TN 295 No. 9122 / \/W^\^ v*^V* \**^^y* "v^^v^ 0v \'^^\^ 2?' ° L . . „ ^ Q A V *b V v^ :* "I = .' -1 4* y .*££:% "W -^V °°^ '*'V** .0' VV ^•v v-o V^V V--V V*WV V-W*< iV^. o "V .Vk ^ A' <► ''••' , ^ 3 S ^ 'So' '++* :a&* %/ -^S*- \^ c ^ o*°.....\- / ->*....V^'/ \ .^ * TN295.U4 no. 9122 86-600225 TN295.U4 no. 9122 Fogg, Catharine T 001 050 TN295.U4 no. 9122 [TN845] 100 245 Flake and high crystalline graphite avai labi 1 i ty- -market economy countries : a minerals availability appraisal / by Catharine T. Fogg and Edward H. Boyle, Jr. 260 [Washington, DC?] : U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, [1987] 300 vi , 40 p. : i 1 1 . ; 28 cm. 490 Information circular ; 9122 504 Bibliography: p. 38. 086 I 28.27:9122 650 Graphite. 700 Boyle, Edward H. 830 Information circular (United States. Bureau of Mines) 9122. 082 622 s 338.2/726 19 040 DLC DLC DLC 005 19870428000000.0 aV ^ A> 'O, •<, ,**% O > x°7\ •>V o « o . ***- A > ** v % ^0« « ° «^) O, * L ,V ,* V /\ ^ ^ * o ; » ^V "oV* «*v * * o.^-' 4S ^ • % vP ^ .0' A^ V 'of • • > \ v / v . i ' » . ■&. rs? , o » o „ c a- V 3 * ,^'A>/^ v v • "V •/ \-^y %w/ v™*/ v™>" \ > ^ h " >0 ,^ • •P "3 A.* ^ ^ •: Bureau of Mines Information Circular/1987 Flake and High-Crystalline Graphite Availability— Market Economy Countries A Minerals Availability Appraisal By Catharine T. Fogg and Edward H. Boyle, Jr. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Information Circular 9122 tJJVtsti* , Ixsmu 4^j^ Flake and High-Crystalline Graphite Availability— Market Economy Countries A Minerals Availability Appraisal By Catharine T. Fogg and Edward H. Boyle, Jr. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Donald Paul Hodel, Secretary BUREAU OF MINES Robert C. Horton, Director As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural resources. This includes fostering the wisest use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish and wildlife, preserving the environment and cultural values of our national parks and historical places, and providing for the enjoyment of life through outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and mineral resources and works to assure that their development is in the best interests of all our people. The Department also has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people who live in island territories under U.S. administration. an q$ fM & Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fogg, Catharine T. Flake and high-crystalline graphite availability— market economy countries. (Information circular ; 9122) Bibliography: p. 38 Supt. of Docs. no. : I 28.27:9122 1. Graphite. I. Boyle, Edward H. II. Title. III. Series: Information circular (United States. Bureau of Mines) ; 9122. TN295.U4 [TN845] 622 s [338.2726] 86-600225 PREFACE The Bureau of Mines is assessing the worldwide availability of selected minerals of economic significance, most of which are also critical minerals. The Bureau identifies, collects, compiles, and evaluates information on producing, developing, and explored deposits, and mineral processing plants worldwide. Objectives are to classify both domestic and foreign resources, to identify by cost evaluation those demonstrated resources that are reserves, and to prepare analyses of mineral availability. This report is one of a continuing series of reports that analyze the availability of minerals from domestic and foreign sources. Questions about, or comments on these reports should be addressed to Chief, Division of Minerals Availability, Bureau of Mines, 2401 E St., NW., Washington, DC 20241. CONTENTS Page Preface iii Abstract 1 Introduction 2 Commodity overview 3 Types of graphite 3 Natural graphites 3 Flake graphite 3 High-crystalline graphite 3 Amorphous graphite 3 Synthetic graphites 3 Graphite uses and modern trends 3 Substitution 5 U.S. consumption and imports 5 World production 5 Graphite specifications and pricing 7 Specifications and grades 8 Ash and other impurities 8 Pricing structure 8 Identified and demonstrated resources 9 Africa 10 Madagascar 10 Manampotsy District identified resources . . 10 Manampotsy District demonstrated and evaluated resources 12 Resources in Ambtolampy and Ampanihy Districts 12 Zimbabwe 12 Asia 13 India 13 Republic of Korea 14 Sri Lanka 15 Europe 16 Federal Republic of Germany 16 Norway 16 North America 16 Canada 16 Mexico 19 Page United States 19 Alaska 19 New York 20 Pennsylvania 20 Texas 20 Alabama 20 Summary, U.S. flake graphite resources ... 22 South America (Brazil) 22 Summary, evaluated MEC demonstrated resources 22 Methodology and price proportioning 23 Mining methods and costs 24 Producers 24 Nonproducers 26 Beneficiation methods and costs 26 Producers 26 High-crystalline graphite operations 26 Flake graphite operations 26 Nonproducers 28 Total costs of production 29 Producing mines 30 Nonproducing deposits 30 Transportation costs to ports or markets 31 Capital costs, nonproducing deposits 31 Availability analyses 32 Graphite A 32 Total availability 32 Annual availability 33 Graphite B 33 Total availability 33 Annual availability 35 Summary and conclusions 37 References 38 Appendix A. - Sensitivity analyses: Economics of Alabama flake graphite deposits 39 Appendix B. - Major CPEC graphite producers ... 40 ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Consumption of natural graphite in the United States, 1983 6 2. U.S. imports for consumption of natural graphite, 1983 6 3. World production of natural graphite, 1983 7 4. Location of major graphite "lines" and districts, Madagascar 11 5. Location of evaluated deposits in the Manampotsy District, Madagascar 11 6. Location of graphite belts in India 13 7. Republic of Korea: A, Outline of major geologic complexes; B, location of flake graphite deposits 14 8. Location of high-crystalline graphite deposits in Sri Lanka 15 9. Location of natural graphite areas, occurrences, and deposits in Canada and the United States 17 10. Location of flake graphite areas and deposits in southern Quebec, southeastern Ontario, New York, and Penn- sylvania and of the Rhode Island meta-anthracites 18 11. Location of the graphite belt in Alabama 21 12. Total demonstrated resources, recoverable graphite A, and recoverable graphite B, by status and mine type 25 13. Simplified plan and cross section of a typical mine in Madagascar 26 14. Simplified flowsheet for a typical Madagascar operation 27 15. Weighted-average production costs for total graphite products, by individual property 29 16. Total graphite A potentially recoverable from producing mines and nonproducing deposits 32 17. Potential annual availability of graphite A from producing mines and nonproducing deposits 34 18. Total graphite B potentially recoverable from producing mines and nonproducing deposits 35 19. Potential annual availability of graphite B from producing mines and nonproducing deposits 36 VI TABLES 1. Evaluated graphite properties and associated production status and ownership 2 2. Types of natural graphite, summary data 4 3. Types of synthetic graphite, summary data 4 4. Consumption of natural graphite in the United States, by use, 1978 and 1983 5 5. U.S. imports for consumption of flake graphite, 1980-83 6 6. World production of natural graphite, by country 7 7. U.S. national stockpile specifications for Madagascar flake graphite, circa 1970 8 8. Market specifications for flake graphite, showing permissible tolerances, circa 1964 8 9. Selected, published graphite prices, 1984 9 10. Graphite prices, f.o.b. source, 1979-84 9 11. Identified and demonstrated MEC resources of flake and high-crystalline graphite, by country, 1984 .... 10 12. Demonstrated resources of evaluated graphite properties, Manampotsy District, Madagascar, 1984 12 13. Flake graphite resources in India of probable economic significance 14 14. Demonstrated flake graphite resources of the Republic of Korea 15 15. Flake graphite deposits of possible future significance, southeastern Ontario and southern Quebec, Canada 19 16. Flake graphite production data for the United States, 1889-1977 19 17. Tonnage assignments to individual proposed milling units, Alabama graphite area 22 18. Estimates of identified and demonstrated U.S. resources of flake graphite ore 22 19. Comparison of feed capacities and weighted-average mill operating costs for producing flake graphite mills, by market groupings 27 20. Specifications for Madagascar graphite products 27 21. Graphite concentrate grades during various stages of flotation for producing flake graphite milling operations 28 22. Range, weighted-average, and component percentages of total costs, by country or geographic area 30 23. Total capital cost estimates for nonproducing flake graphite properties, selected countries 31 24. Annual ore capacity, total recoverable demonstrated resources, and total recoverable graphite products, by country and status 33 A-l. Summary of sensitivity analyses for economics of Alabama flake graphite deposits, at a 15-pct DCFROR 39 UNIT OF MEASURE ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT °c degree Celsius Mmt million metric tons cm centimeter mt metric ton g gram mt/d metric ton per day ha hectare mt/m 3 metric ton per cubic meter kg kilogram mt/yr metric ton per year km kilometer pet percent km 2 square kilometer St short ton m meter st/yr short ton per year min minute $/mt dollar per metric ton mm millimeter wt pet weight percent ^m micrometer yr year FLAKE AND HIGH-CRYSTALLINE GRAPHITE AVAILABILITY- MARKET ECONOMY COUNTRIES A Minerals Availability Appraisal By Catharine T. Fogg 1 and Edward H. Boyle, Jr. 1 ABSTRACT The Bureau of Mines investigated the availability of flake and high- crystalline natural graphite from 4 domestic and 25 foreign mines and deposits in 11 market economy countries (MEC's). Demonstrated resources were estimated to be 95 million metric tons (Mmt) containing 5.61 Mmt of recoverable flake and high-crystalline graphite products. Fifty-five percent (3.17 Mmt) of the total recovered product is estimated to comprise plus 100-mesh (150-/jm) flake pro- ducts and "lump" and "chip" high-crystalline products, designated as "graphite A" in this study; 45 pet (2.44 Mmt) of the total is minus 100-mesh (150-/mi) flake products and "dust" high-crystalline products, designated as "graphite B." Total production costs, including all costs needed over the life of each operation, were determined at a 0- and 15-pct discounted-cash-flow rate of return (DCFROR) for both graphite A and graphite B products. For a 15-pct DCFROR, 1.74 Mmt (54.9 pet) of the graphite A products is available at $600/mt or less and 2.13 Mmt (67.2 pet) is available for $800/mt or less. For the same DCFROR, 1.08 Mmt (44.3 pet) of the graphite B is available at $200/mt or less, and 1.71 Mmt (70 pet) is available at $325/mt or less. No domestic resources were determined to be economic at present prices. A sensitivity analysis of the relative economics of the Alabama graphite deposits under various operational parameters is presented in an appendix. All evaluations are in January 1984 dollars. 'Physical scientist, Minerals Availability Field Office, Bureau of Mines, Denver, CO. INTRODUCTION Graphite, a mineral form of elemental carbon, occurs naturally as three basic types: flake, high-crystalline, and amorphous. All have a crystalline structure, though "amor- phous" graphite is a carbonaceous material with a very low degree of order in a microcrystalline structure. Synthetic graphites, which also are produced in three basic forms, have a higher degree of purity and lower crystallinity than natural graphites. They primarily serve different markets and are more expensive to produce than natural graphites, though there is some overlap in usage. This Bureau of Mines report focuses mainly on two of the three types of natural graphite: flake and high- crystalline. Resources of amorphous graphite are abundant worldwide, and the United States obtains most of its sup- ply from neighboring Mexico. U.S. national stockpile goals for strategic natural graphite do not include amounts for amorphous graphite. This report does include some data on amorphous production, and one large amorphous graphite property— the Lourdes operation in Mexico— was in- vestigated, but not included in the availability analysis. Identified resources of flake and high-crystalline natural graphite from 10 market economy countries (MEC's) 2 are 2 Market economy countries are defined as all countries that are not con- sidered centrally planned economy countries (CPEC's). Albania, Bulgaria, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Kampuchea, Laos, Mongolia, North Korea, Poland, Romania, the U.S.S.R., and Viet Nam are CPEC's. discussed in detail. The demonstrated resource tonnages analyzed for economics and availability in this study are limited to 16 Alabama flake graphite properties (which have been grouped into 4 proposed milling complexes for analysis), 21 foreign flake graphite properties, and 4 Sri Lankan high-crystalline, vein-type graphite properties. These deposits, along with their current status, mining methods, and ownerships, are summarized in table 1. In ad- dition, the text includes discussion of additional flake graphite properties in New York, Pennsylvania, and Alaska that were not included in the availability analyses. Because of the extreme price ranges for many different products available in the flake and high-crystalline graphite markets, it was necessary for economic analyses to classify each of the marketable products from the properties into one of two basic product categories, termed "graphite A" and "graphite B" for this study. Graphite A, as designated for this report, consists of the larger, more valuable plus 100-mesh (150-ptm) flake and plus 100-mesh "lump" and "chip" high-crystalline products. Graphite B, on the other hand, includes flake and "dust" high-crystalline products of minus 100-mesh size. The availability determinations obtained in this study can be used in the development of domestic minerals policy and mineral stockpile assessment. Table 1 .—Evaluated graphite properties and associated production status and ownership Continent, country, and property name Production Africa: Madagascar: Ambatomitamba P Andasifahatelo P Antsirakambo P Faliarano P Marovintsy P Sahamamy P Sahanavo N Tsaravoniany N Zimbabwe: Lynx Mine P Asia: India: Temrimal P Korea, Republic of: Gun Ja P Pyong Taek P Yong Un N Sri Lanka: Bogala P Kahatagaha-Kolongaha P Ragedera P Rangala P Europe: Germany, Federal Republic of: Kropfmuhl P Norway: Skaland P North America: Brazil: Itapecerica P Pedra Azul P Canada: Bouthillier N Deep Bay N Notre Dame Du Laus P Mexico: Telixtlahuaca Mine P United States: 3 Alabama Mill 1 N Alabama Mill 2 N Alabama Mill 3 N Alabama Mill 4 N 'N nonproducer, P producer. 2 S surface, U underground. 'Proposed milling complexes to receive ore feed from 16 individual proposed mines. Mining method 2 Ownership S S S/U S S/U s s s s s Soc. Miniere de la Grande lie. Soc. Arsene Louys et Compagnie. Etablissements Gallois. Etablissements R. Izouard. Etablissements Gallois. Etablissements Rostaing. Soc. Miniere de la Grande lie. Etablissments R. Izouard. I.D.C. Zimbabwe and Kropfmuhl A/G. Agrawal Graphite Industries. Dae Han Graphite Mining Co. Pyong-Taek Graphite Mining. Republic of Korea. Sri Lanka Government (SMMDC). Do. Do. Do. Grafitwerk Kropfmuhl A/G. Atlantic Richfield Co. CIA Nacional de Grafite, Ltd. Do. Orrwell Energy Corp., Ltd. Superior Graphite Co. Asbury Carbon, Inc. Mexican Government. International Carbon and Minerals. Various owners. Do. Do. COMMODITY OVERVIEW Graphite is a soft, black, naturally occurring form of car- bon with a hardness of 2 on the Moh's scale and a specific gravity between 2.1 and 2.3. It resists attack by chemical reagents, is infusible in most common fluxes, has high elec- trical conductivity and the fifth highest thermal conductiv- ity of any material, has a high melting point of 3,650° C, and has a low coefficient of friction. These properties have enhanced its use in the manufacture of crucibles, graphite- bonded magnesia refractory bricks, and graphite-alumina applications in the steel industry. Its high electrical con- ductivity is essential for use in the manufacturing of car- bon brushes for electric motors and of batteries. Its low coef- ficient of friction makes it suitable for use as a lubricant, in foundry facings, and as an ingredient in paint. TYPES OF GRAPHITE Natural Graphites In the graphite industry, natural graphite is classified into three types: flake, high-crystalline, and amorphous. These are subdivided into numerous grades for commercial purposes on the basis of such factors as graphite content, particle size, and types of impurities. Flake Graphite Flake graphite consists of isolated, flat, platelike par- ticles with angular, rounded, or irregular edges. It is usually found disseminated in layers or as lenses or pockets in metamorphic rocks. In some deposits, the flake graphite oc- curs as massive accumulations in veins, lenses, or podlike forms. It is thought to be derived from the metamorphism of methane and fine droplets of crude oil that have been disseminated throughout the sedimentary rocks prior to metamorphism. Historically, flake graphite has been produced in only a few countries— Madagascar, the United States, Federal Republic of Germany, Norway, Republic of Korea, India, and Canada— and there has been a low degree of inter- changeability between graphites of different origins. Thus, once a suitable grade for a particular application was found, the consumer tended to draw from that source only. Today, according to Industrial Minerals (l), 3 most consumers tend toward the blending of graphites from different sources in order to reduce their dependence on any particular source. As a result, new producing countries, such as China, Brazil, Mexico, and Zimbabwe, have entered the market within the last 10 to 20 yr. High-Crystalline Graphite High-crystalline (vein-type) graphite occurs in fissure veins, fractures, and other cavities in igneous or metamor- phic rocks, generally of Precambrian age. The graphite veins range from thin films to massive bodies more than 3 m thick, and the particle size ranges from fine grains to large lumps of up to 10-cm diam, though the most common sizes of final products are 5-cm diam and smaller. High- 3 Italic numbers in parentheses refer to items in the list of references preceding the appendixes at the end of this report. crystalline graphite is also thought to be formed from crude oil during metamorphism. The country of Sri Lanka has accounted for nearly all of the high-crystalline graphite produced in the past, although deposits are known in the United States (Montana) and in India and Brazil. The Sri Lankan deposits are estimated to average 95 pet graphite in situ, with ranges as high as 98 to 99 pet. The major consumption of high- crystalline graphite is in manufacturing carbon brushes, batteries, seals, and gaskets, with very minor use in refrac- tory and friction products. Amorphous Graphite Amorphous graphite is formed by the thermal metamor- phism of coal seams. Though actually crystalline in struc- ture (as are all natural graphites), amorphous graphite has a very low degree of order in a microcrystalline structure. Countries that produce large quantities of amorphous graphite are China, Mexico, Austria, Republic of Korea, and North Korea, with the Sonoran deposits in Mexico historically providing the majority of U.S. supply. It is com- mon to confuse the very finest sizes of flake and high- crystalline graphite with amorphous graphite. Synthetic Graphites The terms "manufactured," "artificial," "electric- furnace," and "synthetic" are all used to describe synthetic graphites. There are three major types of synthetic graphites: primary (electrographite), secondary, and graphite fibers. Primary synthetic graphite has extremely high (essentially pure) carbon content, is produced from petroleum coke in electric furnaces, and is used mainly for graphite electrodes and carbon brushes. Secondary syn- thetic graphite (powder and scrap) more closely resembles the natural graphites in terms of purity but has a lower density, higher electrical resistance, and higher porosity. Graphite fibers are used mostly for aerospace and sporting goods applications. Tables 2 and 3 summarize some general information on various forms of natural and synthetic graphites and ma- jor uses. Synthetic graphites basically serve different markets and are more expensive; therefore, there is very limited overlapping with natural graphite markets. GRAPHITE USES AND MODERN TRENDS The graphite market is one of the most complex markets in the industrial minerals segment. Graphite is a strategic mineral to the United States, primarily because of present U.S. dependency on foreign sources and the extensive use of graphite products in the refractory industry and in manufacturing crucibles for steelmaking. The market is subject to changes. For example, for many years prior to the 1920's, the U.S. crucible industry con- sidered Ceylon (Sri Lanka) lump and chip high-crystal 1 me graphite as absolutely essential to crucible production. However, in 1907, the first flake graphite operation in Madagascar was begun; the introduction of flotation to Madagascar operations in the early 1920's caused an enor- Table 2.— Types of natural graphite, summary data Flake High-crystalline Size Flake: Coarse, -20 to +100 mesh; powder: fine Large lump of 7.5 to 10 cm; most in 4-cm size flake, -100 to -325 mesh. range, also chips and dust. Geological origin Regional metamorphism of sedimentary deposits. Occurs in fissure veins, and fractures. Possible base raw material is crude oil. Mining methods Varied. Surface mining for 10 pet C or less, Underground. underground mining for 10 to 26 pet C. Processing methods . . . Crushing, grinding, flotation, tabling, regrinding, Hand sorting, mechanicai sizing, and refloating as necessary. Filtering, drying, sizing, blending and bagging. Product grade 75 to around 97 pet C. Concentrates of 98 to Very high purity, sometimes 98 to 99.9 pet C in 99.9 pet C are obtained through chemical- nature. thermal process. Major producing countries Madagascar, Mexico, Republic of Korea, India, Sri Lanka. Brazil, Federal Republic of Germany, Norway, Zimbabwe, China, the U.S.S.R., and North Korea. Major uses Production of crucibles, retorts, stoppers, Carbon brush industry and friction products sleeves, nozzles. Refractory industry, lubrica- tion industry and foundry facings. Amorphous Microcrystalline Metamorphism of coal beds Surface Crushing, sizing 1 60 to 90 pet C Mexico, Republic of Korea, China, Italy, Austria, U.S.S.R., and Czechoslovakia Refractory industry, car- bon brush, carbon seal industry, elec- trode industry, paint, and foundry industry. 1 Flotation is reported to be used in processing some Austrian amorphous graphites but is a notable exception to the norm. Table 3.— Types of synthetic graphite, summary data 1 Secondary artificial graphite Basic raw materials Calcined petroleum coke . . . Processing methods Heat treating to temperatures of +2,800° C, no additives Major uses Electric furnaces, electrolytic anodes, brushes Primary (electrographite) Graphite fibers Pyrolitic carbons and graphites Calcined petroleum coke, coal tar pitch. Crushing, sizing, blending, extrusion, baking, and graphitization process. 2 In the hot metal industry where it is used as a car- bon raiser, composites and chemical applications. Polyacrilonitrile fibers, pitch. Methane or natural gas. Pyrolizing raw materials at 700 to 1,400° C then heating to 2,800° C in electric furnace. In composites for aircraft, aerospace, and sporting goods industries. Chemical vapor deposition techniques in a vacuum furnace at 2,000° C or more Aerospace — rocket exhaust system insulating liners. ''Adapted from Kenan (2). 2 Natural amorphous graphite sometimes added to the process. mous increase in production that initiated the trend of the Madagascar flake graphite displacing the Sri Lankan prod- ucts in the crucible industry. One of the major uses of flake graphite is in crucible manufacturing for the foundry melting of steel, nonferrous metals, and for the precious metals industry. In making traditional clay-graphite crucibles, Madagascar flake prod- ucts are the preferred raw material because of their high proportion of coarse-sized flakes. However, over the past 2 yr or so, the traditional clay-graphite crucible usage has been superseded in use by the silicon carbon-graphite cruci- ble for many uses. In making the traditional clay-graphite crucibles, about 45 pet of the crucible is comprised of large- flake, 85-pct-C graphite. With the silicon carbide-graphite crucible, only about 30 pet of the crucible is comprised of 80-pct-C flake graphite, with flakes only about half the size of those used for clay-graphite crucibles. The result is that, at present, the crucible mix of world markets relies on many more sources than in the past (1). Similarly, over the past 20 yr, the refractories industry has changed from using predominantly large-flake, 85-pct- C Madagascar graphite to using a variety of blended graphites with smaller flake sizes and an optimum carbon content of 87 to 90 pet. A recent development in the graphite refractories industry has been the introduction of magnesia- carbon bricks for use in steel furnace linings and the development of alumina-carbon (graphitized aluminas) refractories. The thermal shock and erosion resistance of these refractories are improved by the addition of graphite; however, to meet the stringent requirements for brick per- formance, mag-carbon refractory manufacturers require the graphite to fall within particular parameters. For the electric-arc steel manufacturing method in United Kingdom furnaces, the carbon content of the mag-carbon bricks may be as high as 15 to 20 pet, and the typical brick life is 500 casts. In Japan, mag-carbon bricks generally contain 20 to 25 pet C, improving the brick life to 1,000 casts. The use of graphitized aluminas in the process of con- tinuous casting in steel production improves the corrosion resistance and thermal shock resistance of alumina refrac- tories. The graphitized alumina refractories are essentially used to control and protect the metal flowing from the ladle to the water-cooled mold. As with all uses of graphites, the composition and texture of alumina-graphite refractories varies enormously depending on the graphite sources, the end use of the refractory, and the manufacturers' particular recipe. Most manufacturers use graphite with a minimum carbon content of 85 pet and flake size ranges of minus 30 to plus 100 mesh. Flake graphite "powders" (minus 100- to minus 325-mesh flake sizes) are used in brake and clutch linings, carbon brushes, sintering (powder metallurgy), and as lubricants. Graphite powders in these uses generally must have a minimum of 95 to 99 pet C. Those used in dry-cell battery manufacturing usually grade 88 pet C (1). Powders with low carbon content (70 to 75 pet or less) are used in the foundry industry and in the making of conductive coatings and paints. SUBSTITUTION Anthracite coal, coke, petroleum coke, and used carbon electrodes are common substitutes for graphite as a carbon raiser in steelmaking. Other substitutes are possible when they can compete in terms of price and supply: Calcined coke and other carbon materials are satisfactory substitutes for graphite for certain foundry core and mold washer, and molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) could replace graphite in lubrication uses. Silicides, nitrides, borides, and other high- temperature refractories could also substitute for graphite in those uses, but at a higher cost. U.S. CONSUMPTION AND IMPORTS Natural graphite is classified as a strategic mineral in the United States owing to its use in the refractory and crucible industries, as well as to the country's dependency upon a few foreign sources, particularly Madagascar and Sri Lanka. As of December 31, 1984, the stockpile contained 16,157 mt of Madagascar flake graphite, 4,937 mt of Sri Lanka "amorphous lump" (high-crystalline) graphite, and 1,753 mt of flake graphite from countries other than Madagascar (3). These tonnages represented 89.2, 86.4, and 69.0 pet, respectively, of the stockpile goals (3). Table 4 gives U.S. natural graphite consumption values for the years 1978 and 1983, and figure 1 shows 1983 con- sumption of amorphous and flake graphite by various in- dustrial uses (4). Based on these data, the following impor- tant statistical points can be made: 1. Total U.S. consumption decreased 35 pet from 1978 to 1983, with a decline from 66,000 st (60,000 mt) to 43,000 st (39,000 mt). 2. U.S. consumption of flake graphite in the seven major industrial use categories shown in table 4 increased 48 pet from 10,500 st (9,524 mt) in 1978 to 15,500 st (14,059 mt) in 1983. This 5,000-st increase has essentially been due to an increase from 2,000 to 7,000 st in use by the refrac- tories industry; a 1,000-st increase in use by the lubricant industry was effectively offset by a 1,000-st decrease in use in crucible, retort, stopper, sleeve, and nozzle manufacturing. 3. U.S. consumption of amorphous graphite in the six major industrial use categories shown in table 4 decreased 52 pet, from 44,5000 st (40,360 mt) in 1978 to only 21,500 st (19,500 mt) in 1983. This decline resulted from decreases in use of 9,000 st by the steelmaking industry, 7,000 st by the foundry industry, and 5,000 st by the refractory industry. Two major trends in U.S. consumption of natural graphite can be inferred from the above data: 1. The decline in use of amorphous graphite in the steelmaking and foundry industries is mostly due to in- creased imports of steel and of iron and steel castings into the United States and changes in U.S. economic activity. 2. The refractories and lubricants industries are using more flake graphite. Table 5 shows U.S. imports for consumption of flake graphite for the years 1980-83. As shown, 1983's import level of 7,034 st was essentially the same as that in 1980, but 35 pet below the 1982 level of 10,771 st. The average for the 4-yr period is close to 9,000 st/yr (8,163 mt), and the total of 35,984 st (32,637 mt) for the 4-yr period has been mostly provided by Brazil (36 pet), China (26 pet) and Madagascar (22 pet). Of particular note is that imports from China have increased 16-fold since 1980 following the nor- malization of the diplomatic and trade relationships be- tween the United States and China. Not shown in table 5 are imports of 751 st (681 mt) of high-crystalline graphite from Sri Lanka in 1983 and 25,677 st (23,289 mt) of amorphous graphite, 84.7 pet of which was imported from Mexico (3). Figure 2 shows U.S. import percentage shares, by coun- try, of flake graphite products in 1983. It is important to note that 96 pet of U.S. imports were from only three countries— China, Brazil, and Madagascar— with 52 pet from China alone. WORLD PRODUCTION Table 6, which is based on Bureau data, shows a 61-pct increase in total world production of all three types of natural graphite from 1967 to 1983; however, the actual world production increase is probably significantly lower, as table 6 does not include production data for Czechoslovakia, India, or North Korea for 1967. Over half Table 4.— Consumption of natural graphite in the United States, by use, 1978 and 1983 (3) Estimated consumption, 10 3 st 1 Pet of total Flake and Uses consumption high-crystalline 1978 1983 1978 1983 Refractories 24 37 2 7 Foundries 21 16 1 1 Lubricants 6 8 12 Steelmaking 18 7 Brake linings 6 7 11 Crucibles, retorts, stoppers, sleeves, nozzles 5 5 3 Pencils 3 5 1.5 1.5 Batteries 3 5 W W Others _14 10 NAp NAp Total 10° 1°°. !^P NAp NAp Not applicable. W Withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. 1 Use of short tons to conform to original source. Amorphous 1978 14 13 3 11 3 NAp .5 W NAp NAp 1983 NAp .3 W NAp NAp Total 1978 16 14 4 12 4 66 1983 16 7 4 3 3 43 14 ro I- Q_ to z o o 10 KEY LV.V.VJ [: : :j:-:-Xj Amorphous Flake and high-crystalline JL ■ ■ Steel- making Refractories Foundries Lubricants FIGURE 1 .—Consumption of natural graphite in the United States, 1983. Brake lining Crucibles Pencils Botteries and others Others 2 pet Table 5.— U.S. imports for consumption of flake graphite, 1980-83, short tons (3) 1 Country 1980 1981 1982 1983 Total Brazil 2,921 4,606 3,794 1,642 12,963 China 228 1,536 4,003 3,684 9,451 India 55 386 211 116 768 Madagascar... 2,011 1,955 2,467 1,486 7,919 Others* 1,973 2,508 296 106 4,883 Total... 7,188 10,991 10,771 7,034 35,984 'Use of short tons to conform to original source rounding, includes Canada, France, Federal Republic of Germany, and other coun- tries that contributed to the annual total in the original references. of the total production increase during this time period was from China, which saw a 520-pct estimated increase from 1967 to 1983. In addition to China, Brazil, the U.S.S.R., and Zimbabwe had significant production increases from 1967 to 1983, while Sri Lanka and the Republic of Korea showed signifi- cant declines. Other major producers, including the Federal Republic of Germany, Mexico, Madagascar, and Norway, showed only slight production changes during this period. Figure 3 shows percentages, by country, of total world natural graphite production in 1983. The amount shown for India (2.1 pet) reflects conversion of Indian run-of-mine product ion (see table 6) to an estimated marketable product tonnage value. Total = 6,381 mt FIGURE 2.— U.S. imports for consumption of natural graphite, 1983. Table 6.— World production of natural graphite, by country, tons (3, 5-6) (Metric tons) Country 1967 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 Brazil (marketable) 2,895 10,865 21,290 17,495 15,410 19954 China 1 29,994 182,307 159,632 184,121 185,028 185,028 Czechoslovakia 1 NA 44,987 50,883 50,883 50,883 50,883 Germany, Federal 11,851 3,671 5,687 8,185 11,650 9,998 Republic of India (run-of-mine) 2 NA 52,810 54,946 72,776 52,366 35,010 Korea, North 1 NA 25,396 25,396 25,396 25,396 25,396 Korea, Republic of: , Amorphous 363,868 1 54,228 59,145 34,042 26,333 32,564 Flake ' { 2,453 1,429 842 627 695 Madagascar 14,887 14,239 12,250 13,331 15,351 13,545 Mexico: Amorphous 40,682 50,870 44,497 41,134 34,363 42,660 Flake NAp NAp 348 1,152 1,804 1,658 Norway 7,556 11,890 10,404 8,664 7,449 8,059 Sri Lanka 10,365 9,400 7,792 7,572 8,802 5,528 U.S.S.R. 1 64,987 99,770 79,816 69,839 75,281 79,816 United States W W NAp NAp NAp NAp Zimbabwe NAp 5,736 7,384 11,216 8,223 7,982 Others" 36,030 57,682 55,662 43,077 44,452 58,980 Total 283,115 626,304 596,561 589,725 563,418 577,756 NA Not available. NAp Not applicable. W Withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. 1 Estimated. All metric ton values for these countries have been converted from original estimates in short tons and have not been rounded to the same signifi- cant figure as the original estimates. Marketable product probably at about 33 pet of run-of-mine output. 3 No differentiation by type for 1967. "Includes Argentina, Austria, Burma, Italy, Romania, Republic of South Africa, Thailand, and Turkey. Sri Lanka, I.O pct\ Zimbabwe, I 4 pet ^ \y^^ Norway, I 5 pet \^ _>V\\ Fed Rep of Germany/N/v \ \ I 8 pet \_A* \\ Others 10.6 pet India, 2. 1 pet ^^A^*" x^ \\ Madagascar — J~^ ^^^ \. 2.4 pet A^^^^^O / Brazil" -^_2~ | 3.6 pet ^"- China 33.4 pet North Korea I 4.6 pct____^----- V"~Republic of . \ Korea ./ \ 6.0 pet/ V/^ Mexico \ 8.0 pet USSR 14.4 pet Nv/Czechoslovakia ^v. 9.2 pet Total = 554,229 mt FIGURE 3.— World production of natural graphite, 1983. The data in table 6 do not distinguish (except for the Republic of Korea and Mexico) between flake, high- crystalline, and amorphous production. Because this study only addresses the availability of flake and high-crystalline graphite in MEC's, a perspective on the relative coverage provided by this study can only be gained by estimating the relative proportions of flake and high-crystalline and amorphous production in the MEC's and the CPEC's. By (1) subtracting the amorphous production shown in table 6 for the Republic of Korea and Mexico, (2) subtract- ing 100 pet of the "others" category in table 6 as represent- ing amorphous production, and (3) subtracting an estimated 25 pet of Soviet production, and an estimated 75 pet of China's, Czechoslovakia's, and North Korea's as represent- ing amorpous production in those four CPEC countries, the result is an approximate 227,000 mt of estimated total 1983 world production of flake and high-crystalline graphite pro- duction of which 102,000 mt would be MEC production and 125,000 mt would be CPEC production. Of the 102,000 mt of MEC production, only about one-third of India's run-of- mine production tonnage would represent marketable prod- ucts; hence, total 1983 MEC production of flake and high- crystalline graphite would total only about 79,000 mt of marketable products. Overall, the properties evaluated in this report are estimated to account for approximately 70,000 mt (88.6 pet) of 1983 MEC production of flake and high-crystalline graphite. The balance is almost entirely represented by a large number of Indian properties (representing the bulk of Indian production) which were not evaluated due to the time and monetary constraints. GRAPHITE SPECIFICATIONS AND PRICING The wide variety of graphite products available and the annual renegotiation of prices for individual products have contributed to an extremely complex pricing structure, such that prices may vary widely even for products derived from the same source. The following sections present a brief over- view of graphite grades and specifications and different pric- ing methods in use today. As a result of the variations in specifications and price structure presented in the following sections and com- parison with the available data on various products from individual producing properties, it was determined that a two-tier product-pricing arrangement, deemed "graphitt A and "graphite B", would be most applicable to economic analysis for the purposes of this study. Essentially, graphite A products of this study comprise all flake and high- crystalline products with 75 to 100 pet of the flakes in the product either plus 80- or plus 100-mesh in size, and graphite B products are those with 75 to 100 pet of the flakes in the product either minus 80- or minus 100-mesh in size. 4 The economics and availability sections of this report are presented in terms of graphite A and graphite B. SPECIFICATIONS AND GRADES The most current U.S. national stockpile purchase specifications (circa 1970) for flake graphite from Madagascar are comprised of two main grades— "flake" and "fines." The Department of Commerce specifies that a representative, 50-g sample of Madagascar flake graphite, agitated for 15 min on a Tyler Ro-Tap 5 sieve shaker (or equivalent) machine shall conform to this analysis when tested by U.S. standard sieves (7). Table 7 presents the 1970 stockpile specifications for crucible use, showing the size range and purity for these categories. Table 7.— U.S. national stockpile specifications for Madagascar flake graphite, circa 1970 (7) Sieve size' Passing sieve, wt pet Flake (85 pet C): 2 No. 8 Min. 99 No. 20 Max. 92 No. 30 Max. 66 No. 40 Max. 25 No. 50 Max. 5 No. 60 Max. 3 Fines (82 pet C): 3 No. 40 Min. 15 No. 50 Max. 24 No. 70 Max. 8 'U.S. standard sieve. 2 Basic description: Minus No. 20, plus No. 60. 3 8asic description: Minus No. 40, plus No. 70. The circa 1970 U.S. national stockpile specifications for "amorphous lump" (high-crystalline) graphite from Sri Lanka are as follows: (1) Minimum graphite carbon content of 97 pet C; (2) No lumps exceeding 12.5 cm diam; (3) At least 90 pet retained on a No. 10 U.S. standard sieve and at least 97 pet retained on a No. 6 U.S. standard sieve; and (4) Lumps should not be dull, hard, or "cokey" in ap- pearance and should not contain tough needle or flaky crystal formations (7). In present markets Sri Lankan high-crystalline graphite is classified as lump, chip, and dust. Lump size ranges from 4 to 1 cm diam, chip from 1 to 0.33 cm diam, and dust represents graphite product sizes of minus 60 mesh. Table 8 shows market specifications for four grades of flake graphite as established in the early 1960's by Metals Reserve, U.S.A. (8). Since these specifications were pub- lished over two decades ago, several market changes have occurred that appear to outdate them for certain grades: The variability in mesh-size specifications here exists due to different siz- ing practices at different operations. Of the numerous individually identified products comprising the graphite A and graphite B categories used for this study, only three were "borderline" cases in which only 50 to 75 pet of the flakes were retained or passed on 80- or 100-mesh screens. Two of these pro- ducts were designated as graphite A, the other as graphite B. It should be noted that no definitive criteria were, or have been, proposed for use in speci- fying whether these "borderline" products should actually be classified in either category. ''Reference to specific products does not imply endorsement by the Bureau of Mines. Table 8.— Market specifications for flake graphite, showing permissible tolerances, 1 circa 1964 Size Grade tolerance permissible, pet U.S. standard screen analysis Graphitic Mesh size Amount, wt pet net" Use ±5 Plus 30 Plus 40 Plus 50 ±10 Plus 70 ±10 Plus 100 Dust Minus 100. . 15 20 60 90 90 100 85 Crucibles. 85 Crucibles and lubricants. 80 Lubricants, electrodes, pencils, foundry facings, and paint. 65 Dust for foundry facings, munitions. 1 As established by Metals Reserve, U.S.A. (8). 1. Grades 1 and 2 (table 8) are specified for use in clay- graphite crucibles (requiring 85 pet C, as noted earlier); however, silicon carbide-graphite crucibles, which have begun to replace the clay-graphite crucibles, can use 80-pct- C flake products and smaller sized flakes. 2. The trend is now toward the use of higher grade graphite products in markets that formerly used grades 2 and 3 (table 8). For example, the refractories industry now requires carbon grades of at least 85 pet C, and optimum grades of 87 to 90 pet C are needed for the production of mag-carbon bricks (i). 3. Similarly, the flake powders used in brake and clutch linings, carbon brushes, sintering (powder metallurgy), and lubricants generally must have minimum grades of 95 to 99 pet C, and graphite used in dry-cell battery manufac- turing requires 88-pct-C graphite products. ASH AND OTHER IMPURITIES In terms of possible applications of graphite products, the following points, taken from a 1984 Industrial Minerals article (2), should be mentioned regarding the presence of ash and other impurity materials: 1. In the crucible industry, the amount of ash in the flake graphite is not of great importance; however, the type of ash is important, since alkaline ashes do not hold up well at the high termperature to which the crucibles are exposed. 2 Most powder uses require low contents of abrasive- type (silica) ashes (i.e., grit-free). 3. In the manufacturing of alkaline-manganese bat- teries, the graphite used should be free of metallic im- purities such as copper, cobalt, antimony, arsenic, etc. 4. In low-grade graphite applications, the amount of ash is not important; however, a high silica or silicates content is considered to be advantageous while the presence of sulfides or other type impurities can adversely affect the life of the coating or the paint being produced. PRICING STRUCTURE The pricing structure of the graphite industry is ex- tremely complex. This is due to the wide variety of products available and the fact that prices are often negotiated be- tween the buyer and seller on a year-to-year basis for each individual product being purchased. The two prime factors directly influencing the price of flake graphite products are purity (carbon content) and the size distribution of the flakes in the product. By "prime factors", it is meant that in the case of two products having roughly the same size distribu- tion of flakes, the product having the higher carbon con- tent will most likely receive a proportionately higher price. In the case of similar carbon contents, the product with a higher percentage of large-size flake will command a higher price. Three types of price listings are shown in tables 9 and 10. The Chemical Marketing Reporter's price (9) range listed in table 9 is for products purchased ex-warehouse from suppliers in the New York area and is believed to reflect a degree of added processing resulting in higher prices than the other listings. The carbon content of these graphites varies from 88 to 95 pet carbon. Prior to August 1984, Industrial Minerals quoted natural graphite prices in terms of English pounds and by country-specific graphite sources. A new format, which is reflected in the values shown in table 9, was initiated in August 1984 to cover a broader spectrum of grades sold in metric tons on c.i.f. United Kingdom port basis and quoted in U.S. dollars irrespective of source. This change was in- tended to address the trend of end users blending graphite from different countries rather than relying solely on a par- ticular source. The prices range, according to size and car- bon content, from $300/mt to $l,100/mt for flake graphite and from $250/mt to $l,000/mt for powder (minus 200 mesh). Industrial Minerals' "small" crystalline flake category would be included in this study's graphite A (plus 100 mesh) product category while the crystalline powder product (minus 200 mesh) would be included as a graphite B product. Tables 9 and 10 emphasize that graphite's ex- tensive range of specifications and applications results in wide price variations. Table 9.— Selected, published graphite prices, 1984 (9-10) Source and product , fj'^f ■ . Gr ^ d ®' US $/mt pet C Chemical Marketing Reporter: 1 Flake 1 992-1 ,964 90-95 Flake 2 992-1 ,963 90-95 Powder 309- 838 88-90 Industrial Minerals: 2 Crystalline lump 3 550-1,100 92 Crystalline flake: Large 630-1 ,000 85-90 Medium 490- 860 85-90 Small 300- 800 80-95 Powder: Crystalline (minus 200-mesh) 250- 275 80-85 410- 460 90-92 550- 750 95-97 750-1 ,000 97-99 Amorphous powder 175- 350 80-85 1 Jan. 16, 1984, issue. 2 Aug. 1984 issue. New format effective as of this issue. Price quoted in U.S. dollars irrespective of source. Prices based on c.i.f. United Kingdom port. Equivalent to high-crystalline lump of this study. Table 10 lists natural graphite prices for the period 1979-84 as reported for "crystalline" (flake), high- crystalline, and amorphous graphite types by Engineering and Mining Journal. These prices reflect the country origin and are f.o.b. source prices. Except for the Federal Republic of Germany and Sri Lanka, it is assumed that the higher grade, larger sized flake products command the upper price levels of the ranges shown and the lower prices are associated with the lower grade, smaller sized flake products. Tables 9 and 10 emphasize that graphite's extensive range of specifications and applications results in wide price variations, which are also influenced by individual customer requirements. The trend of the averages of price ranges shown in table 10 was used for the price proportioning methodology adopted for the economic evaluation presented later in this report. Table 10.— Graphite prices, f.o.b. source, 1979-84 (11) (U.S. dollars per metric ton) Type and country 1979 Flake' China 200-1 ,000 Germany, Federal Republic of . . . 360-1,800 Madagascar 150- 475 Norway 200- 355 High-crystalline: Sri Lanka 215- 665 Amorphous: Korea, Republic of (bags) 50- 60 Mexico (bulk) 35- 55 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 275-1 ,500 400-2,150 215- 650 300- 700 300-1,700 420-2,400 350- 950 350- 800 300-1 ,700 375-3,500 300- 850 390- 700 250-1 ,700 350-3,500 275- 700 300- 900 60-1 ,700 350-3,500 250- 600 200- 700 340-1 ,400 900-2,500 800-2,500 600-1 ,700 i 550-1 .500 60- 70 45- 70 78- 90 60- 85 85- 100 65- 100 90- 120 70- 100 90- 120 70- 100 IDENTIFIED AND DEMONSTRATED RESOURCES Table 11 summarizes the identified and demonstrated resources of flake and high-crystalline graphite in the 11 countries included in the analysis. Estimated in situ resources are shown at both the identified and the demonstrated levels as defined by the mineral resource- reserve classification system developed jointly by the Bureau of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey (12). The identified resource is equivalent to the cumulative measured plus indicated plus inferred tonnages, while demonstrated resources are equivalent to the cumulative measured plus indicated tonnages. The table also includes the in situ, weighted-average carbon grade, and the total contained carbon content in each country's demonstrated resource tonnage. The Sri Lankan resource is the only high- crystalline resource in the table; the remaining tonnages are entirely flake graphite resources. The total identified resource tonnage of 2,662 Mmt is heavily dominated by the estimates for the entire Manam- potsy district resource in Madagascar (2,550 Mmt) and by the Brazilian resource (47.7 Mmt), which is primarily con- tained in only one producing operation. The Asian and European demonstrated resources are relatively small in terms of contained carbon. However if flake graphite resources in two major non-MEC producing countries, China and the U.S.S.R. (discussed to some degree 10 Table 11.— Identified and demonstrated MEC resources of flake and high-crystalline graphite, by country, 1984 Demonstrated resources Identified resources, ; — z ~ — -. ^ — —. — -r-=r: Continent and country in situ, 103 mt Inatu. Grade, Contained C ,' 'Madagascar 22,550,000 16,711 7.0 1,170 Zimbabwe 4,800 1 ,882 26.2 Subtotal, Africa Asia: India Republic of Korea Sri Lanka 3 Subtotal, Asia Europe: Federal Republic of Germany Norway Subtotal, Europe North America: Canada Mexico Subtotal, North America South America: Brazil Subtotal, foreign MEC's United States Grand total, MEC's 2,661,668 94,837 8.283 W Withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data. NA Not available. A Due to rounding of grades, the country total for contained C content does not necessarily equal multiplication of tonnage and grade. 2 Order-of-magnitude estimate' for entire Manampotsy district. 3 High-crystalline graphite. in the appendix) were included, the totals for these two con- The three districts are classified according to the degree tinents would increase dramatically. of metamorphism to which the original Precambrian The continents of Africa, North America (including the sedimentary rocks were subjected. The Manampotsy and United States), and South America contain 86.5 pet of the the Ambatolampy groups, located on the eastern slope of total MEC demonstrated resource ore tonnage shown in the highlands, have been subjected to intense weathering table 11. The following section contains detailed discussions, (laterization). Because of the weathering, these two groups in alphabetic order by continent and country, and concludes have accounted for essentially all of the past production of with the evaluated demonstrated resources (mill feed ton- flake graphite in Madagascar. The hardrock deposits of the nage) for this study. Ampanihy District have only seen experimental production, which, in all cases, has been either too expensive to pro- AFRICA cess or produced inferior grades of concentrate products. The lack of infrastructure is also a major detriment to develop- Madagascar ment of the Ampanihy District graphite deposits. 2,554,800 18,593 1,663 7,628 3,772 268 7,628 3,772 139 15.4 5.2 94.2 1,177 195 131 11,668 1 1 ,539 1,503 NA NA W W W W W W 2,192 1,275 413 10,936 4,204 8,055 2,777 9.2 4.0 741 111 15,140 47,708 10,832 28,794 10.3 852 2,966 2,631,508 30,160 71,033 23,804 3.7 7.397 886 Resources of flake graphite in the country of Madagascar have been described as "large," "immense," and "virtually inexhaustible." Figure 4 shows the distribu- tion of graphite "lines" throughout the country. These graphite "lines" were established by Henri Besairie in his 1966 publication (13) on Madagascar's mineral resources; they represent outcrops or exposed areas (past workings) of important graphite occurrences. The graphite "lines" are drawn along the strike of the graphite bed and give an ap- proximation of the length of the exposure through inference. In no sense do these graphite "lines" imply an average or typical width of the graphite bed. As outlined in figure 4, a discussion of overall country resources can best be presented if the areas containing the vast majority of the graphite "lines" are grouped into three major districts— the Manampotsy District, the Ambatolampy District, and the Ampanihy District. The Manampotsy District comprises an area covering about 175 km from north to south and 90 to 130 km inland (east to west) from the eastern coastal cities of Vatoman- dry and Tamatave, respectively. The Ambatolampy District covers an approximate area of 260 km from north to south and 120 km from east to west and is nearly centrally located in the island country. The Ampanihy District is located at the southern end of the country. Figure 5 contains a detailed outline of the Manampotsy District, the most significant of the three. Manampotsy District Identified Resources Graphite resources in the Manampotsy District are distributed within four provinces, as shown in figure 5. The actual extent of total graphite mineralization is vast. No comprehensive, coordinated prospecting programs for ex- ploration of total resources have been made in the past. It is possible to estimate a reasonable order-of-magnitude total identified resource estimate on the province level using Besairie's geologic maps (13), which show the graphite "lines" in detail at small scales. This order-of-magnitude calculation of identified resource tonnages of contained graphite for the four provinces— Tamatave, Moramanga, Brickaville, and Vatomandry— in the Manampotsy District involved the methodology described below: 1. Measure the length of the graphite "lines" on the province maps. 2. Calculate ore volume by multiplying line length by bed thickness of 10 m and deposit width of 100 m. These width and thickness dimensions are based on values representing the minimum bed thickness and typical width to be expected within the Manampotsy region and are prob- ably conservative. 3. Multiply the resulting volume by an in situ ore den- sity factor of 2.3 mt/m 3 . 11 LEGEND City or town Major graphite line i / I \*/ Tamatave hi \ . ♦/Vatomandry 7* T^Ambatolampy l f I District Indian Ocean Ampanihy District FIGURE 4. — Location of major graphite "lines" and districts, Madagascar. The resulting order-of-magnitude identified resource tonnage would yield approximately 126 Mmt of graphite products from an estimated 2,545 Mmt ore, if one assumes typical ore grades of 7 pet C and a 60-pct overall carbon recovery to obtain an 85-pct-C final product. The identified ore tonnage estimates for each province within the Manam- potsy District are as follows, in million metric tons: Tamatave . . . 352 Moramanga . 352 Brickaville . . 463 Vatomandry . 1,378 Total . . 2,545 This total identified resource estimate for the four prov- inces in the Manampotsy District carries an implicit assumption that the tonnage meets the four basic criteria necessary for exploitation: Tamatave Ambatomitamba ., Sahanavo Moramanga ?? # Ambalarandre Tsaravoniany Fa liar a no *y*£+——jAndasifahatelo Perinet Vatomandry LEGEND Province boundary City or town Graphite occurrence Road Railroad River Canal 10 20 Scale, km FIGURE 5.— Location of evaluated deposits in the Manam- potsy District, Madagascar. 1. Sufficient reserves of soft ore must be present with minimum grades of 5 pet C. 2. The position of the graphite bed with respect to the surface must allow its exploitation without significant over- burden removal. Typical overburden thicknesses range from no cover to 20 m. 3. For economic consideration, the deposit must be located at an elevation that permits transportation of the ore to the field washing plant by gravity flow in a slurry form. A nominal slope of 5 pet must be maintained between the levels of the sluice head and the field concentrator to insure slurry flow. 4. The field concentrator must be located so that disposal of waste clays and tailings is facilitated, which em- phasizes the importance of rivers located near the site. Within this larger identified resource tonnage in the Manampotsy District is the estimated tonnage contained in six producing and two nonproducing concession areas. It is these properties that comprise the demonstrated resource analyzed for availability. 12 Manampotsy District Demonstrated and Evaluated Resources The Manampotsy District contains six analyzed produc- ing operations and two analyzed nonproducing concession areas in the four provinces, as listed in table 12 and shown in figure 5. In Tamatave Province, the Manampotsy graphite system is located between the Vohibary system and the Brickaville granitoid pegmatites, with the latter also exhibiting some graphite mineralization. The Am- batomitamba operation, an active mine located in the southern part of the province, has the capacity of produc- ing 5,000 mt/yr of graphite products. Table 12.— Demonstrated resources of evaluated graphite properties, Manompotsy District, Madagascar, 1984 Demonstrated Evaluated demonstrated Province and in situ resources, 10 3 mt deposit resources, Mill feed Recoverable 10 3 mt tonnage 1 products 2 Producing mines: Brickaville: Sahamamy W W W Antsirakambo W W W Moramanga: Andasifahatelo, Faliarano WWW Tamatave: Ambatomitamba . . W W W Vatomandry: Marovintsy .... W W W Total 13,621 12,940 702 Nonproducing deposits: Brickaville: Sahanavo concession W W W Moramanga: Tsaravoniany concession W W W Total 3,090 3,123 162 Grand total 16,711 16,063 864 ~ W Withheld to avoid disclosing company proprietary data; included in totals. 1 Recoverable demonstrated resource. 2 At average 85 pet C. In Moramanga Province, southwest of Tamatave Prov- ince, the Manampotsy graphite system trends north-south and runs between the Mangoro and Brickaville pegmatites. Two active operations, Faliarano and Andasifahatelo, and the nonproducing Tsaravoniany concession area are located in this province. In Brickaville Province, to the immediate south of Tamatave Province, graphite mineralization occurs in generally north-south oriented ore beds in the Manampotsy graphite and Brickaville pegmatite systems. Antsirakambo, located in the extreme northeast, and Sahamamy, 25 km southwest of Antsirakambo, are producing operations in this province. The nonproducing Shanavo concession area is also located here. In Vatomandry Province, which is south of Brickaville and Moramanga Provinces, Marovintsy is the only produc- ing operation. Marovintsy is situated at the edge of marshes and lakes with the mineralized area forming low hills of about 30-m relief that are separated by the marshy areas. Transportation of final graphite products is in 25-mt barges via Lake Marovintsy and the Pangalanes Canal to Tamatave and represents a distinct advantage in cost and convenience over the other producers (14). In general, dif- ficulties in transportation, which is hindered by near im- passable tropical vegetation and a marginal road system that is in a continual state of disrepair, have influenced the development and evolution of the industry in Madagascar. As shown in table 12, it is estimated that as of January 1984, the total recoverable demonstrated resources are estimated at 16.06 Mmt, which would result from the min- ing of 16.71 Mmt of in situ ore. This evaluated tonnage is contained in eight properties— six producers and two non- producing concession areas— and has an overall weighted- average grade of 7.2 pet graphitic carbon (range of 7 to 9.2 pet). The evaluated tonnage, with estimated mill recoveries ranging between 60 to 65 pet, should result in production of 863,500 mt of graphite products averaging 85 pet C. Resources in Ambatolampy and Ampanihy Districts The Ambatolampy District had been a major supplier of graphite prior to 1952-53. The boom years for production from this district were early in the history of the Madagascar graphite mining industry, from 1910 through World War I. Operations came to a halt in the years from 1919 to 1924 to allow stockpiles built up during World War I to be depleted. Production resumed at selected sites in 1924, but the depression of the 1930's reduced production to only a few operations mining high-grade deposits and/or realizing low transportation costs. Most of the past operations in the Ambatolampy District have exploited outcrops with steep dips, which limited or prohibited deep excavations. This steeply dipping nature of many of the deposits in the Ambatolampy District plus the increased transportation costs required to get products to the port at Tamatave are two of the major factors why production at present is concentrated in the Manampotsy District. It is evident that significant quantities of subeconomic reserves remain in the Ambatolampy District, which makes it a probable site for future graphite mining as the economic Manampotsy District deposits approach depletion. However, no tonnage estimates have been made of either demonstrated or inferred resources in the Am- batolampy District. In the Ampanihy District, graphite beds of leptitic rocks form groups of long, continuous beds, the outcrops of which are highly visible. The graphitic beds are often higher in grade than the lateritic clay beds that are mined at pres- ent in Madagascar, but the rocks have not been laterized and are essentially hardrock deposits requiring much ad- ditional grinding, which makes extraction of the larger flakes more difficult and also makes processing more costly. According to Besairie (13), this district can be divided into three groups: the Mogoky-Behily group, which has sup- posedly been prospected in detail; the Ampanihy group, which saw brief exploitation of one deposit in 1925-26; and the Tranovoa group, wich saw some test exploitations in 1925-26. These past test exploitations were abandoned due to high operating costs (probably due to extra grinding re- quirements and transport costs), water supply problems, and insufficient ore treatment methods. Regarding the latter point, the Ampanihy test operation produced only a 60-pct-C concentrate from a 15-pct-C ore, and the Tranovoa group exploitations produced concentrates grading only 75 pet C. The Ampanihy District graphite deposits would be the lowest ranked Madagascar deposits in terms of economics and would probably be exploited only when the other deposits are exhausted. No tonnage estimates of graphite resources in the Ampanihy District have been made. In summary, it should be noted that at the 1982 pro- duction level of 15,354 mt, the Manampotsy District's in- ferred resources of 126 Mmt would last 8,200 yr. This fact illustrates why the total graphite resources of Madagascar could be considered "virtually inexhaustible." Zimbabwe This study's demonstrated and identified resources of flake graphite in Zimbabwe are contained in only one pro- 13 ducer, the Lynx Mine, an underground operation located 60 km northwest of Karoi in Mashonaland North Province. The mine is located within 50 km of the Zambian border and of the Kariba Dam. The Lynx deposit lies in an area between exposed Precambrian rock to the south and east and Palezoic and Mesozoic flat-lying sedimentary rocks to the north. Graphite outcrops occur at about 700 m above sea level as lenticular layers ranging from 2 to 20 m thick (average of 3 m) and interstratified with limestone gneiss. Other country rock consists of pegmatite, amphibolite, and quartzite. For this study, it was estimated that 1.88 Mmt of in situ, demonstrated resources and 4.8 Mmt of in situ identified resources are present at the property with an average grade of 26.2 pet C. The demonstrated resource would be contained in four well-defined zones to a vertical depth of about 200 m and would be sufficient to feed the mill for 36 yr at full design capacity, resulting in production of about 445,000 mt of graphite products. ASIA India As shown in figure 6, graphite deposits and occurrences in India can be grouped into two broad geographical belts. The Eastern Belt extends from just south of the Eastern Himalayas along the Eastern Ghat Mountain Range to the southern tip of the country. The Western Belt extends from just south of the Western Himalayas around the Great In- dian Desert to the western end of the Vindhya Mountain Range in the State of Gujarat. The Eastern Belt ranges from about 250 to over 600 km wide, while the Western Belt ranges from 300 to over 600 km wide. The deposits in the Eastern Belt are more frequent and generally exhibit better quality (carbon grade) than do those in the Western Belt. Pakistan Arabian Sea LEGEND ry-A Graphite V/A belts Scale, km FIGURE 6.— Location of graphite belts in India. In both belts, the northernmost deposits are large in terms of size, but carbon contents are unpredictable and generally low. These northernmost deposits are those in Arunachal Pradesh State (Eastern Belt) and those in Jammu and Kashmir States (Western Belt). It should again be noted that the belts shown in figure 6 are geographic delineations only. Geologically, the graphite deposits that have been and are being worked are generally confined to metamorphic rocks of the Khondalite Series and to charnockites and granitoid-gneisses, which are intrusive into the Khondalite Series rocks. Most of the flake deposits in India occur as disseminated flakes in the schistose and gneissic host rocks and contain less than 20 pet C. According to the Indian Minerals Yearbook of 1978-79 (16), graphite reserves at the time consisted of indicated reserves of 0.33 Mmt and inferred reserves of 173.0 Mmt. A detailed examination of its list of properties (16) reveals three points of interest: 1. The 173 Mmt of inferred ore represents the total in 23 deposits or areas: 6 in Andra Pradesh, 1 in Bihar, 2 in Gujarat, 5 in Kerala, 1 in Karnataka, 2 in Madhya Pradesh, 2 in Tamil Nadu, 2 in Arunachal Pradesh, and 2 in Jammu and Kashmir. Of these 23 deposits or areas with inferred ore tonnages, only 15 had carbon grades or grade ranges assigned to them. 2. Of the 173 Mmt of inferred ore, fully 95.6 pet was contained in the two Arunachal Pradesh deposits (81.35 Mmt) and the two Jammu and Kashmir deposits (84.09 Mmt) previously mentioned. These deposits have variable and low-grade graphitic carbon contents and may or may not be amorphous graphite deposits. They are located in remote areas and are not presently important from an economic standpoint. 3. No deposits or tonnages were listed from Orissa, the largest producing State. In 1983, as part of a Bureau con- tract (15), Zellers- Williams personnel visited Orissa State and compiled a list of 13 deposits and/or areas in the State where the evaluator felt that reasonable resource estimates could be assigned. The tonnages estimated for these 13 deposit areas were all assigned to the indicated level and totaled 1,084,000 mt of ore averaging 14.8 pet C. Table 13, which summarizes flake resources in India, shows a total estimated resource of 7.6 Mmt of material with a weighted-average grade of 15.4 pet graphitic carbon. This table was constructed as follows: 1. Inclusion of the 15 deposits-areas listed in the 1978-79 Indian Minerals Yearbook that had graphitic car- bon grades assigned. 2. Inclusion of resource estimates for the 13 Orissa State deposits-areas identified in this study. 3. Addition of two deposits-areas in Madhya Pradesh and one in Rajasthan State. 4. Exclusion of the four large deposits in Arunuchal Pradesh and Jammu-Kashmir, which are possibly amor- phous graphite deposits and definitely uneconomic at present. A complete picture of flake graphite reserves and resources in India can only be obtained by dealing with many individual deposits scattered over a large geographical area with few available data. Due to time and monetary constraints under the contract, only 1 of the 31 deposits or areas shown in table 13 (Temrimal) was analyzed in this study for economics and included in the availabil- ity curves as a demonstrated resource. 14 Table 13.— Flake graphite resources in India of probable economic significance (15-16) State Number of districts Number of deposits or areas Demonstrated resources Tonnage, 10 3 mt Carbon grade, wt pet Contained C, mt 1 Andhra Pradesh Bihar .... Gujarat . . Kamataka Kerala . . . Madhya Pradesh Orissa . . . Rajasthan Tamil Nadu Total 3 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 2 15 6 1 2 1 3 2 13 1 2 147 1,600 3,330 51 565 530 1,080 58 267 30.1 20.0 8.5 11.0 33.7 24.0 14.8 11.0 15.0 44,250 320,000 283.000 5,600 190,400 127,200 160,000 6,380 40,100 31 7,628 15.4 1,176,930 1 Due to rounding of the grades, contained carbon value does not necessarily equal multiplication of tonnage and grade. Republic of Korea There are two major belts of Precambrian metamorphic rocks in the Republic of Korea: the Gyeonggi Massif and the Ryeongnam Massif. The two belts are separated by the Ogcheon Fold Belt, as illustrated in Figure 1A. The ma- jority of the flake deposits are located within the Gyeonggi Massif (1 7) and concentrated in the north central and north- western regions of the country, as shown in figure IB. Deposits of crystalline graphite in South Korea can be divided into two classes (18). The first class consists of deposits that contain 3 to 4 pet flake graphite disseminated in highly weathered granitic rocks that have intruded Precambrian carbon-bearing schists of sedimentary origin. LEGEND City Approximate demorcotion of major geologic complexes Country boundary The two evaluated producers, Pyong Taek and Gun Ja, both located in Kyong Gi Province, are representative of this class of flake deposit. The second class consists of deposits of extremely fine grained flake graphite containing 9 to 30 pet C, which oc- cur in lenticular masses enclosed in quartz and mica schists. These deposits were probably formed by the metamorphism of amorphous graphite during tectonic events in late Jurassic times (18). They are usually steeply dipping and would have to be mined by underground techniques. Only one deposit, Yong Un, in Chung Nam Province, was eval- uated at the demonstrated level for this report. This evalua- tion was made solely to provide a measure of the relative economics of this class of flake graphite deposit in the Republic of Korea. In 1983, the Ministry of Energy and Resources of the Republic of Korea (Merrok) published a table showing its estimates of graphite reserves in the country (19). The estimates were presented on a province basis for both amor- A 1 2 3 LEGEND International boundary Province boundary Producer, evaluated Nonproducer, evaluated Nonproducer, not evaluated Deposits Pyong Taek Oryu Gun Ja 4 Shi Heung 5 Taesamjin 6 Ga Pyong 7 Tae Wha 8 Dae Won 9 Dae Heung 10 Yong Un 11 Keryong 12 Jin Heung 13 Sam Gong L 20 40 , i > i Scale, km FIGURE 7.— Republic of Korea: A, Outline of major geologic complexes; B, location of flake graphite deposits. 15 10 1,937 5.7 110,387 1 2 115 1,720 10.0 4.25 1 1 ,500 73,100 3 1,835 4.61 84,600 phous and flake graphite reserves. These values are be- lieved to represent the official South Korean natural graphite reserves as of 1983. Merrok's table showed a total of 15.547 Mmt of flake graphite ore at an overall fixed carbon grade of 5.36 pet as constituting the flake graphite resource as of 1983, with three provinces— Kyong Gi, Kang Won, and Chung Nam, in order of importance— containing 95.1 pet of this total ton- nage. For this analysis, a demonstrated resource tonnage of 3.77 Mmt ore at 5.2 pet C (table 14) appears to be a more realistic assessment of presently explored areas, with the difference essentially representing potential future resources at the two producing operations indicated to re- quire either further exploration or investigation before be- ing classified as demonstrated resources. Table 14.— Demonstrated flake graphite resources of the Republic of Korea Number of Demonstrated resources Province operations in situ In situ Contained and tonnage, grade, carbon, 1 deposits 1 pa m t pc t mt Nonevaluated: Chung Nam 3 60 12.1 7,260 Chung Puk 1 10 11.0 1,100 Kang Won 2 541 9.3 50,313 Kyong Gi 4 1,326 3.9 51,714 Subtotal Evaluated: Chung Nam Kyong Gi Subtotal Total demonstrated re- sources 13 3,772 5.2 194,987 1 Owing to rounding of the grades, contained carbon value does not necessarily equal multiplication of tonnage and grade. The in situ identified and demonstrated resources for the Republic of Korea, shown previously in table 11, are further divided in table 14 into nonevaluated and evaluated demonstrated resources. The nonevaluated demonstrated resources total 1.937 Mmt of in situ ore averaging 5.7 pct C and contained in 10 nonproducing deposits. The evaluated demonstrated resources include 1.720 Mmt of in situ ore at 4.25 pct C in the 2 producing operations in Kyong Gi Province that were analyzed for surface mining economics, and 115,000 mt of in situ ore at 10.0 pct C in 1 nonproducer that was analyzed for underground mining economics. Sri Lanka Graphite mineralization in Sri Lanka consists of massive, high-crystalline graphite in veins and/or lenses that occupy natural fissures in the host rocks of Precam- brian metamorphic gneisses. Figure 8 shows an outline of the area of high-crystalline graphite occurrences, deposits, and operations in Sri Lanka. High-crystalline resources in Sri Lanka have been described as vast. This is likely due to the large area of in- dicated mineralization shown in figure 8. By contrast, the identified resources shown previously in table 1 1 total only 268,000 mt of demonstrated and inferred resources esti- mated to be present at four producing mines. The demon strated portion of that tonnage is further estimated to total only 139,000 mt of in situ resources averaging 94.2 pct C at these four producing mines as of January 1984. These BAY F Moduroi J INDIA / S t3§^s. ^P-OkX B E N G A L /?;:¥: tanner ^xl \Tnncwnalei SBI J LANKA A-. / AnurodriQpuroI f y I *7 / \ % 1 N D 1 AN "1 r/V/1/^KAMATAGAHA- KCXONGAHA \y//is// /// \ ,^V/»^ ran gala TeOGALA-Oo^Xr' fc Bodullo ///// "otnopuro S^g^^ LEGEND • OTyortown V//A Graphite ore district X Mine h — i — r- Railroad FIGURE 8.— Location of high-crystalline graphite deposits in Sri Lanka. analyzed operations represent essentially 100 pct of produc- tion as of the early 1980's. Because these producers mine relatively thin veins by underground methods, any demon- strated resource tonnage estimate will necessarily be relatively small, since determination of eventually mineable resources will depend upon future underground develop- ment work. The Kahatagaha-Kolongaha (K/K) mineralization is en- tirely of the vein type, with a regular east-west strike and southerly dip. The vein pattern consists of more than 100 veins or veinlets, of which 32 have been mined or explored. The vein system is quite regular; however, all of the veins do not maintain continuity with depth. The average horizon- tal length of a vein is approximately 60 m, but some veins extend for over 150 m. The average thickness is usually be- tween 0.20 and 0.25 m, but some veins under exploration show a thickness of 0.9 m. The Bogala Mine has a mineralized area of about 8 ha. The thickness of the veins vary from a few centimeters to about 1.5 m. The strike length varies from about 200 to 500 m, while vertically the extent is almost from the surface to more than 400 m deep. As of the early 1980's, the major veins are named Kumbuk, Na, and Mee. Other graphite resources occur at the Rangala Mine, near Bogala, and at Ragedera, north of the K/K Mine. (See figure 8.) As noted previously, demonstrated resources at all of these Sri Lankan mines could increase significantly as a result of future underground exploration work. 16 EUROPE Federal Republic of Germany All of the graphite produced in the Federal Republic of Germany comes from the Passau District of Bavaria, which has had production for well over a century. The graphite deposits occur over an area of about 100 km 2 ; however, the major operation analyzed in this study, Kropfmuhl, has its present mining operations concentrated within an area of only 3 km 2 . The Kropfmuhl ores consist of disseminated flake graphite occurring as lenses and seams interbedded with crystalline marble and gneissic rock. At Kropfmuhl, a series of 20 graphite-bearing seams are known; typically, four or five beds averaging 1.5 m thick are mined by underground methods at any one time. The country rock and seams are extremely folded, and the combination of in- tense folding and the requirement for underground mining means that development of ore reserves relies upon substan- tial geological, geophysical, core drilling, and development work. The in situ grade of the flake graphite seams and lenses ranges between 25 and 40 pet graphitic carbon; however, indications are that this ore will often be diluted as much as 50 pet with waste rock, depending upon operational requirements. As noted in table 11, the resource tonnages at the Kropf- muhl operation have been withheld to avoid disclosing com- pany proprietary data. It can be noted that the evaluated demonstrated resource for this operation represents the equivalent of 40 yr of production at rates being maintained in the early 1980's, and that the identified resource ton- nage could be as much as two to four times as large. Norway Graphite resources occur at Skaland on the island of Senja, at Jennestad on the island of Langoy, at Rendalsvik (66° 13' N and 14° 01' E), at Vaernes (66° 40' N and 13° 12' E), and at Ramskartind (66° 42' N and 13° 39' E). Norwegian graphite is contained mainly in lenses in mica schist host rocks, with graphite grades ranging from 6 to 30 pet C. The only producer in the past has been the Skaland operation, the only property included in this analysis. This operation produced ore feed grading around 25 pet C from underground mining operations. By comparison, the graphite resources at the other four locations in Norway are all relatively low in grade. At Jennestad, ore assaying 10 pet C occurs in a layer 1 to 1.5 m thick in mica schist, amphibolites, and quartzites. Resources are reported at 0.5 Mmt, but half of this is reported to be amorphous graphite that is very difficult to concentrate. About 0.5 Mmt of resources are reported to be present in a series of four lenticular ore bodies averaging 7 pet C at Rendalsvik (8, p. 15). The mica schist at Ram- skartind reportedly has a graphite-bearing zone, at 6 to 20 pet C, extending for a distance of over 1.2 km and varying in thickness from 4.6 to nearly 9.2 m. On the southern shore of Tjongsfjord, at Vaernes, three graphite layers ranging from 0.5 to 1.1 m wide with 6 to 10 pet C have been in- vestigated (8, p. 15). In all, Norway's total identified resources in all five of the deposits mentioned above could easily be over 2 Mmt. However, with the shutdown of the Skaland operation due to a fire at the mill, none of this ton- nage was in production as of 1985. As noted, the Skaland tonnage comprised the only eval- uated demonstrated resources. At present, future plans for the extraction of the remaining tonnage are in doubt. In addition, the resource values as of 1984 for this property are presently considered to be confidential in nature. NORTH AMERICA Canada A literature search concerning all known graphite deposites and occurrences in Canada, conducted as part of a Bureau contract (15), resulted in a list of 151 deposits, past producers, occurrences, claims, concessions, "show- ings," and "rumors." The total included 24 in the Province of British Columbia, 1 in Saskatchewan, and 6 in Newfound- land, but the vast majority (120) were located in the areas of southern Quebec and southeastern Ontario that have con- tributed all of Canada's past production of flake graphite. Locations of these areas or deposits are shown in figures 9 and 10. The 30 listings in British Columbia and Newfoundland were occurrences only, and many of the British Columbia occurrences could not even be located based on the infor- mation available. In addition, all of the Newfoundland oc- currences appear to be of the amorphous variety. Of the remaining 121, only the Deep Bay deposit in Saskatchewan and the producing Notre Dame Du Laus operation and the nonproducing Bouthillier-Orrwell deposit, both in Ontario, were analyzed for economics. Of the re- maining 118 listings for southern Quebec and southeastern Ontario, 8 have been tentatively identified as being of some significance (20), although the present reserve-resource assignments shown in table 15 are not detailed to the point of allowing economic analysis. Their locations are shown in figure 10. In addition, a recently explored deposit, the Bissett Creek-Tagliamonte property in Ontario (fig. 10), has been indicated to contain a large resource; but it was not analyzed for economics, nor is it listed in table 15. As shown in figure 10, the gneissic and metasedimen- tary belts of the Precambrian Grenville Series represent the graphite-bearing host rocks in Ontario and Quebec. The three most significant properties in this area all contain less than 10 pet C. The Notre Dame du Laus ore consists of flake graphite disseminated in a crystalline limestone; the Bouthillier-Orrwell flake graphite is disseminated in a carbonate rock (probably crystalline limestone) and a gneiss; and the Bissett Creek-Tagliamonte deposit in On- tario contains flake graphite disseminated in a gneissic rock unit. In summary, the identified in situ resource of 10.9 Mmt listed previously in table 7 represents the tonnage contained in one producing mine (Notre Dame Du Laus) and two non- producing deposits (Deep Bay and Bouthillier-Orrwell), as shown in figure 10. The demonstrated in situ resources at these three properties total 8.06 Mmt averaging 9.2 pet C with 7.4 Mmt of recoverable ore representing the evaluated demonstrated resource at the three properties. Approx- imately half of the identified in situ resource is contained in the Deep Bay deposit in Saskatchewan; a very signifi- cant portion of the demonstrated resource is in nonproduc- ing deposits; and a fair portion will require underground mining. 17 wm w*w«P*« Deposit location and name Map number Graphite type Production status 4* ▲ LEGEND International boundary Province or State boundary Location ot 20 British Columbia occurrences Nonproducer, evaluated Nonproducer, not evaluated Canada: British Columbia: Red Cap-Taku River 1 Unkown Occurence Willow River 2 . . do Do. Bentinck Arm 3 4 do ...do Do. Rrvers Inlet Do. Saskatchewan: Deep Bay 5 Flake Nonproducer ' Newfoundland: Nachvak 6 Unkown Occurrence Saglek Bay 7 do Do Baie Verte 8 do Do Long Range 9 do Do 10 do Do Fair and False Bay 11 do Do United States: Alaska: Kigluaik Mountams- 12 Flake Past producer Imuruk Basin. Montana: Black Diamond Carbon 13 Amorphous Producer Mine (sporadic) Dillon 14 High-crystalline (vein type) Occurrence Idaho Shorty Claims 15 Amorphous (?), Explored meta-anthra- deposit cite (?) New Mexico Raton 16 Amorphous Occurrence Texas: Southwestern 17 Flake Past producer Graphite Mine 'Evaluated in this study HGURE 9.— Location of natural graphite areas, occurrences, and deposits in Canada and the United States. 18 LEGEND Grenville gneissic belt, Canada c-:-:-:-:g Grenville metasedimentary belt, Canada • City — Canada-US boundary and Province or State boundary Area of past production of crystalline flake graphite Producer, evaluated Nonproducer , evaluated Nonproducer, not evaluated Deposit location and name Map number Graphite type Production status 9* 50 _l 100 I 150 Scale, km United States: Adirondack Mountains, New 1 Flake Major past York. producer. Chester-Allentown area, 2 . . do Do. Pennsylvania. Portsmouth and Cranston 3 Meta-anthra- Nonproducer; areas, Rhode Island. cite. area too small to show on map scale. Canada: Evaluated properties: Boutfoiller-Orwell 4 Flake Nonproducer. Notre Dame Du Laus 5 ...do Producer. Nonevaluated properties: Bell Mine 6 do Past producer. Do. Cornell 7 ... do Kirkham-Desert Lake 8 . . do Do. Globe 9 . . do Do. Beidellman-Lyell and Carter 10 do Do. Lake. National-Cardiff 11 12 do do Do. Bissett Creek-Tagliamonte In exploration Butt Township 13 ... do Do. FIGURE 10.— Location of flake graphite areas and deposits in southern Quebec, southeastern Ontario, New York, and Pennsylvania, and of the Rhode Island meta-anthracites. 19 Table 15.— Flake graphite deposits of possible future significance, southeastern Ontario and southern Quebec, Canada (20) Province and deposit | oca tion Description of Tonnage, Grade, or property name / fj 1Q > resource mt wt pet C Ontario: Beidellman-Lyell. Butt township . . Carter Lake .... Cornell Globe Kirkham-Desert Lake National-Cardiff . Quebec: Bell Mine . . 10 13 10 7 9 8 11 6 Possible ..do ... ..do ... ..do ... ..do ... ..do ..do Proven or probable. Large 5.0-10.0 Large 5.0-10.0 907,000 5.0 907,000 10.0 73,000 6.0 194,000 1 ,306,000 168,000 10.8 4.1 ( 1 ) The available resource data on U.S. graphite deposits show an extremely wide variation in degrees of quantity, quality, and age. This causes some difficulty in conducting an overall analysis of the availability of natural graphite resources in the United States, especially if the study is to provide a reasonable degree of compatible and comparable data. For that reason, it is appropriate to discuss the flake graphite resources on a State-by-State basis. This discus- sion will facilitate the reader's understanding of why the Alabama flake deposits are the only U.S. flake graphite resources included in the final availability analysis. Marketable ore. Alaska Mexico Flake graphite mineralization occurs in gneisses and Mexican graphite resources are composed mainly of schists of the Kigluaik Mountain Range north of Nome on amorphous graphite resulting from the metamorphism of the Seward Peninsula. Outcrops that have been worked in coalbeds of the Barranca Formation. Analysis of the the past are located on the north slope of the mountain economics and overall resources of amorphous graphite in range and face the Imuruk River Basin. Hence, the deposits Mexico is beyond the scope of this analysis and is not fur- have been more commonly referred to as the Imuruk Basin ther addressed in this study. graphite deposits. One Mexican flake graphite producer was included in The Imuruk Basin deposits were worked by the Alaska this study, the Telixtlahuaca Mine in the State of Oaxaca Graphite Mining Co. and the Uncle Sam Alaska Mining in southern Mexico. At this property, flake graphite occurs Syndicate from 1907 through 1917, with indicated produc- disseminated throughout metamorphosed, silica-rich sedi- tion of at least 420 mt of hand-picked ore and talus mentary rocks at grades of slightly less than 4.0 pet gra- graphite. 6 phitic carbon. The zone that has been mined since startup The latest known official investigation of these deposits in 1980 is the weathered, oxidized zone; the unweathered, for which a report is available is extremely dated. The unoxidized rocks were not considered at present for any report, written by H. Heide of the Bureau of Mines and R.R. future production. The in situ demonstrated resource at this Coates of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), was the result operation is estimated to total 2.8 Mmt containing 4.0 pet of a reconnaissance survey conducted in 1943. In a separate graphitic carbon, for a total contained carbon content of report, Heide estimated identified resources at 35,900 mt 111,000 mt. The identified in situ resource is estimated to of contained graphite in high-grade (65 pet C) lenticular ore be 4.2 Mmt. bodies and 180,000 to 270,000 mt of contained graphite in low-grade (10 pet C) schist ore bodies. These estimates were United States made for a 5.6-km-long section of outcrops. At the time Heide noted that his estimates did not in- Historical flake graphite production data from five elude possible reserves east of Glacier Canyon and that ad- States are compiled in table 16. Alabama, New York, and ditional reserves might also be present in two graphitic Texas represent 89.1 pet of the total shown. During the 5 zones parallel to the northerly fault zone fronting the range, yr of World War I (1914-18), the combined production of New Still, it is considered to be extremely unlikely that the fre- York (6,489 mt) and Alabama (11,396 mt) represented 29.5 quently cited (and enormous) tonnage of greater than 10 pet of total U.S. historical production. Mmt of recoverable graphite, which first appeared in USGS Natural graphite deposits in the United States occur in Professional Paper 820 (21), is present in Alaska. 9 States, as shown in figure 9. Flake graphite resources are Because of the lack of detailed and updated geological located in Alabama, Alaska, New York, Pennsylvania, and data and metallurgical testing on the Imuruk Basin Texas. High-crystalline, vein-type graphite similar to Sri deposits, the in situ tonnage estimated at 2.3 Mmt is Lankan graphite is present in a deposit near Dillon, MT. classified as identified resources and was not evaluated for The amorphous variety, which includes meta-anthracites economics or avai lability. and graphitized coal deposits, is present in Idaho, Montana, «According to unpublished reports by H. Heide in a 1943 Bureau of Mines New Mexico, and Rhode Island. study. Table 16.— Flake graphite production data for the United States, 1889-1977 Production period Recorded production data State Major producing area for recorded Tonnage, Description of production data mt tonnage Alabama Clay, Coosa, and Chilton Counties. 1913-20, 1941-45, 1952 '20,660 Concentrates. A l aska Imuruk Basin (Kigluaik Mountain Range). 1907,1916,1942,1950 420 Hand-sorted ore. Pennsylvania Chester County 1889-1954 6,350 Flake graphite. New York Adirondack Mountains 1 904-21 22,200 Concentrates. Texas Burnet County 1971-77 '11,100 Do. Total . 60J30 'Does not include production for periods of 1921-29 and 1946-51, which could have represented an additional 14,000 mt of concentrates. ^Does not include production for periods of 1936-70 and 1978-79, which could have represented an additional 35,000 mt of concentrates. 20 New York New York flake graphite properties were not analyzed for economics in this study or included in the availability analysis because there were too many unknowns about the present condition of the prior workings and of the nature of the ore to propose reasonably accurate mining and mill- ing scenarios. The relatively uneconomic position of these resources can be judged by the following points compiled from three publications (22-24), as well as unpublished Bureau of Mines data from a 1976 study: 1. Extraction would require underground mining, prob- ably with a small-scale room-and-pillar method. Mining would most likely require the complete rehabilitation of old workings. 2. The graphite grade, even at an average of 6.5 to 7.5 pet C, is extremely low in comparison with that of produc- ing flake underground mines in Norway, Federal Republic of Germany, and Zimbabwe (17 pet to >25 pet C). 3. The largest of the past producing mills were built with design capacities of about 180 mt/d ore or equivalent to between 50,000 and 65,000 mt/yr ore. This appears to be a limitation imposed by topographic considerations and would most likely also limit the scale of any new proposed operations. 4. The schist ore to be processed is unweathered and would thus require a significant amount of primary grinding. In the southeastern Adirondacks group (fig. 10), past production came from 12 properties. All but two of these properties are within the boundaries of the Adirondack State Park and thus not open to possible commercial production. H. L. Ailing estimated tonnage and grade for two prop- erties in 1917 (22); his estimates, which included one of the two properties now outside the park boundary, totaled 450,000 mt contained graphitic carbon. This study only con- sidered the smaller deposit, from outside the park boundary, as a demonstrated and identified resource available for possible exploitation; the property contains 2.1 Mmt ore at 4.5 pet C, or about 94,500 mt contained graphitic carbon. Basically, little or no exploration or metallurgical testing work has been done on the New York flake graphite properties since their closure in the early 1920's. For this reason, no evaluated demonstrated resources of flake graphite in the State of New York have been included in this availability analysis. Pennsylvania 7 Pennsylvania's past flake graphite production occurred within the area shown in figure 10, primarily at 14 localities in Chester County in an area southwest of Phoenixville that extends for about 10 km along Pickering Creek Valley. The majority of the production occurred from 1860 through 1919. Since 1920, the only production has been 360 mt in 1943, 160 mt in 1947-48, and 410 mt in 1953-54 from a 270-mt/d pilot plant constructed for the Bureau of Mines to treat ore from the Benjamin Franklin and the Just Mines. At present, the only reserve-resource values that have been found in the literature refer to measured and inferred reserves at the Benjamin Franklin Mine and measured reserves at the Just Mine, both in Chester County. These values represent the results from trenching and sampling 'All data for Pennsylvania are from two separate Bureau investigations. one in 1949 and our m 1976. work done in November 1948. At the time, the two mines were estimated to contain a combined measured reserve of 800,000 mt ore at a weighted average grade of only 2.3 pet graphitic carbon; this amount has therefore been considered as the demonstrated resource for this study. The identified resource contains the measured plus inferred tonnages from the prior work and totals 1,015,800 mt ore at a similar graphitic carbon content. The extremely low grade and the nearness of the deposits to residential areas were reasons for not including this tonnage in the evaluated tonnage for the availability analysis. Texas The Southwestern Graphite Mine (fig. 9), located in Burnet County, was in continuous production from 1937 through 1979. During that period the operation probably produced an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 mt of high-grade, fine-flake graphite products. The only resource estimate available is W.D. McMillan's 1949 estimate of 2.4 Mmt. 8 McMillan's estimated resources for three pit areas (the Cen- tral, West, and Northeast Pits), all located within a mineralized zone approximately 1,100 m long and 30 to 45 m wide. The individual pits were separated by low-grade areas within the graphite schist unit being mined. An estimated 1.6 Mmt ore was extracted from this mine during the period 1949-79; based on McMillan's estimate, approximately 0.8 Mmt of identified resources would still be present today, probably at a grade similar to McMillan's estimate of 5.2 pet C. However, the economics of producing this tonnage may be completely different from the eco- nomics of past production, which involved surface mining at a stripping ratio of less than 1:1. In addition, the flake size distribution in these ores is indicated to contain a small percentage of the coarser flake sizes, which would have an effect on any future possible production. The resources of flake graphite that could be available from the Burnet County Mine were not analyzed in this study solely because very few data were available concern- ing the actual remaining resource; this places that tonnage in the identified resource category. Alabama The flake graphite deposits of Alabama are located in a narrow belt extending in a northeast-southwest direction through portions of Clay, Coosa, and Chilton Counties, mid- way between Birmingham and Montgomery (fig. 11). There are two sections to this belt. The first section, the Clay County portion, extends from the extreme northeast cor- ner of Clay County for about 40 km in a southwesterly direc- tion. This section of the belt widens to 3 to 4 km near a point about 15 km southwest of the city of Ashland, where the strike of the belt turns to the southeast. The continuity of the belt is then broken by a 6-km gap, as shown in figure 11. The second section of the belt, the Coosa and Chilton Counties portion, begins near the town of Goodwater and extends southwestward for 50 km with a fairly consistent width of 3.2 to 4.8 km. Geologically, the graphite belt lies near the northeast boundary of the Ashland Series, a complex group of in- tensely folded and faulted metamorphosed beds of Precam- brian age, composed mostly of a quartz-mica schist in which the mica is predominantly muscovite, a garnet-mica schist in which biotite is the more common mica, and a hornblende schist. All of these rocks are overthrust extensively from the southeast and are penetrated by numerous pegmatites and granitic intrusions. 21 LEGEND • City or town I X.;3 Graphite belt ===== Road * ' i Railroad ALABAMA • Montgomery FIGURE 11.— Location of the graphite belt in Alabama. The last production in the Alabama graphite areas was in 1953. This was nearly 10 yr after a series of studies were conducted in 1942-44 by the Bureau of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey. These studies resulted in two publica- tions (25-26T that summarize the work done, which included preliminary examination of 49 properties, detailed prospect- ing and mapping of 13 of these properties, 702 graphite flotations, 121 mica flotations, 579 screen analyses, and 2,143 carbon analyses. In this series of studies, the graphite processing involved reduction of the ore to minus 10 mesh followed by two-stage flotation (rougher and cleaner stages) and screening on U.S. standard 20-, 30-, 40-, 50-, 70-, and 100-mesh screens. The 13 areas subjected to detailed prospecting and map- ping were estimated to contain a total of 17.39 Mmt of all types of materials and the other areas, which were subjected only to preliminary investigation, were estimated to con- tain 6.12 Mmt of all types of material. The breakdown as to type of material is as follows: "Plus two classified documents. Ore tonnage, 10 3 mt Areas subjected to detailed prospecting and mapping: Weathered ore: Measured 10,030 Interred 550 Subtotal 10,580 Unweathered ore: Measured 635 Inferred 6,170 Subtotal 6,805 Areas subjected to preliminary investigation: Weathered ore: Inferred 2,490 Unweathered ore: Inferred 3,630 The most important of these classifications is the mea- sured, weathered tonnage of 10,030,000 mt in the 13 areas prospected in detail, since these properties represent nearly all of the major past producers and only the weathered ore was mined in past operations. Of these 13 areas, 11 are in Clay County and 2 are in Coosa County, very close to the town of Goodwater. This tonnage estimate as of the mid- 1940's has served as a base for the present availability 22 analysis. The present estimate of demonstrated resources of weathered material for this study has been derived by subtraction of 126,000 mt of production (before eventual closing) at 2 of the 13 properties, addition of 3,843,000 mt at 3 properties not included in the mid-1940's list of 13, and addition of 7,157,000 mt at several of the properties included in the original list of 13 properties. The resulting demon- strated resource tonnage of weathered ore for this analysis totals 20,904,000 mt averaging 3.7 pet graphitic carbon con- tained in the 16 properties listed in table 17. Table 17.— Tonnage assignments to individual proposed milling units, Alabama graphite area Table 18.— Estimates of identified and demonstrated U.S. resources of flake graphite ores In situ resources. 10 3 mt Proposed milling complex and properties assigned Total assigned tonnage, 10 3 mt Wtd av grade, wt pet C Contained carbon', 10 3 mt Alabama mill no. 1: Alabama No. 1 5,703 3.5 201 Alabama mill no. 2: Ceylon, Epps, Jennings, National, Republic 4,578 3.1 142 Alabama mill no. 3: Eagle, Haile, Jefferson, Pocahontas, Superior . . 5,744 4.1 236 Alabama mill no. 4: Alabama No. 2, Alabama No. 3, C.B. Allen, May Brothers, Quemalda 4,879 4.0 195 Total or average . . . 20,904 3.7 774 'Contained carbon values may not necessarily equal multiplication of ton- nage by grade due to rounding of grades. As analyzed, the resource tonnages for the 16 individual properties vary greatly from 71,000 mt to 5.7 Mmt ore with an average of 1.3 Mmt per property. Individual property feed grades range from 2.5 to 6.7 pet C. Of the 16 proper- ties, 14 are located in Clay County, all within 3 to 15 km of Ashland. The other two properties are located in Coosa County, near the northeastern corner of area B shown in figure 11, near the town of Goodwater. The two Coosa County deposits only account for 0.7 of the 20.9 Mmt total. Each of the 16 properties were assigned to feed one of four separate proposed milling complexes, each having a proposed feed capacity of 175,000 mt/yr ore feed (500 mt/d). The property assignments were primarily based upon indi- vidual property resource tonnages so that the total resource available to each mill would be roughly similar, as shown in table 17. Some ownership and locational factors also af- fected these assignments. Summary, U.S. Flake Graphite Resources To summarize, flake resources are present in Alabama, Alaska, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. This study's estimate of total identified and demonstrated resources can be summarized as shown in table 18. Of this total demonstrated flake graphite resources of 23.8 Mmt, only the Alabama material has been subjected to further economic evaluation in this analysis. The Alaska tonnage was not analyzed because studies on appropriate mining and beneficiation methods have not been conducted, owing to a lack of detailed geological data and metallurgical testing. The New York tonnage was not evaluated because details on appropriate mining and beneficiation methods have not been determined to a level sufficient to allow ade- quate evaluation. The Pennsylvania resource is very low grade and indicated to be located very close to residential Identified Demonstrated 23,944 20,904 2,305 NAp 2,100 2,100 1,015 800 800 NAp 30,164 23,804 Description of properties included in resource values Alabama: Weathered ore in 16 properties Alaska: Imuruk Basin deposits New York: 1917 estimate for the 1 major southeastern Adirondacks past producer presently outside State park boundary Pennsylvania: Tonnages at 2 past producers Texas: Possible remaining tonnage at 1 past producer Total NAp Not applicable. areas. The Texas property was not evaluated because of questions regarding the remaining resource value. SOUTH AMERICA (BRAZIL) According to its 1983 minerals yearbook (27), Brazil's total graphite resource consists of 47,708,000 mt of iden- tified resources contained in five deposits. Two producing mines, Pedra Azul and Itapecerica, accounted for 99.2 pet of the total identified resource; the other 0.8 pet (376,000 mt) was in three nonproducing deposits— the areas of Arcos, Mateus Leme, and Sao Francisco de Paule. In this study, a total of 28,794,000 mt of demonstrated resources averag- ing 10.3 pet C was analyzed; of this total, 98 pet was Pedra Azul ore at 10.0 pet C and 2 pet was Itapecerica ore at over 20 pet C. This 28.8 Mmt of demonstrated resources, essen- tially all contained in only one producing operation, com- prises 30.4 pet of the total tonnage and 35.8 pet of the total contained carbon in the MEC in situ demonstrated resources evaluated in this study. SUMMARY, EVALUATED MEC DEMONSTRATED RESOURCES The 94.8 Mmt of total MEC demonstrated, in situ resources shown in table 11 should result in 79.7 Mmt of recoverable demonstrated resources, which in turn repre- sents the mill feed tonnage to the properties analyzed for availability. This would yield an estimated total of 5.6 Mmt of recoverable graphite products, when estimated mill recoveries and product grades are applied. In all countries except India and the Republic of Korea, the recoverable demonstrated resource represents application of mine recovery and dilution factors to the in situ demonstrated resources in table 11. In those two countries, a certain por- tion of the in situ demonstrated resource has not been further analyzed for availability for reasons described previously. There are three caveats to the estimates that must be discussed to place the MEC demonstrated resources of flake and high-crystalline natural graphite in th* proper perspective: 1. The type of resource data reported. 2. The type of resource occurrence that accounts for pro- duction and potential in an individual country. 3. The static nature of this type of analysis. 23 The type of resource data reported or available often varies not only because of Government policies but also because of a reluctance on the part of many mining com- panies to divulge data on their operations and properties. This is usually due to a number of factors; but, particularly in this graphite study, where 5 of the 10 countries included have only one producing operation, the dissemination of in- formation becomes extremely sensitive. A second aspect of this first caveat is that the delineation of resources is a costly and time-consuming endeavor and will not be done by poorer countries. Examples in this study are the opera- tions in Madagascar and Sri Lanka, which will not estimate beyond the proven reserve level without a very good reason, such as plans for major capital investment. A third aspect to consider under this first caveat is the somewhat dated information on many of the U.S. graphite deposits where many of the available data are from investigations in the 1920's, 1930's, and 1940's. The second caveat deals with the type of resource oc- currence in an individual country. For example, the pro- duction in India comes from numerous small operations, and many of these operations are nearly impossible to evaluate for economics; whereas in the Republic of Korea, the demon- strated resources of flake graphite consist of two distinct types, (1) large-tonnage producing deposits using surface mining methods, and (2) many small nonproducing deposits that would have to be mined by underground methods. As a result, only three Korean properties and one Indian prop- erty were evaluated for economics in this study. Respec- tively, these properties represent only 48 pet and 3 pet of the in situ demonstrated resources shown in table 11 for those countries. Another example of this second caveat con- cerns all of the underground mines and regards the dilu- tion factors at any one point in time. For example, the three underground flake graphite operations analyzed all exhibit varying dilution rates at different periods in time, and the particular dilution factor being used will cause proportional changes in any total ore tonnage value. The third caveat addresses the static nature of evaluated demonstrated resources. The resource estimates for this study reflect circa 1982 estimates minus estimated produc- tion from producing mines for the intervening years to January 1984. This implies that no new reserves or demonstrated resources have been added to replace that pro- duction, an implication which is highly unlikely, especially over the long time periods of this availability study. METHODOLOGY AND PRICE PROPORTIONING The Bureau of Mines is developing a revolving methodology for the analysis of long-run mineral resource availability. An integral part of this system is the supply analysis model (SAM) (28) developed by personnel of the Bureau's Minerals Availability Field Office. This interac- tive computer system is an effective mathematical tool for analyzing the effects of various parameters upon the economic availability of domestic and international resources. For each operation included in this evaluation, capital expenditures were estimated for exploration, acquisition, development; mine plant and mine equipment; and con- struction and equipping of the mill. The capital expen- ditures for the different mining and processing facilities in- clude the costs of mobile and stationary equipment, con- struction, engineering, infrastructure, and working capital. Infrastructure is a broad category that includes costs for access and haulage facilities, ports, water facilities, power supply, and personnel accommodations. Working capital is a revolving cash fund required for operating expenses such as labor, supplies, insurance, and taxes. All costs are ex- pressed in U.S. dollars. The initial capital costs for producing or past produc- ing mines and developed deposits have been depreciated ac- cording to the actual investment year, and the undepreciated portion was treated as a capital investment in 1984, the base year of this evaluation. Reinvestments will vary according to capacity, production life, and age of the facilities. Where appropriate, costs have been updated to 1984 U.S. dollars according to local currency factors and individual country inflation indexes. These costs are weighted proportionally on an individual country basis, according to the impact of labor, energy, and other factors affecting the cost structure of the graphite industry. The total operating cost of a mining project is a com- bination of direct and indirect costs. Direct operating costs include operating and maintenance labor and supplies, supervision, payroll overhead, insurance, local taxation, and utilities. The indirect operating costs include technical and clerical labor, administrative costs, maintainance of facilities, and research. The SAM contains a separate tax record file for each State and country that includes all the relevant tax param- eters under which a mining firm would operate. These tax parameters are applied to each mineral deposit under evaluation with the implicit assumption that each deposit represents a separate corporate entity. Other costs in the analysis include standard deductibles such as depreciation, depletion, deferred expenses, investment tax credits, and tax loss carryforwards. An economic evaluation of each property provides an estimate of the average total cost of production for the opera- tion over its estimated producing life. The evaluation uses discounted-cash-flow rate of return (DCFROR) techniques to establish the constant-dollar long-run price at which the primary product would need to be sold so that revenues are sufficient to cover all costs of production, including a pre- specified rate of return on investment. Detailed cash-flow analyses are generated with the SAM system for each preproduction and production year of an analyzed mine or deposit beginning with the initial year of analysis, which in this study is the year 1984. Upon com- pletion of the individual analysis for each deposit, all prop- erties were simultaneously analyzed and aggregated into availability curves. The availability of each graphite product recoverable from a deposit is presented graphically, and in the text of this study, as a function of the total cost of production associated with that product from each deposit. Total availability curves are constructed as aggregations of the total amount of commodity potentially available from each of the evaluated operations, ordered from the deposits hav- ing the lowest average total cost per unit of production to those having the highest. The potential availability of each graphite product at a determined cost or price level can be obtained by comparing, for example, an expected long-run 24 constant-dollar market price with the average total cost values shown on the availability curves. The total recover- able tonnage potentially available at or below this price- cost value can be read directly from the total availability curve. Annual availability curves were also constructed to show the quantity of graphite available on an annual basis. For nonproducing deposits, these curves account for the time lags involved in arriving at full production potential. These curves are simply the total availability of graphite in any given year, based on the development and production schedules assigned to each deposit. Certain assumptions are inherent in the total and an- nual curves. First, all deposits will produce at full design capacity throughout the productive life of the deposit, as determined by the level of evaluated resources, except when it is known that an operation plans to produce at reduced levels for the foreseeable future. Second, each operation will be able to sell all of its output at the determined total cost and obtain at least the minimum specified rate of return. Third, all preproduction development of all undeveloped deposits would begin in the first year of this evaluation (year N or, in this study, 1984). In most previous Bureau of Mines availability studies, all costs of production were burdened against the primary commodity being evaluated, with all of the byproducts pro- viding offsetting revenues based on their market prices ex- isting at the time of the study. The fact that graphite A and graphite B products are essentially coproducts with different price levels meant that this study had to use a price pro- portioning methodology for economic analysis. Under this price proportioning, costs and revenues are allocated be- tween both products, thus providing a determined total cost of production for each product. In the methodology of price proportioning, the total cost of production for each graphite product is determined by applying a proportional factor to the total revenues required for the specified DCFROR rate. Thus, the total revenues required are apportioned to both the recoverable graphite A and recoverable graphite B products according to the market price differentials. 9 For this analysis, market price proportions were assigned on a country basis where prices were available for the individual countries. In calculating this ratio, the average price differentials between the max- imum and minimum prices over the 1979-84 period were determined from the prices shown in table 10, which were compiled from the February issues of Engineering and Min- ing Journal for the years 1979-84. These published prices only covered the countries of Madagascar, Norway, Sri Lanka, and Federal Republic of Germany, and no published prices were available for the countries of Brazil, Korea, India, Mexico, Zimbabwe, and Canada. These latter coun- tries were assigned price proportions similar to the pub- lished prices of Norway since the Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and the Federal Republic of Germany prices basically reflect unique product situations. As a result, the price proportion- ing ratios used in this availability study for the flake graphite properties are 2.4:1 for the graphite A and graphite B products in Madagascar, which are essentially flake dust ratios, and 2.5:1.0 for all other countries. These price proportions allow revenues to be divided be- tween graphite A and graphite B according to their relative market value rather than assigning a price for one product and determining a price for the other. Thus, each of the coproduct's relative values can be addressed separately within a total revenue requirement basis. MINING METHODS AND COSTS Figure 12 illustrates the breakdown of the total flake and high-crystalline resource tonnage as to its presence in producing and nonproducing surface, underground, and combined surface-underground operations. As shown, 91 pet of the total tonnage of mineable material is surface mineable while only 4 pet. is mineable by underground methods; the remaining 5 pet, representing a Canadian resource, will have to be mined by a combination of sur- face and underground methods. The same total resource breakdown in terms of graphite A and graphite B product output tonnages are also shown in figure 12. On a product basis, the proportion from pro- ducing underground mining operations is higher (12 pet of the graphite A and 23 pet of the graphite B), owing to the high ore grades at the underground mines. Yet, even on a product basis, the producing and nonproducing surface operations still are responsible for 83 pet of the recoverable graphite A and 72 pet of the recoverable graphite B products. For comparative economic purposes, it is important to categorize the various ores being treated as to their graphitic carbon contents and the relative hardness of the ores in relation to mining methods utilized. There are two basic types of ore represented in figure 12: (1) vein and lens occurrences of flake and high- crystalline graphite and (2) disseminated deposits of flake graphite. The vein and lens-type occurrences are repre- sented by the four Sri Lankan operations, which mine high-crystalline graphite, and by the Zimbabwean, Norwegian, and West German flake producers and the one nonproducer in Republic of Korea. All of these operations are underground mines and process, or will process, unweathered ore. The Sri Lankan operations extract high- crystalline vein ore of about 85 to 95 pet C, while the Zim- babwean, Norwegian, and West German operations mine flake graphite ores grading 17.5 to over 26 pet C. All of the remaining operations-deposits in this study use or are pro- posed to use surface mining to produce graphite products from disseminated flake ores grading from 3.5 to slightly more than 10 pet C. The exceptions are two Canadian prop- erties where a significant portion of the overall resource is indicated to require underground mining after the initial surface mineable material is exhausted. PRODUCERS The underground mining of vein or lens occurrences of flake and high-crystalline graphite at producing operations consists of basically two types: • The highly labor intensive mining of very thin (usu- ally less than 1 m thick), very high grade veins (85 to 95 pet C) in Sri Lanka. "For modeling pui ^oses, and comparison between operations, this evalua- tion assumes that a relationship exists between market prices and the average total cost of production. 25 Nonproducing combined 3 pet Producing underground 4 pet Producing combined 2 pet A, Total evaluated demonstrated =79.7 Mmt Nonproducing combined 3 pet Producing combined 2 pet S, Total recoverable graphite A=3.2 Mmt product Nonproducing combined 3pct Producing combined 2 pet C, Total recoverable graphite B-2 4 Mmt product FIGuhc 12.— Total demonstrated resources, recoverable graphite A, and recoverable graphite B, by status and mine type. • The relatively high tonnage (25,000 to 50,000 mt/yr), sublevel open stoping and/or cut-and-fill operations in Zim- babwe, Norway, and the Federal Republic of Germany, which mine flake ores grading from 17.5 to slightly more than 26 pet C. The Sri Lankan operations have very high mining costs, estimated at $128/mt to $179/mt ore, despite having relatively low labor costs per worker. The high cost level is due to the thin veins, high water inflows, poor access, and extensive ventilation requirements because of the relatively deep workings. By contrast, the European and Zimbabwean underground operations cost only $18/mt to $43/mt for mining, due to wider mining widths (ranging from 2 to 30 m wide) that allow the utilization of lower cost cut-and-fill and sublevel stoping methods. The surface mining of disseminated flake ores in pro- ducing operations are represented by six Madagascar, two South Korean, one Indian, one Mexican, and the two Brazilian operations, while the Canadian producer is presently a surface mining operation but will probably have to switch to underground mining within 10 yr. There is wide variation among these 13 operations as to the relative hard- ness and the grade (3.7 to more than 20 pet C) of the ore being mined. The softest ore is the Madagascar ore, which is a highly weathered, clayey material grading 5 to 10 pet C. This ore is transported (usually by trucks) to a sluice for gravity transport to field washing plants. Figure 13 shows a sim- plified plan view and cross section of one type of layout of mining operations in Madagascar. The most cost effective mine plan maintains a high ratio of sluicing distance to trucking distance. At the field washer, the ore slurry passes through a bar grizzly to remove the plus 5 mm oversize before it is dis- charged to the "poste de debourbage" feed box. As shown in figure 13, the location of the feed box must be at least 5 m below the lowest elevation of the ore horizon being worked at the sites. This results in maximum resource ex- ploitation through gravity flow. Wastes from the "poste de debourbage" are usually disposed of by gravity flow into a nearby river. This gravity-assisted transportation of ore and wastes is the key to keeping production costs down at the Madagascar operations. The Madagascar operations typically process a total of 50,000 to 100,000 mt/yr ore in three field washing plants and one central refining plant. Mine operating costs are estimated to vary between $5.26/mt and $6.39/mt ore and could be as high as $12/mt for operations with ore capacities under 50,000 mt/yr. The South Korean and Mexican surface mines all ex- tract flake ores grading slightly less than 4 pet C. These operations can produce from such low-grade deposits because they all mine a soft, weathered ore that does not need drilling and blasting and also because they have essen- tially no overburden or waste material and fairly short hauls to the mill. Estimated mining costs for these opera- tions are all less than $7/mt ore with ore capacities of 21,000 to 52,000 mt/yr. The Indian, Brazilian, and Canadian surface mining operations all mine ores grading between 9 and 23 pet C. The Indian operation is indicated to be mining a weathered ore with labor-intensive surface mining methods, while the Canadian operation must drill and blast nearly 100 pet of the ore. The extent of weathering of the ore being mined at the two Brazilian mines is not known, but indications are that at least some, if not most, of the ore must be drilled and blasted. Estimated mine operating costs for all of these surface mines range from $9.15/mt to $24.60/mt ore. 26 PLAN VIEW Central refinery O Field washers (Postesde debourbage) CROSS SECTION Ore and waste -horizons mined out Outline of ore horizon (topographic high) ^^ Field washer Poste de debourbage) •Unweathered rock ( of economic extraction FIGURE 13.— Simplified plan and cross section of a typical mine in Madagascar. NONPRODUCERS The nine nonproducing operations included in this analysis are represented by the four proposed milling com- plexes in Alabama, two nonproducers in Canada, two non- producing concession areas in Madagascar, and one non- producing deposit in the Republic of Korea. The 16 individual mines that would feed the four pro posed milling complexes in Alabama will most likely mine weathered, disseminated flake ore. As analyzed, each com- plex would receive about 175,000 mt/yr ore from the various mines with ore feed grades varying between 2.5 and 6.7 pet C. Also as analyzed (mining soft, weathered ore with essen- tially no stripping ratio), the estimated mine operating costs would range from $4.32 to $5.85/mt ore. The two Canadian nonproducers would mine mostly unweathered ore grading around 9 to 10 pet C with one of the operations involving 100 pet surface mining and the other a combination of sur- face mining and underground mining over the entire life of its resource. Ore capacities proposed for these Canadian operations are 110,000 to 150,000 mt/yr, and mining costs would range between $14 and $21/mt ore. The two Madagascar nonproducers are indicated to be planned as replacement operations for some of the presently producing operations. They are not expected to be radically different in operational characteristics and operating costs from the present producers. The South Korean nonproduc- ing operation was analyzed solely to obtain an idea of the relative economics in the Republic of Korea of mining small ore bodies of unweathered 10-pct-C graphite material by underground methods with adit entry. This was done because this type of occurrence and operation is radically different from the present producing operations in the Republic of Korea. BENEFICIATION METHODS AND COSTS Beneficiation processes for flake and high-crystalline graphite ores vary from hand-sorting and screening of very high grade ore at the four Sri Lankan operations to com- plex four- and five-stage flotation plus complex "finishing" facilities at the European mills. Interestingly, at both of these extremes, the operations are designed to accommodate a wide variety of product specifications. The estimated mill operating costs at all producing operations and nonproduc- ing deposits ranged from $3/mt to $43/mt ore, which reflects the wide variations in processes being used. PRODUCERS High-Crystalline Graphite Operations The high-grade, high-crystalline, vein-type graphite ore produced by the Sri Lankan mines requires only a slight upgrading of the carbon content through hand-sorting and sizing-screening operations. Most of the processing of this type of graphite ore involves the production of correctly sized and graded products to meet specific customer requests. Thus, the two major Sri Lankan milling operations analyzed (these mills also process the ore from the other two evaluated properties) list as many as 50 different products as being available in various grades and particle sizes. Because of the unique nature of the Sri Lankan operations, it will only be mentioned that the capacities of the opera- tions are small (11,500 mt/yr ore feed for all four mines at full capacity). Even though the processing costs are high, ranging from $29.31/mt to $42.74/mt ore feed, processing costs only represent about 20 pet of the total mining plus milling costs, on a weighted-average basis. Flake Graphite Operations The total annual ore feed capacity of the 16 producing operations treating flake ores is estimated to be close to 900,000 mt/yr, with the six Madagascar milling operations accounting for 37.7 pet of the total. Three extremely large 27 mills represent 50 pet of this total annual capacity; the largest of these is a 250,000-mt/yr mill located in Brazil, and the other two, each with capacities of approximately 100,000 mt/yr, are located in Madagascar. Another three milling operations have treatment capacities ranging from approximately 50,000 to 75,000 mt/yr; these mills account for another 20 pet of the total milling capacity. Six of the mills have capacities of 25,000 to 45,000 mt/yr; the remain- ing four are very small, with capacities ranging from only 9,000 to 12,000 mt/yr. The 16 producing flake-graphite milling operations analyzed in this study can be roughly classified into three groups of processors, as shown in table 19, according to the basic markets they serve. Group A consists of the two Euro- pean milling operations that have very sophisticated "finishing" (regrinding, screening, classification, blending, bagging) operations. These sophisticated milling operations have been developed around high-grade, high-quality, underground flake graphite deposits over a period of many years of production. Table 19.— Comparison of feed capacities and weighted-average mill operating costs for producing flake graphite mills, by market groupings Number of re feed capacity, wtd av miN Group dassificatiom Jffg^ HHHL ° P cos? 9 in group Total Average $/ mt pre Group A 2 65,000 32,500 32.11 Group B: Madagascar 6 338,000 56,300 5.76 Non-Madagascar 5 334,000 66,800 9.02 Group C 3 150,000 50,000 15.82 Total or average . . 16 887,000 55,400 10.62 ^roup A: Sophisticated "finishing" operations; includes production of chemically upgraded graphite at 1 mill. Group B: Independent operations oriented toward either export or local markets. Group C: "New" mills; 2 are captive through ownership, 1 is Government-owned. Group B represents the milling operations in Mada- gascar, Brazil, the Republic of Korea, and India. These are essentially independent operations that are heavily oriented toward either exports (Madagascar and Brazil) or local markets (Republic of Korea and India). These operations, in general, provide a much narrower range of products than the sophisticated mills but a somewhat wider range of prod- ucts than the group C mills. Group C consists of what could be considered as "new" milling operations. Two of these (in Canada and Zimbabwe) are essentially "captive" mills (ownership considerations indicate that their output goes entirely to the owners), and the third is owned by the Mexican Government. All three have been constructed since 1965, with two developed in the late 1970's. As shown in table 19, the sophisticated mills (group A) have the lowest average ore feed capacities and much higher estimated operating costs. The increased level of operating costs is due to their smaller size, to the many additional processes employed, and to their locations in Europe with higher attendant labor costs. The 11 group B milling opera- tions represent the vast majority (75.7 pet) of the total ore processing capacity, which is evenly split between the six Madagascar and the five non-Madagascar milling opera- tions. Of particular note is that estimated milling costs for the Madagascar operations are 36 pet less than for the non- Madagascar operations, a fact that primarily reflects both the need for fewer flotation stages to reach acceptable car- bon grades in marketable concentrates and the absence of primary crushing and grinding of the Madagascar ores. Group C milling operations have significantly higher estimated operating costs than the group B mills, probably owing to their essentially noncompetitive operation. Flake graphite products produced in Madagascar con- tain the highest proportion of coarse flakes in the world. Typical product specifications are shown in table 20. All of the Madagascar plants screen their products to the same size ranges so that all products are essentially consistent in size; however, the relative proportions of the various prod- ucts do vary from operation to operation. Table 20.— Specifications for Madagascar graphite products (1) Product Retained on sieve, wt pet Mesh size, U.S. standard Flake: Large flake . . . Medium flake . Fine flake Powder: Extra fine 75 40 97 60 25 40 97 80 25 30 75 60 95 80 80 A simplified flowsheet from ore to finished product for a typical Madagascar operation is shown in figure 14. Raw ore is sluiced to the field washing plant, where the ore undergoes desliming to remove the clay fraction and is then subjected to a rougher flotation to produce a rougher con- centrate grading about 60 to 70 pet C. This concentrate is WASTE PRODUCTS Plus 5-mm stones Ore Sluice Grizzly with 5-mm opening js 5-mm ore Field washer, desliming and rougher flotation *■ Rougher flotation tailing Rougher concentrate 1 60 to 70 pet C Raffinage ball mill, cleaner flotation, drying ► Cleaner flotation tailing Cleaner concentrate , 85 pet C Tamatave warehouse export shipping FIGURE 14.— Simplified flowsheet for a typical Madagascar operation. 28 then transported to the refining mill. At the refining mill, the concentrate is ground in ball mills to liberate residual gangue and then flows by gravity to cleaner flotation cells. Diesel fuel oil and alcohol-based frothers are used in all flotations. The cleaner concentrate at 85 pet C passes over a final desliming wet screen and is pumped to dryer feed bins. The dryer product is conveyed to the screening plant, where vibrating screens size the graphite flakes to produce the flake and powder products shown in table 20. Graphite is bagged in 50-kg sacks, then transported to and stored at Tamatave for export shipping. Table 21 compares the typical grades in the graphite concentrates at various stages of flotation at the produc- ing MEC flake mills analyzed. Although data are limited, concentrate grades resulting from rougher flotation are on the order of 60 to 70 pet C. In subsequent cleaner and scavenger stages, it appears that the second flotation stage increases the carbon content in the concentrate 10 to 15 pet and the third stage another 8 to 12 pet. Of note is that the Madagascar operations can attain grades of 80 to 85 pet C with only two stages of flotation, while the majority of the other milling operations need at least three major stages of flotation to achieve similar carbon grades in their con- centrates, and one of the Korean mills is indicated to need four stages to reach this level. Madagascar operations also can produce higher grade products (88 to 93 pet C) by utiliz- ing a third flotation stage if markets require the higher grade products. Table 21.— Graphite concentrate grades during various stages of flotation for producing flake graphite milling operations (Weight percent carbon) ~ „,,„, n . Ore First Second Third Fourth Fifth Groups Country grade (|oat f|oa , f|pat f|Qat (|Qat A Germany, Federal Republic of 17.5 60.0 70.0 82.0 90.0 96.0 Norway 26.6 60.0 72.0 80.0 83-84 88.0 B Brazil* 10-23.0 60.0 NA NA 85-95 NAp India 2 10.0 NA NA NA 82-91 NAp Korea, Republic of . 3.5-5.0 NA NA 376-85 375-95 NAp Madagascar 5.0-9.0 60-70 80-85 88-93 NAp NAp C Canada 10.0 NA NA NA NA 85-90 Mexico 3.7 NA NA NA 86-94 NAp Zimbabwe 25.0 64.0 NA NA NA 89-93 NA Not available NAp Not applicable 'See table 19 for explanation of group designations. 2 ln these cases, the actual total number of flotation stages is either unknown or unclear. It is believed that to attain the grade ranges shown, at least 4 stages are necessary. 3 1 mill has 3 stages; the other has 4 stages. At the more sophisticated (group A) mills in Europe, the beneficiation processes reflect the requirement for flexibility in graphite milling. Several unique practices are incor- porated in the processes at these mills. First, an integral part of the operations is the ability to "pull out" the con- centrates from each of the separate flotation stages should a lower grade concentrate be desired for marketing or blend- ing reasons. Second, if the feed contains a particularly high amount of coarse flakes and/or it is necessary to produce the coarsest flake size product, one of the mills would divert the "rougher" concentrate to a "sieve-bend," which can separate the plus 30-mesh fraction from the smaller sized flakes. The coarser fraction would undergo a special "light grinding" and then either be sent to the first cleaner float or rejoin the smaller sized flake concentrate that was be- ing subjected to a much heavier regrinding. Third, one of the mills would cyclone the concentrate ahead of each regrinding stage to reduce the amount of material treated in regrinding. The mills of intermediate sophistication (group B mills) retain fewer options in terms of extracting lower grade con- centrates since their overall aim is to provide relatively high grade flake graphite concentrates for further use or re- processing by the buyers. The group C mills are unique in that their final marketable concentrates are sized into various flake size fractions prior to the dewatering and drying stage so that the products out of the drying stage basically represent the final products for shipment. This contrasts with all of the other mills, where sizing is done after dewatering and dry- ing of an unsized concentrate. NONPRODUCERS It is evident that graphite milling procedures are very individualistic and depend upon both the type of ore available as to grade and flake-size distribution and the par- ticular markets being served. Both of these factors will determine how much and what type of processing will be employed. One must also consider the benefication processes to be used at the nonproducing flake deposits in light of the fact that only 4 of the 16 analyzed producing flake milling operations— the Canadian, the Mexican, the Zimbabwean, and the Pedra Azul operation in Brazil— have been brought into production within the last 15 to 20 yr, and that 2 of these "new" mills provide feed material for the reprocess- ing companies that own them. Thus, it is extremely impor- tant that the proposed development of a nonproducing flake graphite deposit must first clearly define the markets to be served, which in turn will define the appropriate pro- cessing procedures to be used. Unfortunately, for many of the nonproducing flake graphite deposits investigated in this study, not even preliminary processing studies have been made, let alone processing studies developed based upon specific markets. A good example of this problem is the Alabama ores. The "best case" economic analysis of those ores is heavily depen- dent upon the processing investigations done in the 1940's, which utilized a flowsheet using only two-stage flotation. In fact, indications are that any proposed milling operation in Alabama to be developed in the present competitive market situation would probably need three or even four flotation stages to produce products acceptable to present markets. This additional processing would add to the already uneconomic status of this resource. Thus, the data concerning possible product outputs and associated economics for the nonproducing deposits included in this study are based on preliminary data and incomplete metallurgical results. In addition, the success or failure of a graphite milling operation will many times depend more upon the resourcefulness of the operators rather than on the proposed processing plans. Both of these caveats are mentioned in the context of presenting a rather sparse discussion on the milling aspects of the nonproducing flake deposits. Of particular note is that the capacities for each of the four milling complexes proposed to treat the Alabama ores 29 (175,000 mt/yr ore feed) and for the two nonproducing Cana- dian operations (100,000 and 150,000 mt/yr ore) are all within the capacity range of the three largest presently pro- ducing flake graphite milling operations included this study. Indications are that these proposed operations would need the economies of scale provided by such capacities. TOTAL COSTS OF PRODUCTION Operating costs for mining, beneficiation, and transpor- tation were estimated for each property. Where possible, actual capital and operating costs were gathered from published material or contacts with company personnel. When actual costs were unavailable, costs were either estimated using standardized costing techniques or derived from the Bureau's cost estimating system (CES) (29). Mine and mill operating costs include materials, utilities, labor, administrative costs, facilities maintenance, and supplies. A weighted-average total production cost of graphite at the breakeven (0-pct DCFROR) rate of return was deter- mined for each operation. The breakeven rate of return level represents the point where total revenues are just sufficient to cover total costs over the life of the operation. The total graphite revenues required to meet the 0-pct DCFROR for each operation were then divided by the total tonnage of recoverable products (graphite A plus graphite B) to pro- vide the total production cost of graphite at each operation. This evaluation allows for comparisons of graphite produc- tion costs to be made between selected operations and weighted averages to be compiled for country comparisons. Figure 15 illustrates the breakdown of these total pro- duction costs for all evaluated graphite operations at a 0-pct DCFROR. Ranges and weighted-average costs for each com- ponent of the 0-pct DCFROR total cost, as well as the total costs at the 15-pct DCFROR level, are presented in table 22 based on 1984 U.S. dollars per metric ton of total prod- uct (graphite A plus graphite B). The weighted-average total cost for each country was used to calculate the percentage breakdown of the cost components. Thus, percentages may not give the median value of the cost ranges and should be used only for comparison of tendencies between countries, not as the actual average cost for any one operation. 800 700- KEY / /^ / //, Miscellaneous Transportation Mill operating Mine operating z V\ N0NPR0DUCERS PRODUCERS FIGURE 15.— Weighted-average production costs for total graphite products, by individual property. 30 Table 22.— Range, weighted average, and component percentages of total costs, by country or geographic area (dollars per metric ton recoverable graphite) Country or Mining Milling Transportation' Miscellaneous 2 Total cost geographic area 0-pct DCFROR 15-pct DCFROR PRODUCERS Brazil: Range 64-118 53-101 18-22 Average cost 114 98 18 Pet of total cost 47 40 7 Europe 3 : Range 109-256 111-186 14-23 Average cost 180 148 18 Pet of total cost 40 33 4 Korea, Republic of: Range 65-94 198-253 2-4 Average cost 79 224 3 Pet of total cost 19 55 1 Madagascar: Range 83-240 66-175 5-57 Average cost 118 107 37 Pet of total cost 30 27 9 Sri Lanka: Range 53-246 35-52 28-37 Average cost 194 47 33 Pet of total cost 53 13 9 NONPRODUCERS Canada: Range 155-269 194-305 54-58 Average cost 1 94 267 57 Pet of total cost 31 43 9 Madgascar: Range 95-107 64-90 49-68 Average cost 99 80 61 Pet of total cost 23 18 14 United States: Range 105-190 212-350 NAp 4 Average cost 127 250 NAp 4 Pet of total cost 26 51 NAp 4 NAp Not applicable. 'Transport costs are for transport of products either from mill to port or mill to market. includes all capital costs, taxation and royalties. 3 Europe includes one operation each in Norway and the Federal Republic of Germany. "Alabama properties analyzed f.o.b. mill; only operations analyzed as such. 7-15 14 6 94-106 100 23 101-103 101 25 32-225 134 34 88-217 95 25 88-135 104 17 133-293 198 45 98-158 114 23 146-251 244 100 328-572 446 100 368-452 407 100 313-511 396 100 311-462 369 100 606-653 622 100 387-512 438 100 419-698 491 100 165-296 286 100 421-849 629 100 421-578 421 100 325-698 487 100 341-601 414 100 728-754 745 100 760-926 823 100 703-956 767 100 PRODUCING MINES In table 22, cost components for 16 of the 20 producing mines are grouped by country, except that the mines in Norway and the Federal Republic of Germany are grouped under the heading "Europe." Canada, India, Mexico, and Zimbabwe each have only one producing mine and are not included in the table for confidentiality reasons. Brazil, at $244/mt of total recoverable graphite, had the lowest weighted-average total cost of production required for a 0-pct DCFROR. This is primarily due to low capital costs relative to the size of the operations as well as to relatively high grades (10 to 23 pet C). The low-cost min- ing methods used in Madagascar and the Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka's need for only sizing methods to process its high-crystalline graphite enable all three of these countries are to produce graphite products at weighted averages of $396/mt, $407/mt, and $369/mt, respectively. The opera- tions in Europe are the highest cost group, despite having high ore grades of 18 to 26 pet C. The need for underground mining and the complexity of the beneficiation plants weight the costs towards the high side at $446/mt of total recoverable graphite. Transportation costs range from only 1 to 9 pet of the total cost and are of some significance, on this basis, only in the countries of Madagascar and Sri Lanka. Miscellaneous costs represent that portion of the weighted-average total cost not included in mining, mill- ing, and transportation costs. This includes items such as capital costs, taxes, and royalties. In all except the Brazilian operations, these costs account for 23 to 34 pet of the total. As shown, at the 15-pct DCFROR price determination level, the weighted-average total costs for the producers shown in table 22 increased from 3.4 pet to 41.0 pet, or $14/mt to $183/mt of graphite products. The only change in relative positions of the countries in terms of their total costs is that the Madagascar output becomes more expen- sive than the South Korean products. The two lowest percentage increases occur for the South Korean and the Sri Lankan operations, while the highest occurs at the Euro- pean operations. This is most likely a reflection of the relative complexity and/or the age of the milling operations. NONPRODUCING DEPOSITS The nonproducing deposits include four proposed mill- ing complexes in Alabama, two each in Madagascar and Canada, and one in the Republic of Korea. The nonproduc- ing deposit in the Republic of Korea (not shown in table 22), would extract ore by underground mining. As analyzed, its overall economics are competitive on a total product basis. However, the deposit is too small to have its own mill; thus, development would probably rely upon custom milling at the existing mills, and a major portion of its products would be of the smaller sized graphite B flake products. On a weighted-average basis, at the 0-pct DCFROR level, the nonproducing Madagascar deposits, at $438/mt product, are slightly more expensive than the producing Madagascar operations, at $396/mt product. The higher cost level is due to higher transport costs ($61 versus $37) and 31 higher miscellaneous costs (i.e., capital costs) at $198 ver- sus $134. Both of these differences reflect the fact that both of these deposits are more remote than the present Madagascar producers. The Canadian and U.S. nonproducing deposits, with total costs requirements for a 0-pct DCFROR averaging $622/mt and $491/mt product, respectively, are 39.5 pet and 12.3 pet higher than the weighted-average for the underground producers in Europe, which represented the highest cost flake operations in the producing grouping shown in table 22. The price determination for the Alabama graphite deposits reflects a "best case" scenario in terms of operational parameters such as waste to ore ratio, number of mill processing stages, f.o.b. point, and expected feed grade of the ore. A "worst case" scenario has also been analyzed in this study, and a comparison between the two is reported in appendix A. The high estimates for the two Canadian nonproducers reflect the situation that one of the deposits contains a com- bination of surface and underground mineable resources and the other, which contains a 100-pct surface mineable resource, has a fairly remote location. In addition, both would be mining unweathered ore with relatively higher stripping ratios than the presently producing MEC surface mining operations. At the 15-pct DCFROR level, the total cost for all of these nonproducers rises dramatically, increasing 19.8 pet for the Canadian deposits, 56.2 pet for the U.S. deposits, and 87.9 pet for the Madagascar nonproducers. TRANSPORTATION COSTS TO PORTS OR MARKETS As noted earlier, the costs for transporting flake and high-crystalline graphite products to ports and/or markets do not constitute a major percentage of the total costs for the individual countries shown in table 22. The Madagascar and Sri Lankan operations, at 9 pet, show the highest transportation percentage of total costs in the producing countries shown in table 22. For all of the operations analyzed, the costs for transport to markets and/or ports shows a wide range, from about $2/mt to as high as $68/mt product. The highest costs (in the $40/mt to $68/mt range) belong to the Canadian, Mex- ican, and Zimbabwean (not shown in table 22) operations, all of which involve fairly lengthy truck or truck plus rail distances. The medium costs ($20/mt to $40/mt range) are those in Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and Federal Republic of Germany, and the lowest transport costs (less than $15/mt) are at the South Korean and the Norwegian operations. The "best case" economic scenario for the Alabama flake graphite deposits (shown in table 22) represents an f.o.b. mill situation where transport costs to port or market are not included. These were the only group of operations or deposits that were analyzed as such. CAPITAL COSTS, NONPRODUCING DEPOSITS In this study, capital cost requirements were estimated for both the producing operations and the nonproducing deposits. It was found that most of the producing operations had been in production long enough that the effect of undepreciated capital was not particularly significant. Such was not the case for the nonproducers where the vast ma- jority had capital investments accounting for 36 to 46 pet of the total production cost at a 0-pct DCFROR. This dif- ference between the producers and nonproducers can be primarily illustrated by the differential total costs at the 0- and 15-pct DCFROR levels shown in table 22. Table 23 shows this study's estimates of capital cost re- quirements for major investment categories at the Cana- dian, U.S., and Madagascar nonproducing deposits. The Table 23.— Total capital cost estimates for nonproducing flake graphite properties, selected countries (U.S. dollars per metric ton' of annual graphite concentrate capacity) Canada United States Madagascar Development 1 88 57 Mine 105 206 835 Beneficiation 542 1,240 853 Total 1 835 1,503 1,688 'Over life of demonstrated resource. Madagascar nonproducing deposits art past producers that are estimated to not require much, if any, preproduction waste removal. Therefore, development costs, as shown in the table, are essentially nil. At the other extreme, the development costs for the Canadian nonproducers reflect the combination of surface and underground development at one deposit and a fairly high amount of preproduction stripping of unweathered waste rock at the other. The Alabama deposits would have fairly low development costs, since many of the deposits have seen past production and a major portion (but not all) of the demonstrated resources analyzed are expected to require little preproduction waste removal of fairly soft, weathered material. The higher combined mine and beneficiation capital costs for the U.S. nonproducers relative to the Canadian nonproducers on a product basis essentially reflects a ma- jor grade difference in the ores (U.S. deposits average 3.7 pet C, compared with 9 to 10 pet C for the Canadian deposits.) For both of the Madagascar nonproducers, the capital cost estimates are order of magnitude estimates only and the mine-mill breakdown shown is a rough estimate only. It is noted that the Madagascar nonproducers' capital requirements include a fairly heavy amount of infrastruc- ture investment, which is evenly distributed to the mine and mill categories in table 22. It is also of note that in terms of relative sizes of the proposed operations, the six proposed mills for the U.S. and Canadian nonproducers would average 160,000 mt/ore, an average approximately three times that of the proposed capacities at the two Madagascar nonproducers. 32 AVAILABILITY ANALYSES Two separate analyses of flake and high-crystalline graphite resources are presented in this section. The first analysis involved determination of 0- and 15-pct DCFROR price determinations for the availability of graphite A prod- ucts given a proportional market price for graphite B prod- ucts, and the second analysis involved similar price deter- minations for the availability of graphite B products given a proportional market price for graphite A products. GRAPHITE A Total Availability Figure 16 shows the total availability and total cost of producing graphite A from the 29 evaluated graphite pro- perties. The total cost in this illustration represents the pro- portioned total cost of production required for graphite A at both a 0- and 15-pct DCFROR. For reference purposes, table 24 summarizes the total availability of all resources and products by operational status and by country. This summary table presents total annual ore capacity, total recoverable demonstrated resource tonnage (i.e., mill feed tonnage), total recoverable graphite A, total recoverable graphite B, and total combined recoverable graphite prod- uct tonnage for each country. As shown in the table, of the total 3.17 Mmt of available graphite A products, 2.15 Mmt are present in 16 producing flake operations, 0.13 Mmt are present in four high-crystalline graphite producers in Sri Lanka, and 0.89 Mmt are in 9 nonproducing flake deposits. Figure 16 illustrates that 1.74 Mmt of recoverable graphite A is economic at a 15-pct DCFROR total produc- tion cost level of $600/mt or less. This tonnage represents 54.9 pet of the total graphite A available in all the evaluated deposits and 76.3 pet of the graphite A available in all the 20 producing operations; 10 of the 20 producers— 4 in Madagascar, 3 in Sri Lanka, 2 in Brazil and 1 in Zimbabwe— account for the 1.74 Mmt. At a 15- pet DCFROR cost level of $800/mt or less, 67.2 pet (2.13 Mmt) of the total graphite A available in all the evaluated deposits, and 93.5 pet of the graphite A available in producing operations is economic; the additional 0.39 Mmt being contained in seven additional producing operations. The two producers in Brazil and the six producers in Madagascar contain 84.1 pet of this 2.13 Mmt available at a total cost of less than $800/mt; all their graphite A products can be produced at below $698/mt at a 15-pct DCFROR. It is noted that the Brazilian and Madagascar graphite A products do not com- pete directly, as the Brazilian graphite A products are predominantly minus 60- and plus 100-mesh flakes, while the Madagascar products are mostly plus 60-mesh products. 1.800 1,600 e <* 1,400 CD 01 1.200 - o 1000 ~3 ' h cn aoo f o u j < 600 400 I I 15-pct DCFROR O-pct DCFROR 200 U 1500 2,000 2500 300C i 500 1000 t TOTAL RECOVERABLE GRAPHITE A. 10 3 mt FIGURE 16.— Total graphite A potentially recoverable from producing mines and nonproducing deposits. 3500 33 Table 24.— Annual ore capacity, total recoverable demonstrated resources and total recoverable graphite products, by country and status Country Number of Ore capacity, ' deposits 10 3 mt/yr Flake: Producers: Brazil 2 280 Europe 2 65 Korea, Republic of . . . 2 46 Madagascar 6 338 Others 2 _4 158 Total 16 887 Nonproducers: Canada 2 259 Korea, Republic of . . . 1 15 Madagascar 2 98 United States _4 700 Total 9 1,072 High-crystalline: Sri Lanka .... 4 12 Grand total 29 1,971 ~ 1 Graphite A + graphite B. includes 1 deposit each from Canada, India, Mexico, and Zimbabwe. Total resources, 10 3 mt Demonstrated resources Graphite A Graphite B Total recoverable graphite products 1 27,354 1,556 1,695 12,940 5,603 1,172 183 23 619 156 49,148 2,153 6,225 115 3,123 20,904 30,367 154 309 1 140 435 885 127 79,669 3,165 1,034 153 51 82 522 1,842 227 10 23 343 603 2,445 2,206 336 74 701 678 3,995 536 11 163 778 1,488 127 5,610 At $l,350/mt, over 99 pet of the total 3.17 Mmt of graphite A products are economic. These 15-pct DCFROR cost levels can be compared with the higher range of the f.o.b. prices shown in table 10 for the year 1984, which range from $600/mt to $l,500/mt for Madagascar, Norway, and Sri Lanka. At the 0-pct DCFROR price determination level, 1.94 Mmt of graphite A products are available at costs less than $500/mt, and 2.43 Mmt are economic at costs less than $600/mt. About 95.3 pet of the former tonnage is contained in producing operations, compared with 88.1 pet of the lat- ter tonnage. The nine nonproducers contain an estimated 0.89 Mmt of recoverable graphite A products, with the U.S. and Cana- dian properties containing 0.75 Mmt (83 pet). All of the U.S. and Canadian operations would require over $900/mt for a 15-pct DCFROR on their graphite A production. In- terestingly, the two Madagascar nonproducers also would require fairly high ($800/mt to $l,050/mt) graphite A prices to obtain a 15-pct DCFROR. At the breakeven level (0-pct DCFROR), the two Madagascar nonproducers are much more competitive, at between $410/mt and $590/mt, while the U.S. nonproducing deposits in Alabama would have a weighted-average total cost of $664/mt graphite A product. Three of the proposed milling complexes in Alabama would have estimated weighted-average costs below $615/mt; however, as noted previously, the above results of economic analysis of the Alabama flake graphite deposits can be con- sidered as a "best case" economic scenario. (See appendix A for a comparison of the "best" and "worst" case price determinations at a 15-pct DCFROR.) Annual Availability Figure 17 presents annual availability curves at a 15-pct DCFROR for graphite A producers and nonproducers. For the producers, the base year of 1984 shows a total of about 49,500 mt of graphite A available at a maximum cost of $l,628/mt, 92.4 pet of which is available at costs under $800/mt. The annual availability from these producers in- creases to a peak of 53,900 mt/yr by 1989 and then tapers off to a level of 36,500 mt/yr by the year 2004. The 26.2-pct decline in annual output of graphite A at the producing mines by the year 2004 should not be taken as an indication of a decline in the availability of graphite A; it simply represents a static analysis of the depletion of 1984 demonstrated resources at the producing flake and high-crystalline graphite operations. It is likely that addi- tional resources will be discovered at the producing opera- tions and that some resources presently classified as infer- red will be upgraded to the demonstrated level in the future. Some of this decline in output at the producing mines could be replaced by output from the nine nonproducing deposits analyzed. In this regard, figure 17 also illustrates the annual availability of graphite A from the nine non- producing deposits at a 15-pct DCFROR. Since actual start- up dates for these nonproducers are impossible to predict, annual production levels are based on the following assumptions: 1. Preproduction development at all deposits will begin in year "N" (1984). 2. All operations presently on standby status, of which there are only two in this analysis, will be brought back into production within the year (N + 1) to (N + 4). 3. All undeveloped properties will be developed and commence production within the year (N + 3) to (N + 5). As shown, the annual availability of graphite A from the nonproducing deposits would peak in the year (N + 3) at 30,700 mt/yr at cost levels ranging from $670/mt to $l,350/mt. As much as 85.5 pet of this annual output would be available at estimated total costs under $l,020/mt. After 20 yr (N + 20), annual availability from the nonproducers would still be at a level of 25,000 mt/yr. Indications are that this tonnage is more than adequate to replace the decline in output at the producing deposits, should such a situa- tion occur. It should be noted that the four proposed milling com- plexes to treat the Alabama graphite resource could have the combined capability of producing 12,300 mt of graphite A in the year (N + 3) if all were developed at the same time. In addition, all four could maintain this production for at least 20 yr (N + 20). Such a situation would require cost levels ranging from $915/mt to $l,350/mt graphite A at a 15-pct DCFROR under the "best case" scenario. GRAPHITE B Total Availability Figure 18 shows the total availability and total produc- tion cost of graphite B from 23 of the 29 operations-deposits studied. Two flake operations and all four of the Sri Lankan 34 1,800 1,600 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 E 600 | 400 c o "t 200 H (/) O O A , Producing mines r-2004 1984 1989 r i ^j j. j J~J 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 e* 600 1,400- 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 B, Nonproducing deposits N + 20 N + 15 f ^zi N + 3 N Year preproduction development begins -L 5 10 15 20 25 30 ANNUAL RECOVERABLE GRAPHITE A, I0 3 mt/yr FIGURE 17.— Potential annual availability of graphite A from producing mines and nonproducing deposits. 35 high-crystalline operations were omitted from the graphite B curve. In the two omitted flake properties, a clear inter- pretation of the level of graphite B production could not be made. The total production cost shown in figure 18 represents the proportioned total cost of production required for graphite B at both a 0- and 15-pct DCFROR. For reference, table 24 shows recoverable graphite B resources on a country basis. As shown in figure 18, 1.08 Mmt (44.1 pet) of the total recoverable graphite B is available at costs under $200/mt including a 15-pct DCFROR. Five producers, one in Brazil and four in Madagascar, account for all of the graphite B in this cost category, with the one Brazilian producer ac- counting for 96 pet of this total. At costs under $325/mt, 70.0 pet (1.71 Mmt) of the total recoverable graphite B is available, with six producers and one small nonproducer 35 600 +J E \ W CO 0) c o ~3 I- o u < 500 400 300 O 200 (- r- 100 15-pct DCFROR r - r- -I 0-pct DCFROR 500 1,000 1500 2,000 TOTAL RECOVERABLE GRAPHITE B. 10 3 mt 2,500 FIGURE 18.— Total graphite B potentially recoverable from producing mines and nonproducing deposits. providing the additional 0.63 Mmt. Another 0.59 Mmt of graphite B products become available at cost levels rang- ing from $325/mt to $450/mt, with 88.4 pet of this additional tonnage contained in seven nonproducing deposits. Essen- tially 94.3 pet of the total available graphite B can be pro- duced at costs under $450/mt including a 15-pct DCFROR, with the remainder requiring very high total production costs of between $540/mt and $650/mt. At a 0-pct DCFROR, 1.95 Mmt of graphite B products (79.7 pet of the total) can be produced at costs under $250/mt, and all can be produced at less than $510/mt. Only 12.6 pet of the tonnage available at a cost under $250/mt is from nonproducing deposits. The nine nonproducers contain 0.60 Mmt of the 2.45 Mmt of available graphite B, with 94.5 pet contained in the four proposed U.S. and two proposed Canadian operations. The vast majority (86.9 pet) of the nonproducing graphite B products would require cost levels ranging from $325/mt to $450/mt at a 15-pct DCFROR. However, five of the six U.S. and Canadian nonproducers fall within a narrow range of $365/mt to $410/mt. These cost ranges are significantly higher than typical present market prices of $200/mt to $350/mt, as shown by the low range of the 1984 prices in table 10 for Madagascar, Norway, and the Federal Republic of Germany. At a 0-pct DCFROR, 0.31 Mmt of graphite B from non- producers can be produced for under $250/mt, and 0.29 Mmt can be produced at cost levels between $250/mt and $510/mt; the first group is dominated by three U.S. non- producers (89.3 pet), and the second group is represented by two Canadian and one U.S. nonproducer. The three most economic U.S. milling complexes could all produce their graphite B at cost levels ranging from $235/mt to $250/mt. Again, the above results of the economic analyses should be considered as a "best case" scenario for the Alabama graphite deposits. Annual Availability Figure 19 presents annual availability curves at a 15-pct DCFROR for graphite B producers and nonproducers. For the producers, the base year of 1984 shows a total of 35,200 mt of graphite B available, 91.0 pet of which is available at under $325/mt at a 15-pct DCFROR. Availability from the producers increases to a peak of 37,300 mt/yr by 1989 and then tapers off to a level of 29,300 mt/yr by the year 2004. As was the case for graphite A, the graphite B annual curve shows a decline in output at the producing mines of nearly 16.8 pet over the 20 yr from N to (N + 20). Again, this effect should not necessarily be taken as an indication of a decline in graphite B availability; it simply represents a static analysis of the depletion of 1984 demonstrated resources at the producing flake and high-crystalline graphite operations. As shown in figure 19 for the nonproducers, the nine proposed operations could be producing 23,500 mt/yr of graphite B products in year (N + 3) at cost levels ranging from $265/mt to $540/mt including a 15-pct DCFROR, with 36 00 CD c o ~3 o o O t- fOO 1 1 I 1 A , Producing mines 1 l r - -2004 1 984 1989 600 - / — 500 - - 400 - r 1 i __i i i i J - 300 i i i 1 r !•■ _j r J l i 200 1 —i-- 1 100 i i i i ■ i 10 20 25 30 35 40 600 500 400 300- 200 B , Nonproducing deposits N + 20 N+15 ■N + 3 J' f J I r N Year preproduction develcpment begins 5 10 15 20 ANNUAL RECOVERABLE GRAPHITE B, I0 3 mt/yr FIGURE 19.— Potential annual availability of graphite B from producing mines and nonproducing deposits. 25 87.4 pet available at prices under $410/mt. Availability from the nonproducers would be at a level of 20,656 mt/yr after 15 yr (N + 15), and at 15,742 mt/yr after 20 yr. These ton- nages indicate that the decline in annual output at the pro- ducing deposits shown in figure 19 could be easily replaced by output from the nonproducers, should such a situation occur. The four proposed milling complexes for treating thp Alabama graphite resources could have a combined capability of producing 11,051 mt/yr of graphite B in the year (N + 3), provided all were developed in year N and could maintain production of between 9,300 to 12,800 mt/yr for approximately 25 yr before beginning a steep decline. Such a situation would require an estimated total cost of $540/mt of graphite B for all four to be in production at a 15-pct DCFROR. 37 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS This study has analyzed the economics of producing a total of 5.6 Mmt of graphite products from 29 mines and deposits in 11 MEC countries. The 20 producing mines, with recoverable demonstrated resources of 49.3 Mmt of mineable material, are estimated to be capable of produc- ing a total of 2.28 Mmt of recoverable graphite A products and 1.84 Mmt of recoverable graphite B products. The nine nonproducing deposits, with 30.4 Mmt of recoverable demonstrated resources, could potentially recover 0.9 Mmt of graphite A and 0.6 Mmt of graphite B. The graphite A products are essentially equivalent to flake graphite prod- ucts of plus 80- or plus 100-mesh flakes and to lump and chip high-crystalline products from Sri Lanka. The graphite B products are essentially equivalent to flake products of minus 80- or minus 100-mesh flakes. Although Sri Lanka does produce minus 100-mesh high-crystalline graphite products, this production occurs only on demand. Because of that, all of the Sri Lankan production is included in the graphite A category. The six Madagascar operations, which produce most of the coarsest sized graphite A products (plus 60-mesh flakes), can produce at a weighted-average total cost of production of $396/mt of graphite products (graphite A plus graphite B) at a 0-pct DCFROR. The four Sri Lankan operations pro- ducing high-crystalline graphite from vein deposits can pro- duce at $369/mt at a 0-pct DCFROR. The fairly new Pedra Azul operation in Brazil accounts for 33.6 pet of total recoverable demonstrated resource ton- nage in this study and 37.1 pet of the total recoverable graphite products, as well as 33.1 pet of the graphite A and 42.3 pet of the graphite B products. The mill at this opera- tion has the largest capacity of the producing flake opera- tions and could be expanded in the future, should graphite demand increase. Because of this particular operation, Brazil dominates the less coarse (60- to 80-mesh and 60- to 100-mesh flakes) graphite A products and also the graphite B products. Both of the Brazilian operations included in this analysis are estimated as able to produce their total graphite output at a very low weighted-average cost of only $244/mt at a 0-pct DCFROR. The recoverable graphite A product from operations in the Republic of Korea and India is produced mainly for domestic consumption, while the graphite A product at the Mexican, Canadian, and Zimbab- wean operations is exported to reprocessors in Europe and the United States. The centrally planned economy countries of China and the U.S.S.R. are estimated to have annual production levels for flake production equivalent, or slightly larger, in size to total present MEC capacity. The U.S.S.R. supplies graphite primarily to the Eastern European countries and has very seldom exported to MEC's in recent years. China, on the other hand, has increased graphite exports to the United States 16-fold since 1980 and has become a major price setter in the graphite market. Both of these countries are discussed in some detail in appendix B. Total production costs at breakeven (0-pct DCFROR) cost levels ranged from $146/mt to $l,268/mt for the graphite A products and from $136/mt to $511/mt for the graphite B products. At a 15-pct DCFROR, the cost ranges increased to $165/mt to $l,628/mt for graphite A products and $141/mt to $655/mt for graphite B products. About 67 pet of the total graphite A tonnage and 93.5 pet of the graphite A tonnage in producers are economic at prices of $800/mt or less at a 15-pct DCFROR; 70 pet of the total graphite B tonnage and 92.3 pet of the graphite B tonnage in producers are economic at prices of $325/mt or less at a 15-pct DCFROR. Annual availability curves show the graphite A production level decreasing 26.8 pet (12,941 mt/yr) and the graphite B production level decreasing 16.2 pet (5,933 mt/yr) by the year 2004. However, these declines represent a static analysis of 1984 demonstrated resources, which could be increased at many of the producers by future development work. The 9 nonproducing properties analyzed in this study include the 4 proposed milling complexes treating ore from 16 separate proposed mining operations in the Alabama graphite area, 2 nonproducing deposits in Canada, 2 in Madagascar, and 1 in Republic of Korea. The Republic of Korea deposit is a small deposit of mostly fine-flake graphite of a different nature than that from the present Republic of Korean producers, and was analyzed because of that dif- ference. The two Madagascar nonproducers were analyzed because they have been indicated to be planned replacements for eventual depletion of several present pro- ducers. The two Canadian nonproducers represent the only Canadian nonproducing flake deposits that presently have detailed resource estimates available. Although the United States has identified flake resources in Alaska (215,000 mt contained graphite), New York (95,500 mt), Pennsylvania (23,400 mt), and Texas (41,600 mt), the only demonstrated resource analyzed for economics was the resource in Alabama. The other iden- tified and demonstrated resources (see table 18) were ex- cluded from economic analysis mainly because of a lack of updated resource, metallurgical, or mining data. The annual availability curves for the nonproducers show that, given stable price levels of $800/mt to $l,350/mt for graphite A products and $336/mt to $540/mt for graphite B products, as much as 30,700 mt/yr of graphite A products and 23,500 mt/yr of graphite B products could be produced from the nine nonproducers at a 15-pct DCFROR within 3 yr after development begins. In conclusion, the following major points should be made: 1. The flake and high-crystalline natural graphite in- lustry, although presently snowing a much wider range of suppliers than 20 yr ago, still appears to be a difficult in- dustry to enter at the mining-milling level. There is no pres- ent shortage of supplies, and none appears to be on the horizon. Present markets are essentially well-served by ex- isting producers such as Sri Lanka for high-crystalline graphite, Madagascar for coarse flake products, Brazil and China for less coarse flake products, and the European operations for less coarse and powder flake products. 2. The nine nonproducing deposits analyzed in this study would require costs and price levels approximately twice the present market prices in order to cover all costs of production and receive a 15-pct DCFROR. However, many unknowns concerning the best processing procedures to be used for many of these nonproducing deposits exist and could affect actual costs when, or if, they do go into production. 3. It is recommended that updated mining and metallurgical test work be done on the various flake resources located in Alabama, Alaska, New York, and Texas. These studies should be made with particular reference to types of products that would be most useful. 38 REFERENCES 1. Industrial Minerals (London). Graphite— Drawing on Mixed Sources. No. 202, July 1984, pp. 39-55. 2. Kenan, W. M. Economics of Graphite. Soc. Min. Eng. AIME, preprint 84-300, 1984, 4 pp. 3. Taylor, H. A., Jr. Graphite. Ch. in BuMines Minerals Year- book 1984, v. 1, pp. 437-447. 4. . Graphite. Ch. in Mineral Facts and Problems, 1985 Edition. BuMines B 675, 1985, pp. 339-348. 5. . Graphite. Ch. in BuMines Minerals Yearbook 1983, v. 1, pp. 413-423. 6. Weaver, L. K. Graphite. Ch. in BuMines Minerals Yearbook 1969, v. 1-2, pp. 539-545. 7. U.S. Office of Industrial Materials (Dep. Commerce). Graphite, Natural— Malagasy Crystalline. National Stockpile Pur- chase Specification, May 1970, p. 4. 8. Tron, A. R. The Production and Uses of Natural Graphite. Dep. Sci. and Ind. Res., London, 1964, 75 pp. 9. Chemical Marketing Reporter. Jan 16, 1984, p. 34. 10. Industrial Minerals (London). Graphite Prices Altered in IM. No. 203, Aug. 1984, p. 17. 11. Engineering and Mining Journal. Market. Feb. issues, 1979-84. 12. U.S. Bureau of Mines and U.S. Geological Survey. Principles of a Resource/Reserve Classification for Minerals. U.S. Geol. Surv. Circ. 831, 1980, 5 pp. 13. Besairie, H. Graphite. Ch. in Gites de Mineraux de Madagascar. Tananarive, Madagascar, v. 1-2, 1966, pp. 187-216. 14. Murdock, T. G. Mineral Resources of the Malagasy Republic. BuMines IC 8196, 1963, 147 pp. 15. Oxford, T. P. Development of Engineering and Cost Data for Foreign Graphite Properties (contract J0225019, Zellars- Williams, Inc.). BuMines OFR 169-84, 1984, 18 pp.; NTIS PB 85-103737. 16. India, Bureau of Mines. Graphite. Ch. in Indian Minerals Yearbook, 1978-79, pp. 564-583. 17. Republic of Korea, Institute of Energy and Resources. Geology of Korea. 1975, 139 pp. 18. Gallagher, D. Non-Metallics and Miscellaneous Metals. Ch. in Mineral Resources of Korea. Min. Br., Ind. and Min. Div. USOM/Korea, v. VI-B, 1963, pp. 13-14. 19. Ministry of Energy and Resources (Republic of Korea). Reserves of Graphite, 1983 (table). 20. Papertzian, V. C, and P. W. Kingston. Graphite Develop- ment Potential in Eastern Ontario. Can. Geol. Surv., Open File Rep. 5377, 1982, 89 pp. 21. Weis, P. L. Graphite. Ch. in United States Mineral Resources. U.S. Geol. Surv., Prof. Paper 820, 1973, pp. 277-283. 22. Ailing, H. L. the Adirondack Graphite Deposits. NY State Mus. Bull. 199, July 1, 1917, 149 pp. 23. Mitchell, D. W., and C. H. Broeded. Graphite. New England- New York Inter-Agency Committee, Miner. Resor. Study and Rep. Group, Jan. 1955, 23 pp. 24. Cameron, E. N., and P. L. Weis. Strategic Graphite, A Survey. U.S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 1082-E, 1960, pp. 201-321. 25. Clemmer, J. B., R. W. Smith, B. H. Clemmons, and R. H. Stacy. Flotation of Weathered Alabama Graphitic Schists for Cruci- ble Flake. AL Geol. Surv. Bull 49, 1941, 101 pp. 26. Pallister, H. D., and J. R. Thoenen. Flake-Graphite and Vanadium Investigation in Clay, Coosa, and Chilton Counties, Ala. BuMines RI 4366, 1948, 84 pp. 27. Brazil. Annuario Mineral Brasileiro. DNPM, Brasilia, v. 11, 1982, p. 258. 28. Davidoff, R. L. Supply Analysis Model (SAM): A Minerals Availability System Methodology. BuMines IC 8820, 1980, 45 pp. 29. Clement, G. K., Jr., R. L. Miller, P. A. Seibert, L. Avery, and H. Bennett. Capital and Operating Cost Estimating System Manual for Mining and Beneficiation of Metallic and Nonmetallic Minerals Except Fossil Fuels in the United States and Canada. BuMines Spec. Publ., 1980, 149 pp. 30. Zhaoyang, H., and Y. Yangtang. Development and Utiliza- tion of Industrial Minerals in China. Met. Bull. (London), May 1984, pp. HZ1-HZ13. 31. Industrial Minerals (London). Minerals in the News. No. 180, Sept. 1982, p. 15. 39 APPENDIX A.— SENSITIVITY ANALYSES, ECONOMICS OF ALABAMA FLAKE GRAPHITE DEPOSITS The Alabama flake graphite deposits could be developed with various options. All prior discussion of the economics of extracting and processing of the Alabama ores should be considered as a "best case" economic scenario with the following operational parameters: (1) 2-stage flotation, (2) a to 1.0 waste-to-ore ratio, (3) an overall weighted-average grade of 3.7 pet C, and (4) f.o.b. mill price determinations. The total production cost for total graphite production (graphite A plus graphite B) was estimated at $767.24/mt of product, including a 15-pct DCFROR. It has been noted that all four of the operational fac- tors cited above also have a "worst case" aspect that reflects the major variables involved both in the available data and in the eventual operational aspects should they be developed. As a result, this section compares the economics of the "best case" scenario with the "worst case" scenario. The "worst case" scenario includes the following operational parameters: (1) four-stage flotation, (2) a 1.5 to 1.0 waste- to-ore ratio, (3) an overall weighted-average grade of 2.8 pet C (25 pet lower than for best case), and (4) a c.i.f. New Jersey price determination. Table A-l summarizes the production cost variations for total graphite products due to these changes. At a 15-pct DCFROR, the added transportation cost increases the pro- duction cost by $62/mt or 8 pet. The increased stripping ratio and the additional flotation stages added $95/mt or 12 pet. The increased stripping ratio, added flotation stages, and the decrease in the mill feed grade all result in a $383/mt (50-pct) increase to the total production cost. Overall, the four parameter changes made in the "worst case" scenario result in a total increase of $440/mt, or 57 pet, from $767.24/mt for the "best case" to $l,207.42/mt for the "worst case". This indicated range of total production cost estimates is probably a reasonable reflection of the relative economics of the Alabama flake graphite deposits. Table A-1 .—Summary of sensitivity analyses for economics of Alabama flake graphite deposits, at a 15-pct DCFROR Operational scenario Cost, $/mt Difference from best case Cost, $/mt pet Best case 767.24 Plus transportation 1 829.53 Plus 4-stage flotation and higher stripping ratio 1 . . . 862.76 Plus 4-stage flotation, higher stripping ratio, and lower grade 1,150.34 Plus 4-stage flotation, higher stripping ratio, lower grade, and transportation 1 1,207.42 NAp Not applicable. 1 c.i.f. New Jersey. NAp 62 95 383 440 NAp 8 12 50 57 40 APPENDIX B.— MAJOR CPEC FLAKE GRAPHITE PRODUCERS CHINA Based on estimates, China is the largest world producer of natural graphite. In 1983, its production of all types of natural graphite was estimated to be 185,000 mt, or about 34.4 pet of total world production. No breakdown of China's natural graphite production into flake and amorphous is available, which is unfortunate. As an example, if only 25 pet of China's production was of the flake variety, the coun- try would be producing about 46,000 mt/yr of flake graphite, a value that represents about 59.0 pet of the total estimated 1983 MEC production of marketable flake and high- crystalline products (78,000 mt/yr). As of the early to mid-1980's, approximately 70 pet of China's total flake and amorphous graphite production was being used for domestic consumption, with the other 30 pet exported to Japan, the United States, Italy, and France (3). 1 China exported an estimated 31,912 mt of flake products to Japan and approximately 4,174 mt to the United States in 1984 (3); this indicates a minimum Chinese flake pro- ducton of at least 36,086 mt/yr. One published estimate stated that China exported a total of 55,000 to 60,000 mt of flake products in 1984, which would indicate that more like 30 to 33-pct of China's total production is flake graphite. Another source has stated that 92.2 pet of the natural graphite output in China comes from surface mines and 7.8 pet from underground mines (36, p. 4). Reports in the literature indicate that expansions are planned for the Lin- mao Mine, near Jixi in Heilongjiang, which has been in pro- duction for 40 yr, as well as at the Nanshu flake graphite mine near Laixi in Shandong Province and at a small mine near Haikou on the island of Hainun Dao. Two underground mines are located at Paushi and at Lutang in Hunan Pro- vince (30, p. 5). Demonstrated resources of graphite in China could be very large. In Heilongjiang Province alone, 14 graphite deposits are reported, with 1 occurrence near Jixi City reportedly containing 300 Mmt of surface-minable material (31) and another large deposit located in the Heling area of Boli County. Even though known to be large, no estimates of graphite resources in China can be found at present that make an attempt to differentiate flake from amorphous graphite resources. Because of its major presence in the in- ternational markets for flake graphite, more study and data on China's graphite resources are required, especially regarding the proportion of flake material in China's pro- duction values and resources. U.S.S.R. Bureau estimates of U.S.S.R. production for the 1980-84 period (3) have ranged from 77,000 to 88,000 mt/yr of graphite products, with an average of 85,000 mt/yr for the 5-yr period. No estimates as to specific amorphous and flake production during this time period have been given; however, indications are that the split is around 75 pet flake and 25 pet amorphous. The following information represents a summarization of backup data compiled by Dr. U. Kraus of the Interna- tional Strategic Minerals Inventory Group, who kindly pro- vided access to the data: 'Italic numbers in parentheses refer to items in the list of references preceding the appendixes. Flake graphite resources in the Soviet Union are known to exist in the Kuldzhuktau area in Uzbekistan, the Zavalye Mine in Ukraine, the Khingan-Bureya mining district in the Soyuznoye area near the Chinese border, and the Boyarsk area near Lake Baikal, which reportedly contains an enormous low-grade disseminated flake resource. Vein and disseminated graphite also occurs at Botogolsk in the mountain region near Mongolia. The Kuldzhuktau area contains three major mining operations— Taskazgan, Soyuznoye and Staro-Krymskoye. The Taskazgan Mine could have inferred resources of 7 to 13 Mmt at 11 pet C. The geology of Taskazgan is associated with the Bel Tansk lopolite (covering an outcrop surface of 12 km 2 ) and intruded limestone. The gabbroic intrusive body contains disseminated sulfides, especially near contacts with the limestones where the main graphite mineralization occurs. There are two types of host rocks that result in two dif- ferent kinds of ore. The carbonate ore (garnet, pyroxene, wollastonite, and graphite) is reportedly easy to beneficiate to graphite concentrates of 83 to 85 pet. The gabbroic ore (forsterite, perovskite, and graphite) contains argillaceous matter and is reportedly difficult to beneficiate. Soviet sources state that the Boyarsk area deposits, con- sisting of disseminated flakes in graphite-biotite-schist host rocks, are favorable for future development. The area has "huge" resources of graphite at 5 pet C, and pilot tests sup- posedly have shown that a concentrate of 94.7 pet C and 3.9 pet ash can be produced. The Zavalye producing operations in the Ukraine are located 70 km northwest of Pervomaysk on the left side of the Yuzhnyy Bug River. This open pit mine has been ac- tive since 1928 and is reported to have the capability of pro- ducing 60,000 mt/yr of flake products. Identified resources, which may represent resources for the entire Ukraine, reportedly total 38 Mmt at 6.5 pet C. The Soyuzuoye area contains the mining district of Khingan-Bureya, which is 443 km west of Khabarovsk and adjacent to the Chinese border. Disseminated graphite flakes are contained in schists and limestones; the zone of deposits supposedly extends up to 12 km long with grades of 18 to 20 pet C in four separate seams. Total resources could be as much as 8.2 Mmt at 15 to 20 pet C. Botogolsk, an underground mine in the Sayan-Tunginsk mountain range near the border of Mongolia, is reported to produce 900 mt/yr of hand-sorted ore. The mine was discovered in 1838 and production started in 1840. Metamorphosed schists, quartzites, and limestones contain- ing graphitic carbon have been intruded by granites, syenites, and basic rocks. Amorphous graphite occurs in veins in nepheline syenites at grades of 60 to 70 pet C; disseminated flake deposits of 24 to 42 pet C are also pre- sent. Production of the extremely high quality graphite was resumed in 1978-79, after a long idle period, with access from a 2,060-m adit and mining by backfilling methods. Tayginsk, located in the Urals, 12 to 14 km south of Kyshtym, reportedly produced 389,000 mt of ore in 1964 averaging 7 pet C. In 1973 the ore grade was reported to be much lower, ranging from 2.0 to 4.3 pet C, and indica- tions were that the deposit was near depletion even though resources of 2.16 Mmt were stated to be available in 1972. Total flake graphite resources in the Soviet Union could range from approximately 55 Mmt at the demonstrated level to an additional 40 to 50 Mmt at the inferred level. <»U.S. Government Printing Office: 19»7— 172-670 W84 iT ,'VC A *£* a"* ^. ^, » *, b^ - v- tv & . l ' • * ^jl. (V r ° " " » o > 8^^ *V >*..^/V ./..^^°o Aii&-\. c°* ov^^aia. ^p y^m^\ '"+*,$' t^rnx* «>-<$ ^o* o ,/\>^\ ^ip °o *^r:»* o 15 ; \'^^-> h %^^\ j£v\ ^•V, V ^ ^ 'e'^ v ^ v s*VL'* q e ' 1 * ^ s . . , °^ * 3 o . » * 4 <\ ^o< s^ , ^ V o5°^ vv -^ o -* ^ ^ K^o ^0 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 000225^32^