below, coverage this week’s presentations.  

Graphene ready for commercialisation

David Manners Thursday 29 March 2012 

Graphene is ready for commercialisation, according to a series of presentations yesterday at the Centre for Graphene Science set up by the Universities of Bath and Exeter.

Graphene may not be the wonder material which solves all the world’s problems but it has some compelling applications. It even has some claims to be a wonder material.

"As an electrical conductor at room temperature it is at least a factor of 10 better than silicon," said Professor Simon Bending of Bath University, "its thermal conductivity is 100 times more than copper; its optical properties are pretty wacky too – a single atomic graphene layer absorbs a remarkable 2.3% of incident light over a broad range of wavelengths; and it is the strongest material ever tested – 40 times stronger than steel and even stronger than diamond – it can be stretched 25% and still stays intact."

What’s more, according to Saverio Russo of Exeter University, GrapheXeter can be transparent – becoming more transparent the longer the wavelength of the light. It is also flexible, said Russo, and could be used to help with the scaling of resistive memory – providing memories that are dense, fast, flexible, transparent, bio-compatible, and robust with no end-of-life problems.

"Graphene is the only two-dimensional conducting membrane in nature," said David Horsell from Exeter University, "it is optically transparent, strong, flexible, stretchable and impermeable." No gas, not even helium, seeps through graphene.

Horsell is looking at sensors as being a rich area for graphene applications. Putting molecules of material on a graphene surface and measuring the effect demonstrates the extreme sensitivity of a graphene surface to other materials. "It can detect mechanically as well as thermally," said Horsell, "we can use that to make a sensor."

It can also be used in rapid DNA sequencing. 

Quelle: http://www.graphiteblog.com/2012/03/...y-for-commercialisation-1.html

 

Nach meinen Berechnungen hinsichtlich der monatlichen burn rate und dem Kassenbestand dürfte Standard Graphite im April die nächste Finanzierung bekannt geben. Der Ausgabekurs dieser Finanzierung wird wichtig werden, da die Haltefrist des letzten Private Placements (von Dezember 2011) auslaufen wird. Meines Erachtens wird der PP-Kurs das neue Fundament für die nächste Rally bilden. Aufgrund der hervoragenden Entwicklung des Aktienkurs, wird Standard maßgeblich die Verwässerung schonen können. 

 

Genial!

 

 

March 30, 2012, 2:48 a.m. EDT

Standard Graphite Corp. Identified as 'Best of Breed' - EM Surveys Affirm Significant Large-Flake Graphite Resource Potential

Mar 30, 2012 (ACCESSWIRE-TNW via COMTEX) -- Standard Graphite Corp. CA:SGH
+8.22% DARDF +7.71%   is living up to its 'Best of Breed' designation; the Company  was identified in a BNN interview at PDAC earlier this month by James West, Portfolio Advisor to the Midas Opportunity Fund, as his #1 selection in the graphite space. The 'Best of Breed' designation appears warranted as SGH.V has a tight share structure, is guided by some of the most accomplished individuals in the mining sector, and possesses 12 graphite projects in Quebec and Ontario amenable to major discovery with plans underway to drill to resource the top prospect evidencing grade, flake distribution, purity, and tonnage. This week SGH.V released successful airborne electromagnetic (EM) survey results, identifying large conductors, on its Black Donald graphite property which strategically surrounds the past producing Black Donald Graphite Mine in Ontario. Shares of SGH.V, now trading near 72 cents (under CDN$16M market cap), appear to only just be the start of significant upside revaluation in store for the Company as the current market cap appears disproportionately low relative to the immense inherent value of the large-flake graphite projects now being advanced. 

The latest updates on Standard Graphite and its properties are profiled in a Mining MarketWatch Journal review available at  http://www.miningmarketwatch.net/sgh.htm  online.

Standard Graphite Corp. presents one of the strongest opportunities in the market for investors seeking exposure to the large flake graphite sector. SGH.V offers advantages for investors serious about exposure to the sector that others cannot, it stands far above others in its class in terms of key criteria an investor should concern themselves with before being involved with any graphite exploration and development mining company; 1) people, 2) breadth of quality projects amenable to large flake, high purity graphite deposits, and 3) share structure.

SGH.V was founded and is guided by some of the most accomplished individuals in the mining sector and their decision to enter the large flake graphite sector early in 2011 was made ahead of the curve, allowing them to secure some of the most prospective properties in Canada with the aid of an experienced geologist that specializes in graphite (something rare in the business and that few, if any, others in the graphite exploration sector have). SGH.V's geologist was part of the geologic team responsible for the discovery of Focus Metals' Lac Knife graphite deposit. SGH.V's geologist set about selecting properties for geological characteristics amenable to a major graphite discovery in geographic settings amenable to open pit mining. Other companies in the sector typically only have 1 - 3 prospects, SGH.V has 12 graphite projects (all 100% owned) in Quebec and Ontario, all within known graphite districts. SGH.V is employing a tiered exploration process whereby each stage increases in detail to filter the 12 projects down to top candidates from which one will be chosen as a flagship property that it will take to resource. At each stage of exploration a re-rating and re-ranking of the properties will occur, a methodical process that mitigates risk and maximizes the probability of achieving the desired outcome of drilling to resource the top prospect evidencing grade, flake distribution, purity, and tonnage.

The breadth of properties SGH.V has in its portfolio gives it additional derisking as it need not be forced to make one project work, it has choice. SGH.V is only looking at projects that are amenable to large flake graphite, only open pit targets, and they must have the parameters that will be needed for a viable graphite deposit. In Ontario their properties are located in the Ottawa Valley proximal to Northern Graphite's Bisset Creek mine (the best known near term large flake production story) and the Kearney mine of Ontario Graphite. In Quebec SGH.V has properties near Timcal's Lac des Iles (Canada's largest graphite producer) and Focus Metals' LacKnife.

By the end of March 2012 EM surveys will have been completed on a majority of SGH.V's properties, after which the data will be analyzed for a ground sampling and trenching program. The properties will be re-ranked again after the ground work and short listed for exploration. A small drill program on a handful of targets will then set up for the selection of a flagship to take to resource -- exhibiting the best grade, flake distribution, purity, and tonnage.

The full Mining Journal review may be found at  http://www.miningmarketwatch.net/sgh.htm  online. 

Quelle: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/...ite-resource-potential-2012-03-30

 

Researchers theorize cold compression of graphite results in new superhard carbon allotropes

March 30, 2012 (Source: PhysOrg) -- Researchers in China have used math calculations to predict that under cold compression, two new carbon allotropes may be formed. In their paper pre-published on arXiv, the team describes how the two new allotropes would have a hardness factor somewhere between graphite and diamond..

http://www.graphiteblog.com/2012/03/...perhard-carbon-allotropes.html

 

das wäre ja dann nicht gerade gut für graphite oder ?  

Denke schon, da die Nachfrage die nächsten Jahrzehnte massiv zunehmen wird. Die jüngsten Schätzungen gehen davon aus, dass ca. 40 neue Graphit-Minen mit einer Produktion von rund 20.000 Tonnen Graphit-Konzentrat jährlich die nächsten Jahre benötigt werden, um die Nachfrage befriedigen zukönnen.

Man muss bei diesen Versuchsprojekten in China auch beachten, dass sie noch in der Entwicklungsphase sind, und weiter sollte man nicht die hohen Energiekosten vergessen, die für ein solches Verfahren anfallen. Aufgrund der immer höheren Energiepreise, könnte sich dieses Verfahren demnach schon bald selber "erledigen".  

jetzt erst die tage ein wenig im forum gelesen, denke sobald ich wieder flüssig bin werde ich mir eine graphitaktie zulegen.

hast du ggf eine kleine liste, von aussichtsreichen unternehmen? habe aktuell eher focus im auge - hatte darüber gelesen, dass die wohl die "beste" mine weltweit haben

was muss man auch bei der im thread genannten mine wissen / beachten?  

Alles klar. Dann solltest du erst mal alles in Ruhe durchlesen und es auf dich wirken lassen.

Deine Fragen beantworten ich sehr gerne in den nächsten Tagen, spätestens bis Anfang nächster Woche. Werde dir auch bzgl. Focus Metals eine umfassende Antwort liefern, verweise hier auch auf den Thread von Focus Metals, in dem du auch einige ausführliche Posts und Stellungsnahmen von mir finden wirst. Ansonsten nur zu mit weiteren Fragen, werde alle versuchen bei Gelegenheit zu beantworten

Nur mal vorne weg: 90% der Graphit-Explorer sind reine Mitläufer, die auf den fahrenden Express aufgesprungen sind. Nur ganz wenige Unternehmen werden langfristig erfolgreich sein, und zu diesen wird Standard Graphite gehören.

Fokus sollte auf die kanadischen Vorreiter gelegt werden: Northern Graphite und Focus Metals, da die beiden mit Flinders Resources bereits nächstes Jahr in Produktion gehen können, und demnach schon mittelfristig von den hohen Graphit-Preisen signifikant profitieren werden.

Schönes Wochenende!