Northern Graphite (TSX-V: NGC) has resumed processing ore at its Lac des Iles (LDI) mine in Quebec, North America’s only producing mine of the commodity, the company said on Friday.
The decision follows rising market demand after China curbed graphite exports last month. Some types of natural and man-made forms of graphite will require permits from Dec.1, the world’s top graphite producer said.
Graphite is used in the anodes, or negatively charged portion, of electric vehicle batteries.
The LDI mine and plant were placed on care and maintenance during the second and third quarters of this year, due to challenging market conditions and prices for its products. Northern Graphite continued to supply customers from stockpiled inventories during that time.
Sales at the mines increased more than 25% in the three months ending Sept. 30 to 2,587 tonnes from 2,016 tonnes in the previous quarter.
“What we saw starting in the third quarter was that customers were really coming off the sidelines to secure supply for the year after a hiatus in the first half,” CEO Hugues Jacquemin said in the statement.
The company has immediate capacity available to supply the market, Jacquemin said. Northern Graphite also has the ability to scale quickly thanks to its Okanjande mine in Namibia.
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