A 2022 prefeasibility study for an all-American Graphite One supply chain envisioned a mine at Graphite Creek that would produce an average of 51,813 metric tons of graphite concentrate per year and a processing and recycling facility that leverages the clean hydroelectricity in Washington to upgrade the concentrates into 49,600 metric tons of spherical coated graphite that serves as the anode material in lithium-ion batteries and 25,400 metric tons of other advanced graphite products per year. The Graphite Creek deposit outlined so far hosts more than 14 million metric tons of graphite, in all resource categories, enough to support a mine of this size for more than 200 years. As large as this deposit is, the resources identified only account for about one-third of the roughly 10-mile-long graphite trend running across the property. "The Graphite One project is in a league of its own, in terms of the scope of the resource in the ground in Alaska and the vision the company has for manufacturing anode materials and recycling batteries in Washington state," said Murkowski. Given that there are currently zero mines in the U.S. producing the graphite needed for EV and clean energy storage batteries, on top of the countless electronic devices no longer tethered to the wall, North American automakers and the U.S. government want to see a Graphite One supply chain that better matches Graphite Creek's world-class potential with rocketing demand being driven by the transition to EVs powered by clean energy. Red Dog criticality rises Roughly 200 miles north of Graphite Creek lies the first link in another world-class critical minerals supply chain – the Red Dog mine. While famed for its high-grade concentrations of zinc, Red Dog is also a globally significant source of the lesser-known critical mineral germanium. One of the reasons that the germanium at Red Dog is not talked about much is this minor metalloid's contribution to Teck's bottom line is minuscule. The value of all the germanium consumed in the U.S. during 2022 is estimated to be around $39 million, and more than 25% percent of this was imported from China, according to the USGS. So, the undisclosed value of this critical metalloid recovered from Red Dog concentrate pales in comparison to the more than $1.8 billion of zinc produced at the Northwest Alaska mine last year. And the entire global germanium market, estimated at roughly $292 million in 2022, is not even a rounding error of the U.S.'s $25.5 trillion gross domestic product (GDP) last year. Like many of the other minor metals critical to the U.S., however, germanium's minute market size belies its importance to the overall economy. This disparity lies in the value and importance of the technologies that germanium enables. The high-quality germanium mined at Red Dog and recovered at Teck's Trail refinery in Canada is used in fiber optic cables, high-speed computer chips, quantum computer transistors, solar cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and night vision goggles, to name a few. This North American source of a metal critical to telecommunications, consumer goods, green energy, and the U.S. military becomes more important with China's state-controlled export restrictions of germanium and gallium that went into effect on Aug. 1. The Red Dog deposit also happens to be enriched with gallium, though it is unclear whether this semiconductor metal could be recovered. It is estimated that the ore being mined at the Red Dog deposit in Northwest Alaska contains roughly 26 parts per million gallium, which is about average for this type of zinc deposit. Even at these low concentrations, the ore fed into the Red Dog mill each year would contain roughly 100 metric tons of gallium. There are, however, no records of how much of the gallium is recovered into concentrates at Red Dog, and this metal must compete with other critical byproducts at the refinery. The ability to recover some of the Red Dog gallium alongside the germanium, zinc, and other metals would provide America's tech sector an alternative to China, which currently produces 98% of the world's supply of this tech metal. China's decision to play two of its tech metals cards raises the strategic importance of developing Alaska's rich stores of gallium, germanium, graphite, and other critical minerals currently dominated by the Middle Kingdom. Forging a path forward Gallium, germanium, graphite, and zinc are not the only critical minerals found in Alaska. North of 60 Mining News analysis has identified 49 out of the 50 U.S. critical minerals in mines, deposits, and prospects across the 49th State. This rich endowment has piqued the interest of the U.S. Department of Energy and its Arctic Energy Office, which co-hosted the "Critical Minerals in the Arctic: Forging the Path Forward," a policy-driven summit convened in the nation's capital during July as a follow-up to the "Alaska's Minerals: A Strategic National Imperative" conference held in Alaska during 2022. "Our nation has an overwhelming need and Alaska has the location and resource to meet that need," University of Alaska President Pat Pitney said during her opening address of the Critical Minerals in the Arctic summit. "The nation's defense, its economic independence, and its ability to meet clean energy and climate goals are dependent on expanding the responsible mining that Alaska has demonstrated for decades." Many of the difficulties associated with expanding responsible mining in Alaska are shared nationwide – federal permitting, workforce needs, and financing – while others are more unique to the enormous frontier Arctic state – namely infrastructure. Wilson Center CEO Mark Green said the primary objective of the summit held on the doorsteps of the White House and Capitol building is to develop "actionable solutions" to these challenges. "Everyone knows critical minerals matter," he said during the day two opening address of the summit. "We don't need to raise awareness; we need to raise answers." To frame the policy-driven discussion by the academic, business, and policy leaders gathered at the Wilson Center, the former U.S. congressman and ambassador asked, "What does sustainable mineral development in the Arctic look like?" The Alaska Miner Fall 2023 58 MINERALS, CONTINUED from PAGE 57
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