Titan Mining graphite start-up at New York plant: supply, capex and policy lens
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Titan Mining has begun producing natural flake graphite concentrate at its fully permitted 1,200 t/y Kilbourne pilot plant, integrated within the Empire State Mine complex in St. Lawrence County, New York. The company plans to scale capacity to about 40,000 t/y, which it says could supply roughly 50% of current US graphite demand, supported by a proposed US Export-Import Bank loan facility of up to $120 million for project build-out. Start-up coincides with a new White House Executive Order invoking Section 232 on processed critical minerals, including natural graphite, tightening the policy focus on domestic supply.
Technical Brief
- Kilbourne is configured as a demonstration facility embedded within Titan’s existing Empire State Mine infrastructure.
- The pilot plant is fully permitted and currently operating at its nameplate 1,200 t/y rate.
- Location is St. Lawrence County in upstate New York, roughly 300 km northwest of Albany.
- Initial output is natural flake graphite concentrate specifically for customer and US government qualification programmes.
- Titan positions Kilbourne as the first step in rebuilding a domestic natural graphite supply chain in over 70 years.
- Financing discussions centre on a US Export-Import Bank letter of interest for a US$120 million loan facility.
- Additional “complementary, accretive” funding is being pursued with other unnamed US federal agencies.
- A new White House Executive Order invokes Section 232 trade authorities on processed critical minerals, explicitly including natural graphite.
- Titan’s CEO states that domestic production plus Section 232 trade measures materially de-risk the path to commercial scale.
- Market reaction has been positive, with Titan’s share price up 6.3% and market capitalisation at C$613.6 million.
Our Take
In our database of 760 mining stories, very few U.S.-based natural graphite items appear, so Titan Mining’s Kilbourne project in New York stands out as one of the first attempts to rebuild a domestic supply chain after more than seven decades of reliance on imports.
The related December 2025 piece on ore feeding at the Kilbourne graphite demonstration plant shows that Titan is moving from concept to operational proof-of-process, which typically strengthens the case for securing large-scale financing such as the proposed US$120 million facility from the US Export-Import Bank.
With a market capitalisation of about US$447 million and exposure to both graphite and zinc, Titan Mining is relatively small compared with many battery-materials peers in our coverage, suggesting that successful ramp-up at Kilbourne could have an outsized impact on its valuation and access to future capital.
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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