High Potential for the Discovery of a Flake Graphite Deposit
Concerns about whether there will be enough batteries for the many electric vehicles that will soon be driving on our roads have already caused the lithium price to rise sharply twice in recent years. Investors have overlooked the fact that while car batteries do indeed require a lot of lithium, the need for graphite is even greater. E-Power Resources (CSE: EPR / WKN / A3CL8W / FRA 8RO) is striving to secure this demand in the long term. To this end, the company is developing the Tetepisca project, a first-class graphite property in the Canadian province of Quebec.
The battery of each electric vehicle contains between 50 and 100 kilograms of graphite, depending on its size. The problem is that more than 70 percent of the graphite needed worldwide currently comes from the People’s Republic of China. Western countries must therefore build their own deposits and processing plants in the coming years if they do not want to become permanently dependent on China for this battery material as well.
E-Power Resources has set out to do its part to close this gap as quickly as possible, as the company is developing graphite deposits in the Canadian province of Quebec. Compared to other competitors, the company has the advantage of operating not only in a legally secure but also in a very mining-friendly Canadian province. And this advantage is crucial in times when approval procedures are becoming increasingly difficult and already represent one of the biggest challenges for mine developers.
E-Power Resources is primarily focused on its flagship Tetepisca project. It is located in the North Shore region about 300 kilometers north of the city of Baie-Comeau and is part of the Tetepisca Graphite District (TGD), which has total reserves of 4.7 million tons with an average grade of 27.8% graphite and measured and indicated resources of > 100 million tons with an average grade of 14% graphite!
A large part of this was proven by E-Power Resources’ neighbor Nouveau Monde Graphite, but E-Power Resources is the largest claim holder in the entire Tetepisca Graphite District!
High Potential for the Discovery of a Flake Graphite Deposit
E-Power Resources aims to discover and develop flake graphite deposits on its Tetepisca project. The location of the project is extremely favorable for this, as large parts of the resource are part of the Nault Formation. This is a sequence of highly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks that is geologically considered extremely advantageous.
The known graphite mineralization also correlates directly with zones of high conductivity from previous airborne electromagnetic surveys. Potentially economic graphite grades and thicknesses were also identified in historical work. Furthermore, the grades of carbon in the form of graphite in the samples are comparable to the resource grades in the district.
For all these reasons, E-Power Resources is convinced that the potential for the discovery of a flake graphite deposit on the Tetepisca project is very high. This is, of course, supported by the company’s exploration results to date. Whether samples from 2019 to 2021, the results of the Mag-EM surveys from 2022, or the drilling results from 2023 – everything already points to exceptionally high graphite grades.
Extraordinary Success in 2024
This was particularly confirmed in the 2024 season. Just at the beginning of October, E-Power again attracted attention with the discovery of new zones of graphite mineralization, defined by a series of samples with up to 37% graphite (Cg = graphitic carbon)! And already in the summer, the company led by CEO James Cross had demonstrated 34.8% Cg in samples from newly discovered graphite rock trends.
Tetepisca Graphite District VTEM Conductivity Map
Promising Results from Advanced Exploration
In 2024, E-Power also collected 1,037 kilograms of material in four bulk samples from three graphite outcrops. Field duplicate samples of 2 to 3 kilograms each, taken at each of the bulk sample excavation sites, yielded graphite values that match or even exceed the average Cg content of deposits in the Tetepisca district (approx. 14%)!
The ongoing work on these samples includes mineralogical studies using reflected and transmitted light petrography and a scanning electron microscope, as well as metallurgical test work. The preliminary mineralogical results document the frequent occurrence of large to giant graphite flakes that are free of inclusions. The results of the metallurgical test work include graphite concentrates with purity levels of 96.5% and 96.4%!
This material, produced in collaboration with partner Volt Carbon, is intended to be sent to battery manufacturers who can then conduct tests to determine if the product is suitable for their purposes. Later, subject to approval, a large 30-ton sample will be taken, providing E-Power with a stock of material that can be processed into graphite concentrate on demand and made available to battery manufacturers for testing.
Advantage Flake Graphite
Flake graphite occurs as isolated, flat, plate-like carbon particles with hexagonal or angular edges. It is found in metamorphic rocks such as marble, gneiss, and schist, and is either evenly distributed throughout an ore body or occurs in concentrated, lens-shaped pockets. Today, flake graphite is one of the most sought-after types of graphite, primarily due to its use in the automotive industry.
Important for investors is that flake graphite can also be used for applications other than lithium-ion batteries. Although flake graphite is a key component in lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, its use is by no means limited to the production of car batteries.
The example of the Nissan Leaf demonstrates how important flake graphite is for the automotive industry. Its battery requires 55 kg of graphite. This graphite doesn’t fall from the sky. It must either be mined or can alternatively be produced synthetically. The synthetic production of flake graphite from petroleum coke, a byproduct of oil refineries, is possible in principle.
However, the process is complex and expensive as it requires high temperatures. In addition to the high costs, the inevitable negative environmental impacts also argue against synthetic production. Therefore, in our opinion, synthetic graphite production is currently not a good alternative to extracting flake graphite from nature.
Car Manufacturers Are Installing Larger Batteries
The chosen example of a Nissan Leaf is still quite favorable in terms of resource requirements. For 2020, the ADAC calculated that the production of a 50 kWh battery for an electric car requires 6 kg of lithium, 10 kg of manganese, 11 kg of cobalt, 32 kg of nickel, and 100 kg of graphite. However, the current trend is towards larger batteries and thus greater vehicle range.
Tesla’s Model 4 RWH has a 60 kWh battery, which means a graphite requirement of over 100 kg, and since 2023, Nissan offers the Nissan Leaf in the USA with either a 40 kWh battery or a 60 kWh battery, increasing the graphite requirement per battery to 80 to 120 kg depending on the type.
In 2021, China brought 63% of the global graphite supply to market. This made the Middle Kingdom’s graphite production higher than that of other countries, followed by Madagascar (8%), Brazil (7%), Mozambique (7%), and India (5%). Canada produces less than 1% and the USA produces no graphite at all. In 2023, China produced 77% of all natural graphite worldwide!
Conclusion: Due to the booming global market for electric vehicles, despite short-term slowdowns, the industry expects further exponential growth in graphite demand. Experts at Fastmarkets predict that US graphite demand alone will increase by more than 600% to almost 700,000 tons by 2034! This clearly speaks in favor of E-Power Resources with its high-grade North American graphite projects, even though the company still has a lot of work ahead of it. Further arguments for investment would be the company’s tight capital structure with a high insider share, the existing, well-developed infrastructure of the district, and the legally secure and stable political environment. We are excited about E-Power Resources’ next steps and will stay tuned to this exciting story!
