With an increase in global demand for graphite, Australia has reopened its first operational graphite mine in 25 years, with two more reopenings set to follow.

The mines, owned by Australian minerals explorer Lincoln Minerals, are located on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, 30 km from the main town of Port Lincoln.

Making this common mineral increasingly popular and profitable are a booming world graphite-ore price, a slump in Chinese production and the recent discovery of new-age material graphene, which has led to this common mineral’s recent rise in popularity.

Graphene is pure carbon in the form of a thin, nearly transparent sheet, one atom thick.

Lincoln Minerals expects that there will be at least three mines operating in Australia by 2016, with each mine processing about 250 000 t of ore to create 35 000 t of graphite concentrate for export.

Lincoln Minerals MD Dr John Parker says graphene – which can be used in the manufacture of electronics – can pave the way for Australian manufacturing, adding that Lincoln Minerals is advanced in its plans to have a mine operating by 2016. “The graphite mines present an extremely exciting and positive time for all of South Australia.

“The creation of jobs for South Australians, royalties for the State government and the research possibilities for graphene all combine to create something special,” he says.

It is estimated that the boom could boost South Australian coffers by more than A$100-million in the next two years.

“The price for graphite spiked significantly about four years ago, jumping from A$700/t to A$3 000/t,” he notes, adding that the price has now settled at around A$1 250/t, which has made mining graphite financially attractive and viable again.

Lincoln Minerals’ operations will be based around Port Lincoln’s high-grade Kookaburra Gully graphite deposit and near the historic Koppio graphite mine, just north of Port Lincoln.

The concentrate will be exported in sealed 25 kg bags and consignments will likely be in 5 000 t parcels, requiring five to ten ship movements yearly, or through shipment with regular container traffic.

Parker proposed an initial start-up operation mining 250 000 t/y of ore, providing a mine life of between five and seven-and-a-half years. The openpit will be based on mining the existing known resource to 100 m below ground.

The deposit, however, remains open at depth and along strike, offering the potential to extend the mining life of the pit.

Studies have found that the Kookaburra Gully mining cost profile will be competitive with equivalent operations in Canada

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