Leading Edge considers restarting Sweden graphite mine
TSX-V-listed Leading Edge Materials has said it is considering restarting production at its permitted and fully-built Woxna graphite mine, in Sweden, citing improved market conditions.
The mine and plant were restarted in 2014, but production was halted due to adverse market conditions at the time. During this time, the company has focused on developing a planned downstream process to produce upgraded graphite anode material for the lithium-ion battery industry.
However, improved market conditions for traditional flake graphite products have been recognised as an additional potential opportunity, with the asset offering a relatively short time to production compared with other graphite developers.
Citing an assessment by Fastmarkets, Leading Edge states that flake graphite prices in Europe are trading between $775/t and $1 395/t, depending on the flake size. This is about 40% higher than prices a year earlier.
The company notes that prices have been driven by growing demand with concurrent supply disruptions and soaring shipping costs. A mine in Sweden would have a key competitive advantage in that it would be possible to ship product by truck to potential customers.
“Owning one of the few built and permitted graphite mines in the western world, we are excited to be able to rapidly respond and benefit from the accelerating strength in flake graphite prices. With natural graphite being classified as a critical raw material by the European Union, it would also demonstrate Europe’s capability to disrupt its dependency on raw material supply from other regions,” said CEO Filip Kozlowski.
He added that restarting production at Woxna was seen as the first essential step towards the fully integrated production of graphite anode material, as laid out in the 2021 preliminary economic assessment.
A decision on whether to proceed with the restart of production would be announced “within a few months”.
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