GRAPHITE: Northern Graphite creates spherical coating procedure

ONTARIO – Northern Graphite Corp. of Ottawa has successfully developed and tested a spherical graphite (SPG) coating process. The company says such material can command prices from $3,500 per tonne uncoated to over $10,000 per tonne for coated SPG used in the lithium ion battery industry.

The graphite comes from the Bissett Creek project, halfway between Ottawa and North Bay, ON. The large flake graphite exhibits a unique pristine crystal structure that requires little or no thermal processing.

Currently China produces all the natural uncoated SPG, but the largest cost in manufacturing is the low yield during rounding. The Chinese product is purified to 99.95% C using hydrofluoric and sulphuric acid, a process that requires extensive treatment of the waste stream. Flake graphite production has fallen from 565,000 tonnes in 2011 to 375,000 tonnes in 2013 due to mine closures, and the market for lithium ion batteries, especially in electric vehicles, continues to grow. Northern Graphite hopes to fill a need by offering low cost SPG.

Learn more at NorthernGraphite.com.