Graphite
Michel Dumont
The author is with the Minerals and Metals Sector,
Natural Resources Canada.
Telephone: 613-995-2917
E-mail: michel.dumont@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca
G raphite is a raw material with a unique blend of
physical and chemical properties. There are quite a number
of minerals similar in appearance to graphite; however,
graphite’s intrinsic properties make it easy to distinguish.
A useful classification of graphite depends on the mode of
formation that leads to three physically distinct common
varieties: amorphous (micro-crystalline) graphite, which
has a carbon content of 70-85%; high crystalline graphite
(lump, vein or crystalline vein), which has a carbon content
of 90-99%; and flake graphite, which has a carbon range of
80-98%.
Flake graphite (i.e., flat plate-like grains from <1 mm to
2.5 cm in size) is sold in two particle size distributions:
coarse flake (-20 to +100 mesh) and fine flake (-100 to
+325 mesh). Crystalline graphite ranges from chip or dust
to fine or amorphous lump, to coarse or crystalline lump.
The term “flake” is self-explanatory; flake forms occur
disseminated in rock. Lump graphite occurs in fissure-filled
veins in pegmatite dykes, also associated with chips and the
rarer needle forms. Amorphous graphite occurs in beds
that were once coal, but fine-grained, easily ground vein
graphite is also classified as amorphous.
All graphite has a crystalline structure, but only certain
kinds and sizes of natural graphite are commercially classi-
fied as “crystalline,” a term used for import duty purposes.
Natural graphite, the mineral form of graphitic carbon,
occurs worldwide. It differs from the carbon of coal and
diamond in its predominantly lamellar hexagonal crystal
structure. The ore usually contains associated silicate min-
erals that vary in kind and amount with the source. Graph-
ite is one of three forms of crystalline carbon; the others are
diamonds and fullerenes.1
Synthetic graphite has a higher purity but lower crystallin-
ity than natural graphite and is divided into: primary or
electrographite, with a carbon content of 99.9%, which is
manufactured on a large scale in electric furnaces using cal-
cined petroleum coke and coal tar pitch (used to produce
electrodes and carbon brushes); secondary synthetic graph-
ite in the form of powder or scrap, which is produced by
heating calcined petroleum pitch (used in the refractories
industry); and graphite fibres, which are produced from
organic precursors such as rayon or polyacrylonitrile and
tar pitch (used as reinforcing agents in polymer composites
in aerospace and sporting goods).
There are significant differences between naturally and
synthetically produced graphite as, while natural graphite is
generally less pure than its synthetic equivalent due to a
more defective crystal structure, synthetic graphite is less
conductive. While natural graphite usually has to be puri-
fied and upgraded, synthetic graphite can be engineered
that has 99.9% and higher carbon. Technology now allows
natural graphite material to be upgraded to more than
99.5% carbon. Purification techniques have improved to
the point that even low-quality graphite can be used in
high-tech applications that were once the domain of syn-
thetic material.
Natural graphite is a lustrous black carbon mineral, crystal-
lized in the hexagonal2 system with rhombohedral sym-
metry. Flake graphite is opaque, flexible and sectile, and
exhibits perfect basal cleavage. Natural graphite is unc-
tuous and relatively soft with a hardness of 1-2 on the
Mohs scale. It has a black streak on glaze porcelain. Its
1 Fullerenes are similar in structure to graphite, which is com-
posed of stacked sheets of linked hexagonal rings, but may also
contain pentagonal (or sometimes heptagonal) rings that would
prevent a sheet from being planar. Fullerenes are a form of carbon
molecule that is neither graphite nor diamond. They consist of a
spherical, ellipsoid, or cylindrical arrangement of dozens of car-
bon atoms. Spherical fullerenes are often called “buckyballs,”
whereas cylindrical fullerenes are known as “buckytubes” or
“nanotubes.”
2 Graphite is formed of parallel sheets of carbon atoms in a hex-
agonal arrangement. It is possible to insert other atoms between
the sheets in a process that is called intercalation. The insertion of
other atoms makes dramatic changes in the properties of graphite.
Graphite can be intercalated with sulphuric and nitric acid to pro-
duce expanded graphite.
25.2 CANADIAN MINERALS YEARBOOK, 2007
specific gravity is 2.26 g/cm3. Molybdenite, commonly
confused with graphite, is heavier and not smudgy, and it is
also metallic bluish silver in colour. Graphite is one of
those “tip of the iceberg” materials. For example, large
amounts of graphite are used to make “lead” pencils, so-
called because graphite resembles lead in colour, but which
in reality is graphite mixed with clay.
Graphite has properties of both metals and nonmetals,
which make it suitable for many industrial applications.
The metallic properties include electrical and thermal con-
ductivity. The nonmetallic properties include high thermal
resistance, inertness, and lubricity.
The many useful properties of graphite give rise to a wide
variety of products (30 different applications with hundreds
of formulations): unctuous – dry lubricant; marks readily –
writing and drafting pencils; combination of lubricity and
electrical conductivity – motor and generator brushes;
excellent weathering properties and inertness – industrial
paint pigment; solubility in molten iron – carbonraiser for
steel; poorly wet by most metals and alloys – foundry mold
facings; and burns slowly, conducts heat, and retains
strength over a large temperature range – refractories such
as crucibles, carbon-magnesite brick, continuously casting
ware, and stopper heads for steel ladles. Some additional
properties of interest include hydrophobicity, forms water-
in-oil emulsions, carries a negative charge, has low photo-
electric sensitivity, is strongly diamagnetic, and is an infra-
red absorber. Therefore, graphite is an excellent conductor
of heat and electricity and has a high melting temperature
of 3500°C. It is extremely resistant to acid, chemically
inert, and highly refractory.
GRAPHITE DEPOSITS IN CANADA
Graphite deposits of potentially commercial interest in
Canada occur principally in rocks of the Grenville series of
eastern Canada. The mineral is found in disseminated crys-
talline flake and vein forms. Most Canadian graphite
deposits are associated with graphite gneiss and crystalline
limestones that have been subjected to contact metamorph-
ism associated with tectonic features such as folding, com-
pression and fracturing, and with pegmatitic intrusions. The
richest ore zones occur as a succession of veins or lenticu-
lar bodies that gradually merge into the adjacent non-
graphitic host rock and that are bordered by lenses of
lower-grade ore.
Fine-to-coarse flake graphite deposits have been reported
mainly in Quebec and Ontario, but also in New Brunswick,
Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador,
and British Columbia. The more important occurrences are
those found in metasomatic-hydrothermal deposits and in
sedimentary rocks that have been subjected to regional or
thermal metamorphism. Marble, gneiss, and schist are the
more common rock types in which economic graphite
deposits occur.
In Quebec, graphite deposits are located mainly along the
Grenville series in several townships of western Quebec:
Buckingham, Argenteuil, and Pontiac. The disseminated
flake graphite variety is dominant in biotite gneiss and
crystalline limestone associated with biotite quartzite, but
the vein variety is also reported along the contact of intru-
sive rocks and crystalline limestone. Occurrences of graph-
ite are associated with metasedimentary rocks that have
been subjected to several deformations and where meta-
morphism has reached amphibolitic or granulitic phases.
Graphite also occurs in Esmanville Township, south of
Fermont. Several graphite-rich schist zones, measuring
1-25 m in thickness, are found interlayered with quartz-
feldspar gneiss. Some graphite zones locally contain more
than 15% graphite in the form of fine and well-crystallized
flakes.
In Ontario, graphite deposits are found in several townships
of eastern Ontario in rocks of the Grenville series. Flake
graphite occurs disseminated in marble and gneiss. The
occurrences of major interest are in semipelitic and pelitic
gneiss units within paragneiss sequences. Graphite is
present in amounts up to 10%. Accessory minerals consist
of biotite, garnet, and pyrite; trace elements in these graph-
itic rocks include nickel, cobalt, boron, and vanadium.
In southeastern British Columbia, the Hoder Creek and
Little Slocan River Valley’s graphite deposits’ host rocks,
located in the Regolith zone, were metamorphosed primar-
ily from limestone to marble of other limey metasediments.
The granites within the batholith were metamorphosed to
hybrid or mixed gneisses. This calc-silicate metasediment
is regional (typical of crystal graphite deposits) with num-
erous occurrences of graphite. In the west-central coastal
Bentinck Arm area, the graphite showing occurs as small,
thin graphite flakes widely dispersed in a quartz-rich gneiss
in an area that is underlain by metavolcanic rocks that have
been intruded by a now foliated granodiorite.
CANADIAN PRODUCTION
There is presently one graphite deposit being exploited
in Canada; therefore, production values and quantities
(Table 1) cannot be released by Natural Resources Canada
due to a confidentiality agreement with the Canadian pro-
ducer. Expected within the next few years is an influx of
additional graphite producers (i.e., Industrial Minerals Inc.
[IMI], Fortune Graphite Inc., Quinto Mining Corp., and
Worldwide Graphite Producers Ltd.).
Quebec
Timcal Canada Inc. (part of the graphite business unit
“Timcal Graphite” of Imerys SA of France) operates the
Lac-des-Îles graphite mine near Mont-Laurier. To diversify
production, it invested US$10 million in a new processing

plant in Terrebonne, near Montréal, to produce exfoliated
graphite. Mechanical concentration of the graphite, which
raises the carbon content to 98.8%, and packaging, mainly
for refractory grades, is performed at Lac-des-Îles. The
Terrebonne plant processes natural graphite (expanded
graphite) from its mining and processing operation in Lac-
des-Îles, Quebec, and from offshore sources.
In the developmental stage, Quinto Technology Inc. of
Delta, British Columbia, is in the phase of completing a
feasibility study for its graphite deposit in the province of
Quebec called the Lac Gueret property. The property lies in
eastern Quebec, 300 km north-northwest of Baie-Comeau
along the southwestern shore of Reservoir Manicouagan. In
early 2008, Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd. of
Toronto, Ontario, and Quinto Mining Corp. of Vancouver,
B.C., signed a definitive arrangement agreement whereby
Consolidated Thompson will acquire all of the common
shares of Quinto. The transaction will significantly increase
Consolidated Thompson’s iron ore interest in northern
Quebec and give it a graphite project near Lac Gueret,
Quebec. However, the graphite deposit is several years
away from any form of production.
Another graphite potential exists in the province. It con-
cerns the Lake Knife flake graphite deposit, which is up
for sale and contains 8.1 Mt of 16.7% graphite. In 2006,
Iamgold Corp. of Toronto, Ontario, inherited this deposit
from Cambior Inc. of Longueuil, Quebec, which in turn
had inherited it in 2003 from the merger with Sequoia
Minerals Inc. of Québec City, Quebec (which in turn was a
spin-off of Mazarin Inc.’s industrial minerals business into
a new company). Iamgold is a gold producer and the graph-
ite deposit no longer fits into its product portfolio.
Ontario
Industrial Minerals Inc. (IMI) of Mississauga developed a
graphite mill and processing plant in Bissett Creek, located
in Maria Township northwest of Deep River (i.e., 240 km
west of Ottawa and 100 km east of North Bay). The deposit
has approximately 640 000 t of proven graphite resources
and is claimed as one of the largest and purest natural
graphite deposits in the world. It contains coarse flakes
ranging in size from 180 micrometres (μm) to 1.7 mm.
Designed to produce 20 000 t/y via a dry process to offer
two grades of 85% and 94% graphitic carbon, the company
discovered shortly after start-up of the plant in 2005 that
valuable large flakes (high-grade Graf-X jumbo) were
being destroyed during processing. IMI does not expect to
generate any production until a proposed feasibility study is
completed and the equipment necessary to commence pro-
duction is acquired. Work planned for 2008 includes an
exploratory drill program and construction of a pilot plant.
The plant is scheduled to be in operation in the Spring of
2009. IMI hopes that the development of a flexible flow
sheet in the pilot plant will enable it to develop a fixed flow
sheet for a full-sized plant.
GRAPHITE 25.3
British Columbia
Crystal Graphite Corp. (CGC) of Vancouver, which had
started its own graphite beneficiation plant for the mining
of its high-purity Black Crystal graphite deposit near
Slocan Lake, northwest of Nelson, went into receivership
and was recently sold to a private company that has
renamed the operation Eagle Graphite Corp. The purchase
was limited to Crystal Graphite’s graphite business only,
but Eagle Graphite does not intend to pursue Crystal
Graphite’s plan to invest in Chinese graphite production.
Until recently, Eagle Graphite was only selling Crystal
Graphite’s earlier production inventory of 20 t of fuel cell-
quality graphite, with a carbon quality of 98-98.5% pure,
mesh size between +150 to -50, packed and ready to be
sold into 25-40 kg bags on a 1-t pallet. It was tentatively
targeting June 2007 to reactivate production and produce
both fuel cell-grade and conventional graphite; however, it
announced at the 19th Industrial Minerals International
Congress, held in Athens, Greece, in April 2008, the start of
production at a rate of 1200 t/y.
Fortune Graphite Inc., of Toronto, Ontario, is developing a
number of amorphous graphite and flake graphite claims in
the Kootenay Mountains in southeastern British Columbia.
Plans had been finalized for mining to begin in autumn
2007 and production to begin in 2008 with full production
by 2009 of 27 000 t/y of amorphous graphite from its first
claims. At a 9% yield of its inferred deposit claims of
6.7 Mt, it would expect to operate at a run-of-mine rate of
475 000 t/y for each of the expected 14 years of operation.
Worldwide Graphite Producers Ltd., headquartered in
Toronto, Ontario, but with activities in British Columbia,
is developing the Superior Graphite claims, soon to be
followed by the Amar and Koch claims in the area. The
Superior deposit has reserves of 55 Mt of flake graphite
with a 9% average graphite yield and an expected mine life
of 50 years.
WORLD PRODUCTION
World production (source: U.S. Geological Survey’s
[USGS] 2006 review on graphite) of natural graphite
decreased slightly by about 1% in 2006 to an estimated
1.03 Mt, compared with 1.04 Mt in 2005. China dominated
its position as the world’s leading graphite producer with
720 000 t. India was second with 120 000 t, followed by
Brazil, North Korea, and Canada, in decreasing order of
tonnage produced. These five countries accounted for 95%
of world production, and China alone accounted for about
70%. In 2006, there was no reported production of natural
graphite in the United States (but production of synthetic
graphite was estimated to be 190 000 t). Not an ounce of
graphite has been mined in the United States since the gates
closed on Southwestern Graphite Co. in 1980. Now the
United States only processes imported graphite.
25.4 CANADIAN MINERALS YEARBOOK, 2007
MINING
Graphite deposits are usually located at or near the surface
and are typically mined by open-pit methods. Underground
mining methods are only employed when warranted by
grade and structure. The current Canadian graphite produ-
cers operate open-pit deposits. However, underground min-
ing of graphite was relatively common in eastern Ontario
and in the Buckingham area of Quebec during the early
1900s with shafts extending to depths of 80 m or more.
PROCESSING
Flake graphite in Canada is too finely disseminated for
hand sorting and cobbing methods, which are used in some
countries to recover massive flake graphite. Production of
Canadian graphite is usually only possible by a combina-
tion of careful grinding and screening to recover coarse
flakes and by flotation to recover fine graphite. Flotation
concentrates are sometimes further beneficiated by tabling
to remove associated gangue minerals such as quartz, mica,
hornblende, feldspar, calcite, and sulphides.
Impurities tend to float with graphite since, being soft,
graphite tends to smear and coat impurity minerals during
grinding so that they behave like graphite. This is espe-
cially true when processing finely divided ores that require
extensive grinding.
Size reduction is usually accomplished by jaw, cone, or
hammer mill-type crushers; screening to recover coarse
flakes or to reject coarse hard impurities is accomplished
by trommel or vibratory screens. The recovery of inter-
mediate and fine flake graphite is possible by roll crushing,
ball, rod milling, or jet milling, followed by additional
screening, air classification, wet tabling, or flotation.
Graphite is naturally floatable and particles as coarse as
1 mm may be floated in a slightly alkaline pH medium.
Pine oil and kerosene are the standard reagents and are
usually employed together. Pine oil acts as a frother. The
function of kerosene or fuel oil is as a promoter to recover
unliberated graphite middlings. Flotation is fairly fast and
multiple cleanings are necessary for recoveries of 80-85%;
recovery can be improved by regrinding and reflotation,
but careful regrinding is necessary to avoid the smearing of
gangue minerals and the production of slime graphite.
Modifiers and depressants to improve selectivity include
sodium silicate, which acts as a quartz depressant and slime
dispersant, and lactic acid, C3H6O3, which is used to
depress mica.
Graphite may be further purified to 99% carbon by chem-
ical treatment, chloridization, or fluoridization.
Synthetic graphite, mainly produced in the United States, is
made from a mixture of petroleum coke or anthracite filler,
coal tar, or petroleum pitch binder, and various impregnat-
ing or additive materials. The coke or anthracite, which
should contain 95% carbon and have a low sulphur content,
is calcined to remove volatiles, ground, mixed with binder
and other materials, and molded to the required shape. The
product, known in the trade as “green bar” or “green
stock,” is then baked at 800-1000°C to convert the pitch
binder to coke and to solidify the shape. The resulting prod-
uct is then “graphitized” by heating in an electric furnace at
2600-3000°C over an extended period. It is then cooled and
machined to final size specifications (e.g., the production
of electrodes = turned on lathes to the desired diameter for
use in steel mini-mills).
USE AND TRADE
NRCan’s 2007 voluntary survey on the use of nonmetallic
minerals by Canadian manufacturing plants indicated that
the use of graphite in Canada increased by 13.8% to
18 184 t for 2006 from 15 982 t in 2005. Of these figures
(Table 2), natural graphite represented 2361 t (13.0%) and
synthetic graphite represented 15 823 t (87.0%). Natural
graphite consumption was mainly in the foundry facing
(64.7%) industry, while the balance (35.3%) reported was
for refractories and other uses (i.e., brake linings, chem-
icals, abrasives, primary steel, and other uses).
As for Canadian trade (Table 1), Statistic Canada reported
that the total value of Canadian exports of graphite
increased by 27.5% to $37.9 million in 2007 from
$29.7 million in 2006. Of these exports, $20.0 million
(20 238 t) was natural graphite, the balance being refrac-
tory products and carbon/graphite brushes. The United
States was the main destination of Canadian natural graph-
ite, valued at $14.1 million (13 890 t). Imports into Canada
totaled $33.0 million in 2007, a decrease of 9.2% from
$36.4 million in 2006. Of these imports, $4.2 million
(3748 t) was natural graphite and the balance was refrac-
tory products and carbon/graphite brushes. The United
States exported into Canada $1.2 million worth (1520 t) of
natural graphite in 2007, a 32% decrease in value from
2006, but a 9.0% (151-t) decrease in volume. As for
China’s 2007 exports to Canada of natural graphite, imports
were valued at $2.7 million (2135 t), an increase of 6.1% in
value and 20.4% in quantity from 2006.
PRODUCTION AND MARKET
CONSIDERATIONS
The major producing countries, by type of graphite and in
decreasing order of importance, are as follows:
• Flakes: China, Ukraine, Brazil, Canada, Madagascar,
Zimbawe, and Norway;

• Microcrystalline (amorphous): China, South Korea,
Mexico, the Czech Republic, Austria, North Korea,
Russia, and Zimbawe; and
• Lump: Sri Lanka.
Refractories, foundries, friction products, and lubricants are
the highest-volume applications for graphite (Source:
Industrial Minerals magazine, October 2003). New appli-
cations for graphite producers to keep tabs on include the
use of natural graphite in heat sinks, which could be used
for electronics cooling applications (e.g., in computers,
servers, and power devices). There is also an increasing
new interest in graphite as a flame retardant and as an addi-
tive in polymers used in applications such as sealing and
piping.
Currently, the market for large-flake, high-carbon graphite
is experiencing a cycle of high growth. This is due in large
measure to the new demand created by the fuel cell indus-
try and its need for electrodes and conductive separators
being developed for the automotive industry sector. There
is additional new growth in demand in magnesia and alum-
ina refractories and for the use of graphite in lithium ion
batteries.
The ability to purify and modify graphite and carbon prod-
ucts is the key to future growth in the graphite industry.
Along with consistency in specifications and source of sup-
ply, as well as just-in-time service and joint cooperation/
development programs with industry users, consistency is
the number one request made in the market today.
PRICES
Prices for actual transactions vary according to geographic
region and will take into account the quantity purchased,
application, quality assurance, exact grade purchased,
credit terms, and other parameters. Due to the unavailabil-
ity of Canadian prices, the following price examples from
the USGS’s 2006 review on graphite are provided to facili-
tate an understanding.
Natural graphite prices increased for most types during
2006. Prices for crystalline and crystalline flake graphite
concentrates ranged from US$410 to US$950/short ton (st),
and prices for amorphous powder ranged from US$240 to
US$260/st. Ash and carbon content, crystal and flake size,
and flake distribution affect the price of graphite.
Flake graphite has the advantage of being sold into a wider
range of markets and enjoys higher prices than amorphous
from Mexico or lump from Sri Lanka. As a general rule,
the larger flake sizes sell at the highest prices among the
natural graphite products.
GRAPHITE 25.5
MAJOR USES
Graphite usage, stable for some years, appears to be about
to undergo a renaissance. Advantage is being taken of the
electrical conductivity of graphite and its light weight.
There is renewed interest in making plastics conductive.
Graphite has advantages over the carbon blacks of produ-
cing lower-viscosity compounds and being cleaner to use.
New end uses include fuel cell components, energy cell
components, graphite reactor fuel elements, and intercala-
tion compounds. Further off the horizon are uses in mag-
netic levitation and lower-cost synthesis of diamonds.
The largest consumers (i.e., Russia, Japan, the United
States, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France,
and Brazil) of graphite are the biggest producers of steel,
base metals, and precious metals. Together it is estimated
they consume about 50% of all graphite and are the largest
users of flake graphite.
Graphite crucibles are used in steel-making and in the pro-
duction of nonferrous and precious metals. Here, flake
graphite is preferred to microcrystalline graphite because it
burns more slowly, has a high attrition resistance, and
imparts structural strength through the orientation of the
flakes. The average carbon content is 80-90% and the aver-
age flake size is 0.15 mm.
Although graphite is used in metallurgy, it is also con-
sumed by the chemical, mechanical, glass, and ceramic
industries. Its role is also important in a range of medical,
environmental, transportation, and energy management
technologies.
Growing markets include: (a) exfoliated “expanded” flake
graphite rolled into sheet (grafoil, also called flexible
graphite foil) for the manufacture of gaskets and seals used
in the automotive industry, heat exchangers, and other
products; (b) high-alumina and magnesia-graphite bricks
for the refractory industry; (c) zirconia-graphite coatings;
(d) flake graphite-silicon carbide refractories; and (e) fric-
tion materials. Other growing markets are very high-purity
graphite for specialty applications, metal powders, and
motor brushes.
New and developing applications are providing demand
growth for graphite. In particular, there is considerable
potential for high-purity, high-carbon graphite in the batter-
ies sector and in the fuel cells, which could offer good
longer-term growth.
As an example, a research group associated with the
University of New South Wales in Sydney developed a new
form of very-high-density graphite (VHD graphite) that
provides advantages over conventional graphite in four key
areas: porosity, composition, and electrical and thermal
conductivity. VHD graphite is manufactured at lower tem-
peratures than conventional graphite and the processing
time is an order of magnitude shorter.
25.6 CANADIAN MINERALS YEARBOOK, 2007

The nuclear industry uses VHD graphite since the denser
the carbon is, the better it serves as a neutron moderator. It
is not as strong as cast iron, but milling the graphite is
about as hard as milling iron. A block of VHD graphite
10 x 10 x 122 cm (4 x 4 x 48 inches in size) weighed about
23-27 kg (50-60 lb).
VHD provides a range of other possible applications in the
following sectors: low friction uses, fuel cells, batteries,
corrosion-resistant electrodes, high-density heat storage
devices, and carbon-reinforced graphite and other related
materials.
Nanocomposites: When intercalated and expanded,
graphite nano-flakes are produced with a thickness to
20-50 nanometers. The potential end use of graphite nano-
flakes would be in the aerospace, automobile, and conduct-
ive plastics sectors.
OUTLOOK
Refractory use trends (source: USGS 2006 review on
graphite) for graphite closely follow events in the steel
industry because graphite is mostly used in the manufacture
of refractory brick, which is used in iron and steel furnace
linings. Flexible graphite products, such as grafoil (a thin
graphite cloth), will probably be the fastest growing mar-
ket, but will use small amounts of natural graphite com-
pared with major end-use markets such as brake linings and
refractories.
Hybrid and electric vehicles are expected to increase
demand for high-purity graphite in fuel cell and battery
applications. Global demand (source: USGS 2006 review
on graphite) may increase to more than 25 000 t/y in the
next four to five years. The demand is expected to be
spread between two main consuming sectors: alkaline
batteries and lithium-metal ion batteries. Synthetic and
natural graphite are used in these batteries. The markets for
graphite used in rubber and plastics (including Styrofoam
coatings) are growing, and continued growth is expected.
Canadian deposits are of the flake type and are relatively
easy to upgrade to +90% carbon; many contain graphite
that is expandable. Products made from expandable graph-
ite command higher prices and the outlook for growth in
these products is good.
Notes: (1) For definitions and valuation of mineral produc-
tion, shipments and trade, please refer to Chapter 65.
(2) Information in this review was current as of June 30,
2008. (3) This and other reviews, including previous
editions, are available on the Internet at www.nrcan.gc.ca/
mms/cmy/com_e.html.
NOTE TO READERS
The intent of this document is to provide general infor-
mation and to elicit discussion. It is not intended as a
reference, guide or suggestion to be used in trading,
investment, or other commercial activities. The author
and Natural Resources Canada make no warranty of
any kind with respect to the content and accept no lia-
bility, either incidental, consequential, financial or
otherwise, arising from the use of this document.

TARIFFS
Canada United States EU Japan
Item No. Description MFN GPT USA Canada Conventional Rate (1) WTO (2)

25.04 Natural graphite

2504.10 In powder or in flakes Free Free Free Free Free Free
2504.90 Other Free Free Free Free Free Free

6902.90 Refractory bricks, blocks, tiles and Free Free Free Free 2% 1.5%
similar refractory ceramic constructional
goods, other than those of siliceous
fossil meals or similar siliceous earths:
other

6903.10 Other refractory ceramic goods, other Free Free Free Free 5% 3.5%
than those of siliceous fossil meals or of
similar siliceous earths: containing by
weight more than 50% of graphite or
other carbon, or of a mixture of these
products

85.45 Carbon electrodes, carbon brushes,

lamp carbons, battery carbons and
other articles of graphite or other
carbon, with or without metal, of a kind
used for electrical purposes
8545.20 Brushes Free Free Free Free 2.7% 3.3%

Sources: Canadian Customs Tariff , effective January 2007, Canada Border Services Agency; Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States , 2008; Official Journal of the
European Union (Tariff Information), September 20, 2007 edition; Customs Tariff Schedules of Japan, 2008 .
(1) The customs duties applicable to imported goods originating in countries that are Contracting Parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade or with which the European
Community has concluded agreements containing the most-favoured-nation tariff clause shall be the conventional duties shown in column 3 of the Schedule of Duties. (2) WTO rate
is shown; lower tariff rates may apply circumstantially.
 GRAPHITE 25.7

TABLE 1. CANADA, GRAPHITE PRODUCTION AND TRADE, 2005-07

2005 2006 (r) 2007 (p)

(tonnes) ($000) (tonnes) ($000) (tonnes) ($000)

PRODUCTION (all forms)

Quebec x x x x x x
British Columbia x x – – – –

Total x x x x x x

EXPORTS
2504.10 Natural graphite in powder or flake
United States 9 917 12 169 9 586 11 187 13 852 14 044
Belgium 418 599 507 694 1 430 1 705
United Kingdom 1 765 1 380 1 795 1 362 1 501 1 153
Turkey 140 93 60 31 663 708
Italy 1 128 899 1 020 724 757 612
Spain 395 258 497 319 647 573
Macedonia 140 65 580 258 403 324
Switzerland 1 324 1 455 888 1 007 302 298
Germany – – – – 239 160
France 18 17 74 69 108 100
Other countries 36 34 213 255 222 258

Total 15 281 16 969 15 220 15 906 20 124 19 935

2504.90 Natural graphite, n.e.s.

Spain – – – – 41 36
United States 12 61 77 32 38 25
Italy – – – – 20 19
Other countries 135 64 14 6 15 7

Total 147 125 91 38 114 87

6902.90 Refractory bricks, blocks, tiles; other

United States 2 598 2 401 1 347 2 263 3 202 6 138
Australia 198 115 182 255 349 513
Indonesia 273 376 85 91 88 118
Japan 71 104 84 124 76 109
Other countries 93 117 18 29 175 245

Total 3 233 3 113 1 716 2 762 3 890 7 123

(n.a.) ($000) (n.a.) ($000) (n.a.) ($000)

6903.10 Other refractory ceramic goods, containing by
weight more than 50% of graphite or other carbon,
or of a mixture of these products
Iceland – – .. 34 .. 28
United States .. 76 .. 37 .. 20
Other countries .. 34 .. 146 .. 4

Total .. 110 .. 217 .. 52

(kg) ($000) (kg) ($000) (kg) ($000)

8545.20 Carbon or graphite brushes
United States 70 850 8 542 107 457 9 561 80 772 9 428
United Kingdom 61 741 435 4 390 183 22 180 282
South Africa 7 284 150 2 125 27 7 576 122
France 140 381 450 5 388 80 4 532 94
Chile 10 709 77 9 064 54 6 749 89
Netherlands 13 388 76 11 190 69 9 789 84
Mexico – – 2 570 23 10 670 79
Australia 5 392 14 16 870 38 5 680 64
Spain 8 533 68 6 516 47 6 155 57
Israel 5 710 39 2 500 17 7 700 51
Italy 720 5 344 8 1 587 49
Vietnam 3 171 20 1 213 8 5 433 47
Colombia 6 283 37 3 638 30 4 498 39
Germany 181 1 7 047 228 1 070 38
Peru 10 763 97 10 886 97 3 120 32
Trinidad and Tobago 1 177 5 267 65 125 28
Tunisia – – – – 4 000 25
Sri Lanka – – – – 3 262 21
Brazil 100 1 20 4 1 171 17
China 31 258 116 2 000 17 45 14
Other countries 28 842 150 29 410 257 4 452 62

Total 406 483 10 283 222 895 10 813 190 566 10 722

Total exports .. 30 600 .. 29 736 .. 37 919

25.8 CANADIAN MINERALS YEARBOOK, 2007

TABLE 1 (cont'd)
2005 2006 (r) 2007 (p)

(tonnes) ($000) (tonnes) ($000) (tonnes) ($000)

IMPORTS (1)
2504.10 Natural graphite in powder or flake
United States 1 895 1 457 1 240 1 380 1 323 944
China 276 300 334 334 227 256
Germany 4 8 111 139 19 91
Japan 10 109 67 61 24 68
Mexico 122 68 50 25 27 16
Other countries 59 64 3 5 7 9

Total 2 366 2 006 1 805 1 944 1 627 1 384

2504.90 Natural graphite, n.e.s.

China 940 2 192 1 439 2 303 1 908 2 541
United States 332 310 431 385 197 255
Other countries 78 62 61 37 16 15

Total 1 350 2 564 1 931 2 725 2 121 2 811

6902.90 Refractory bricks, etc., n.e.s. (containing by weight

more than 50% carbon or graphite)
United States 37 241 10 117 17 308 11 101 15 476 10 358
China 14 512 3 929 2 416 4 326 2 782 4 285
Netherlands 137 616 – – 390 1 097
Germany 139 412 279 881 215 648
Mexico 21 42 1 295 213 28 123
Italy 7 624 796 222 474 157 115
United Kingdom 1 982 3 584 436 1 902 226 72
Other countries 2 262 933 267 721 519 211

Total 63 918 20 429 22 223 19 618 19 793 16 909

(kg) ($000) (kg) ($000) (kg) ($000)

6903.10 Refractory ceramic goods, n.e.s., containing more
than 50% or graphite or other forms of carbon, etc.
(including crucibles)
United Kingdom 25 172 586 33 839 750 185 682 1 177
United States 48 349 1 600 93 470 1 599 69 335 1 171
Germany 917 393 772 291 44 718 358
France 317 97 498 122 1 481 128
Australia 2 5 15 19 2 050 75
Morocco – – 1 8 18 519 32
Brazil 170 35 53 26 2 142 15
Other countries 1 637 7 1 007 64 2 276 31

Total 76 564 2 723 129 655 2 879 326 203 2 987

8545.20 Carbon or graphite brushes

United States 948 297 6 343 285 148 6 263 250 253 6 435
China 49 051 444 33 398 447 18 658 546
Germany 19 233 848 16 090 659 32 484 519
Japan 53 534 447 38 477 798 50 338 453
United Kingdom 16 487 291 10 018 327 9 297 306
France 9 887 278 3 383 103 3 753 129
Canada 2 832 66 2 781 105 1 735 88
Brazil 4 058 161 6 550 155 2 018 80
Mexico 1 512 44 868 17 5 240 69
Sweden 5 120 61 3 051 101 1 457 49
Austria 3 094 40 1 594 37 2 314 43
Denmark 105 2 496 12 1 531 29
Italy 1 420 24 1 031 19 1 329 27
Czech Republic 57 1 62 3 1 393 19
Switzerland 758 17 402 15 544 17
Taiwan 8 829 31 1 175 18 3 019 13
Thailand 996 22 23 294 27 312 12
Other countries 6 999 203 2717 80 3 177 76

Total 1 132 269 9 323 430 535 9 186 388 852 8 910

Total imports .. 37 045 .. 36 352 .. 33 001

Sources: Natural Resources Canada; Statistics Canada.

– Nil; . . Not available; . . . Amount too small to be expressed; n.a. Not applicable; n.e.s. Not elsewhere specified; (p) Preliminary; (r) Revised; x Confidential.
Note: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.
 GRAPHITE 25.9

TABLE 2. REPORTED USE (1) OF GRAPHITE IN CANADA, 2001-06

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 (p)

(tonnes)
Natural graphite
Foundry facing 2 170 2 217 2 387 2 312 2 394 1 528
Refractories x x – x x x
Other uses (2) x x 1 294 x x x

Synthetic graphite
Foundry facing 1 992 1 943 1 650 1 954 1 759 2 105
Other uses (3) 7 331 8 515 9 343 10 324 10 496 13 718

Total 13 297 14 137 14 674 15 877 15 982 18 184

Source: Natural Resources Canada.

– Nil; (p) Preliminary; x Confidential.
(1) Reported from NRCan survey on the use of nonmetallic minerals by Canadian manufacturing
plants. (2) Includes brake linings, chemicals, abrasives, primary steel, and other end uses.
(3) Includes abrasives, batteries, bearings and brake linings, cement, chemicals, primary steel,
and other uses.
Note: Numbers may not add to totals due to rounding.