Graphite One now targets 2030 for Graphite Creek production, a year later than in July

Graphite One now targets 2030 for production at its Graphite Creek mine, a proposed open-pit mine about 37 miles north of Nome, according to a company release Monday. That is a year later than the 2029 date the company stood behind in July. Mine construction is now targeted for 2028.

The release also pushes back the company's planned plant in Conneaut, Ohio, by a year. Graphite One's July 16 release had expected production of synthetic graphite anode material there, the main material in one electrode of lithium-ion batteries, to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027. It now targets first sales in the fourth quarter of 2028, subject to a final investment decision, financing and construction. Monday's release does not describe either new target as a change, and it gives no reason for the later schedule.

The company's plan is to mine and process natural graphite at Graphite Creek, ship graphite materials through the Port of Nome and make anode materials in Ohio.

The Army Corps of Engineers moved the mine's federal review from a shorter environmental assessment to a full environmental impact statement in July. Graphite One's July 9 release said it expected no delay, and President and CEO Anthony Huston said the company remained confident "in our ability to deliver this critical domestic graphite supply chain project on our targeted 2029 timeline."

On July 27, as Alaska News reported July 28, the executive director of FAST-41, a federal program that sets and publicly posts permit schedules for large projects, extended the dates for the Corps' Clean Water Act permit and the historic preservation review at the Corps' request. The federal Permitting Dashboard now estimates review will finish Sept. 24, 2027. Monday's release targets a Corps permit decision by Sept. 30, 2027.

Monday's release centered on the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's final air permit for the plant's first phase, effective Oct. 27. The company says the permit requires construction to start within 18 months. Phase 1 is planned at 10,000 tonnes a year, at an estimated cost of $80 million. Graphite One expects a final investment decision and construction start by April 2027.

The company says the Export-Import Bank amended a non-binding letter of interest in financing the plant to $1.4 billion. Graphite One said in July that the Ohio plant can move to production independently of the Alaska mine.