Canada’s only graphite miner faces uncertain future as it holds out hope of government financing

The head of Northern Graphite Corp. NGC-X is optimistic that Ottawa will provide a key part of a make-or-break financing package needed to keep North America’s only graphite mine in operation.

Security of supply for domestic critical minerals mines has rarely been a more urgent issue as Canada struggles with an entrenched trade war with the United States. Prime Minister Mark Carney has made developing domestic resource projects one of the biggest priorities for his government.

Ottawa-based Northern Graphite operates the Lac des Îles graphite mine in Quebec. In operation since 1989, the existing pit is due to run out of ore before the end of the year. To extend the life of the mine into the 2030s, an investment of $10-million is urgently needed.

Graphite, alongside lithium, cobalt and copper, is one of several critical minerals used in low-carbon energy and is a key input in the defence sector. Mr. Carney has repeatedly stressed that Canada must expand production of critical minerals in order to meet new NATO spending requirements, and a shutdown of the Quebec mine could weaken the country’s ability to meet those commitments.

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Despite extensive talks with the public and private sector, Northern Graphite has been unable to raise new funding. With debt of US$40-million, and a cash position of only about $300,000, the company could also eventually be facing a liquidity crisis.

Hugues Jacquemin, chief executive officer of Northern Graphite, said in an interview this week that while the current situation is alarming, he’s hopeful the federal government will come through with a major piece of the financing, a step that would keep the mine in operation.

“They recognize how dire the situation is, and there’s quite a strong sense of urgency from them to come and find a way to help us,” he said. “So I’m quite confident that we’ll get there.”

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, whose riding is in Quebec, is aware of the strategic importance of the asset. Last Friday, when asked in a press conference about the mine, she warned about the dangers of overreliance on one country in critical minerals. China dominates the production and refining of graphite worldwide and it has abused its position to stomp out foreign competition.

Bloomberg News on Thursday reported that the U.S. Commerce Department was set to impose preliminary anti-dumping duties of 93.5 per cent on Chinese imports of graphite after concluding the Chinese were unfairly subsidizing the industry.

Despite the need for Canada to diversify further away from China in graphite, it’s unclear whether Ottawa will ultimately invest in the mine. When asked in an e-mail from The Globe and Mail whether the government will step in, a spokesperson for Ms. Joly did not provide a comment by Thursday afternoon.

Even though its market capitalization is only about $18-million, and its shares trade for 14 cents apiece on the TSX Venture Exchange, Northern Graphite commands a high profile internationally. Last week, the company hosted an EU delegation that included Stéphane Séjourné, executive vice-president of the European Commission for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy. Remarking on his visit, Mr. Séjourné, in the same press conference that Ms. Joly participated in on Friday, stressed the importance of more co-operation between Canada and the EU in critical minerals.

Northern Graphite primarily sells its graphite to U.S. industrial customers, who use the mineral in a range of applications including brake pads, industrial lubricants, fuel cells and in defence applications such as the manufacturing of ammunition, cannons, missiles and in paint for fighter jets. Owing to the mine’s proximity to its customer base and the quality of its product, the company is able to charge its customers up to three times as much as comparable Chinese producers.

Despite all of these advantages, investors have been reluctant to put new money into the company. Part of the issue is that the U.S. industrial segment isn’t a big market. But the bigger problem is that investors are unsure about whether the company can compete against China in the electric-battery market, a much bigger segment that Northern Graphite hopes to compete in.

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“The Chinese have been so aggressive on their pricing that it seeds a lot of doubt in investors’ minds whether graphite is a commodity they want to invest in,” Mr. Jacquemin said.

“What they’re scared of is the geopolitical world changes, and then suddenly the Chinese flood the market with graphite at very low prices, and the mine is not able to make money.”

Apart from operating the Quebec mine, Northern Graphite also owns a graphite mine in Namibia that is idle and which it hopes to eventually restart. It also has plans to build a processing plant in Europe that would see the company’s EV capabilities expand exponentially.

Toronto-based Sprott Resource Streaming and Royalty Corp. is the company’s major debt creditor. Earlier in the year, Northern Graphite breached covenants on some of its debt and said it was working with Sprott to amend its debt package.