Think about that pencil in your hand, often referred to as a lead pencil.

That’s not lead, that’s graphite. Graphite is carbon, which is C on the periodical table. Carbon is the material that creates all life on planet earth - not just pencils. It is abundant as a material, but illusive for high quality graphite.

Graphite is mined in open pits and milled by grinding and flotation, primarily in China because of the sheer internal demand and the low cost of production. The electric vehicle market, however, has changed all of this. Demand for the finest quality graphite has grown exponentially globally.

Graphite is made of 1000’s of weakly bonded layers of very thin sheets of graphene. The layers make it slippery (van der Waals forces), therefore making it an excellent lubricant additive. The applications for graphite are vast: carbon risers in steel, brake linings, and expanded graphite for water filtration to name a few.