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    GBM’s Kearney graphite mine restart: production scale and design notes for engineers

    May 6, 2026|

    Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

    GBM’s Kearney graphite mine restart: production scale and design notes for engineers

    First reported on MINING.com

    30 Second Briefing

    Global Battery Materials plans to restart Ontario’s Kearney flake graphite mine within about 20 months, targeting initial output of 23,000 tonnes of carbon graphite per year from 2028, rising to 50,000 tonnes, backed by WSP’s update of a 2018 feasibility study. The former Ontario Graphite asset hosts 23 million tonnes of proven and probable reserves at 1.95% Cg, plus 61.8 million measured and indicated tonnes at 1.99% Cg, supporting a projected mine life of at least 20 years. GBM is also advancing site selection for a 50,000‑tonne‑per‑year anode materials plant in Ontario, Quebec or the US, with production targeted from late 2028.

    Technical Brief

    • Historic operations processed almost 1 million tonnes of ore before shutdown due to low graphite prices.
    • Resource base includes 59.2 Mt inferred at 1.88% Cg, in addition to reserves and M&I tonnages.
    • GBM has already shipped initial Kearney graphite samples to undisclosed US customers for qualification.
    • A new Mont‑Laurier, Quebec laboratory is configured to purify low‑grade ore to battery‑grade concentrate.
    • Planned anode plant is being sized at ~50,000 t/y capacity with provision for future expansion.
    • Funding options under review include private equity, IPO and potential equity participation from government entities.
    • Benchmark forecasts natural flake graphite demand reaching ~3 Mt by 2035, implying ~30 new mines globally.

    Our Take

    With China currently handling about 70% of natural graphite production and over 90% of battery-grade processing, a restart at the Kearney graphite mine in Ontario would give North American cell and anode makers a rare non-Chinese flake source within 300 km of Toronto’s industrial corridor, which is increasingly important in OEM localisation strategies.

    Measured, indicated and inferred resources at Kearney total well over 100 million tonnes at around 2% Cg, which in our database puts it among the larger undeveloped or suspended natural flake graphite assets in North America and supports the projected 20-year operating life from a resource-basis perspective.

    The projected need for roughly 30 new natural flake graphite mines by 2035, combined with synthetic anode supply deals such as Vianode’s recent LOI with JR Energy Solution, suggests that even if synthetic graphite expands, projects like Kearney and Quebec’s Matawinie mine will likely still be required to balance anode feedstock portfolios for EV and stationary storage producers.

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    Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.

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