INTERVIEW: Volt Resources focuses on high purity graphite as Chinese export restrictions hit supply

Volt Resources is preparing to ramp up graphite production across its global project portfolio as it seeks to capitalize on the latest restrictions on Chinese graphite exports, CEO Prashant Chintawar told S&P Global Commodity Insights in a recent interview.

Reflecting on a busy 12 months for the company, Chintawar said Volt Resources is expanding its customer base as growing supply fears, sparked by China's Ministry of Commerce's decision to impose export restrictions on certain types of artificial and natural flake graphite from the country, have increased demand for alternative sources of mined and processed material.

"We are definitely seeing more inquiries from customers -- even in North America -- who are processing graphite for industrial applications," he said.

Chintawar said China's export restrictions had boosted demand for alternative sources of graphite. In response, Volt is now focusing on strengthening its production of higher-value, high-purity graphite products.

The Australian-listed company currently holds a 70% interest in the Zavalievsky graphite mine in Ukraine and is steadily advancing the development of its wholly-owned Bunyu Graphite Project in Tanzania.

Chintawar said the Zavalievsky mine, Ukraine's only natural graphite mining company and one of the largest known deposits in Europe, remains focused on fulfilling current and new sales orders from existing inventory and advancing research and development of ultra-high purity (99.95%) graphite products. He added that Zavalievsky would consider recommencing operations after the winter shutdown, depending on customer demand and price.

"Zavalievsky has been traditionally providing graphite to customers in Europe, Japan and South Korea, but China's export restrictions shall help us expand our customer base to new markets like North America and India," he said.

Mining operations at Zavalievsky were suspended after Russia advanced into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Although operations resumed in August 2022, continuous shift operations have been disrupted by various issues, including a lack of staff.

Chintawar said that Zavalievsky continues to outperform expectations despite ongoing supply chain issues associated with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In November, Volt reported that Zavalievsky's graphite production reached 638 mt from the start of the production campaign on Oct. 14 to Nov. 10, exceeding the company's official target of 550 mt.

He added that the business is continuing to engage with European agencies about the potential for new funding opportunities on top of the Eur600,000 ($624,850) grant awarded in May 2023 under the Horizon Europe program.

Volt is also progressing with the development of its large wholly-owned Bunyu Graphite Project. Chintawar said the company continues to make progress on securing financing for Stage 1 of the project, stating that it is in discussion with several potential investors. Volt released a Stage 1 feasibility study in August 2023 based on a mining and processing plant throughput of 400,000 mt/year of ore and total production of about 24,780 mt/year of graphite products.

The company has secured a binding offtake agreement with battery anode material producer Graphex Group for the sale of 7,500-10,000 mt/year of fine graphite from Bunyu for a period of five years from the start of production with an option to extend.

Bunyu will also supply China's Qingdao Baixing Graphite with 12,000-90,000 mt/year of coarse flake graphite for five years with an option to extend.

With Stage 1 offtake now allocated, Chintawar said the major focus is to move the project from the planning phase through to full-scale commercial production.

He said that while Volt is in discussions with several government agencies about potential funding for Bunyu, the company is not ready to announce any binding agreements.

In the US, Volt is seeking to establish a downstream processing footprint with plans to construct a graphite refinery in Tuscaloosa, Alabama capable of producing around 10,000 mt/year of high and ultra-high purity (99.95%) graphite.

Chintawar said the company is steadily advancing its project having recently identified a 33-acre site for the refinery. He added that the company is now focusing on securing the site and will negotiate with state and local government around a potential incentives package.

According to Chintawar, Volt's graphite purification process offers significant cost and quality advantages over conventional methods like thermal purification and the hydrofluoric acid purification process widely utilized in China.

"This graphite refinery is the foundation for our patent-pending process where we can convert conventional flake graphite into high-purity 99.95% graphite required for high-end applications like lithium-ion batteries," he said.

He added the company is in discussions with several customers across a wide range of industries.

With financing expected to be finalized by the third quarter of 2025, Chintawar said the company expects to start planning, designing, and constructing this refinery during the second half of 2025 with the start of production expected around late 2027.

Platts, part of Commodity Insights, assessed natural flake graphite at $415/mt FOB China Jan. 28, unchanged from Jan. 27 but up $10/mt week over week. The price reflects the spot value of natural flake graphite with 94%-95% carbon content and minus 100 mesh size delivered to the Qingdao port.