Opportune Year For Graphite Produc22 Nov 2017 08:57
https://investorintel.com/sectors/technology-metals/technology-metals-intel/2017-opportune-year-graphite-producers/
At the end of last year, China announced they plan to stockpile graphite as one of their critical elements since production is likely to continue falling, and this year, Chinese spot graphite electrode prices recently reached $30,000 per MT, a 300% increase since January, demonstrating the serious nature of the looming supply deficit and leaving the door wide open for new projects.The growth in the markets for electric vehicles and grid storage systems should be enough to drive graphite prices even further, which, in the absence of new projects coming online, may ultimately close some smaller steel refineries as costs begin to spiral. Construction will still play a major role in graphite demand, but China’s construction sector will largely just continue to restrict their export of graphite products since the stockpiles will be consumed domestically.Graphite is about to explode in popularity, and the world’s largest supplier of the material is unable to scale as quickly as it once could. This puts junior explorers and burgeoning producers in an enviable position since very few new graphite projects have been listed over the last couple of decades, and any investor looking for exposure should consider getting in sooner rather than later.