It’s been a rough time for ASX graphite stocks of late — with most sliding further this week after a key investor backed out of a deal to help fund a Battery Minerals project.

The Mozambique-focused graphite play led its cohort down this week with a 35 per cent drop after private equity investor Resource Capital Funds pulled out of a deal saying the graphite market “no longer meets its investment criteria”.

The investment firm declined to comment when contacted by Stockhead.

There are 42 ASX stocks offering exposure to graphite according to resources data provider MakCorp.

Of these, 31 have lost value since Christmas, Bloomberg data shows.

This week about the same number lost further value or went unchanged.

Despite Resource Capital’s back-out, Battery Minerals boss David Flanagan believes the graphite market outlook “continues to strengthen”, driven by demand for batteries, heat-resistant bricks and fire suppressants.

What drives graphite demand

While heat resistant or “refractory” bricks are a key application of graphite, it’s recently attracted attention as an ingredient in the anode component of lithium-ion batteries that power electric cars.

Silicon will be an important new anode material in next generation of lithium-ion batteries, but it is not expected to supplant graphite before future battery technologies arrive from 2030.

Meanwhile, Chinese demand for graphite-based fire-suppresant building materials may be the biggest driver, as we outlined in a recent Stockhead graphite guide.

Building safety could be a major driver following the London Grenfell Tower tragedy and China’s push for flame-retardant building materials following an explosion at the Tianjin Port in December 2015.

Here’s a list of ASX stocks with exposure to graphite courtesy of leading ASX data provider MakCorp. (Scroll or swipe for full table)

ASX code Company Price change since Tuesday Price change since Jan 2 Price Jun 14 (intraday) Market Cap
IEC INTRA ENERGY 0.3 1.16666666667 0.013 5.4M
HXG HEXAGON RESOURCES 0.0769230769231 1.12121212121 0.21 49.7M
BUX BUXTON RESOURCES 0.0645161290323 0.434782608696 0.165 16.6M
KNL KIBARAN RESOURCES 0.0625 0.172413793103 0.17 43.5M
LML LINCOLN MINERALS 0.0434782608696 -0.368421052632 0.024 13.2M
MCT METALICITY 0.04 -0.315789473684 0.026 13.9M
BKT BLACK ROCK MINING 0.0232558139535 -0.266666666667 0.044 19.1M
MLS METALS AUSTRALIA 0 0 0.005 11.7M
ADV ARDIDEN 0 -0.0625 0.015 22.1M
GBE GLOBE METALS 0 -0.125 0.014 6.5M
CGM COUGAR METALS 0 -0.166666666667 0.005 4.7M
ARM AURORA MINERALS 0 -0.210526315789 0.03 3.5M
RNU RENASCOR RESOURCES 0 -0.235294117647 0.026 22.9M
OAR OAKDALERESOURCES 0 -0.322580645161 0.021 1.4M
THX THUNDELARRA 0 -0.393939393939 0.02 13.3M
ASN ANSON RESOURCES 0 -0.754285714286 0.043 17.8M
MNS MAGNIS RESOURCES -0.0128205128205 -0.18085106383 0.385 212.0M
IDA INDIANA RESOURCES -0.0149253731343 -0.0571428571429 0.066 5.1M
SRK STRIKE RESOURCES -0.0166666666667 -0.0166666666667 0.059 8.6M
CAZ CAZALY RESOURCES -0.0169491525424 0.137254901961 0.058 13.1M
MLM METALLICA -0.0227272727273 -0.245614035088 0.043 14.5M
SYA SAYONA MINING -0.0227272727273 -0.434210526316 0.043 74.1M
FGR FIRST GRAPHENE -0.030303030303 0.185185185185 0.16 64.8M
BSM BASS METALS -0.0322580645161 0.666666666667 0.03 67.6M
LIT LITHIUM AUSTRALIA -0.04 -0.384615384615 0.12 50.5M
TON TRITON MINERALS -0.041095890411 -0.278350515464 0.07 59.3M
AXE ARCHER EXPLORATION -0.047619047619 -0.333333333333 0.1 18.4M
CRL COMET RESOURCES -0.047619047619 -0.666666666667 0.04 7.8M
MUS MUSTANG RESOURCES -0.05 -0.387096774194 0.019 17.9M
GPX GRAPHEX MINING -0.0535714285714 -0.242857142857 0.265 20.9M
HMX HAMMER METALS -0.0689655172414 -0.46 0.027 7.5M
TLG TALGA RESOURCES -0.0728476821192 0.25 0.7 147.0M
LGR LANKA GRAPHITES -0.0740740740741 -0.545454545455 0.025 2.7M
SVM SOVEREIGN METALS -0.0761904761905 -0.253846153846 0.097 27.1M
SYR SYRAH RESOURCES -0.0883333333333 -0.41932059448 2.735 832.8M
PSM PENINSULA MINES -0.0909090909091 -0.375 0.01 7.8M
BEM BLACKEARTH MINERALS * (listed Jan 2018) -0.0909090909091 -0.5 0.1 6.4M
WKT WALKABOUT RESOURCES -0.0967741935484 0.333333333333 0.14 37.6M
CDT CASTLE MINERALS -0.1 -0.4 0.018 4.4M
VRC VOLT RESOURCES -0.103448275862 0.04 0.026 39.7M
ADN ANDROMEDA METALS -0.125 0 0.007 6.3M
CGN CRATER GOLD -0.166666666667 -0.0625 0.015 4.8M
BAT BATTERY MINERALS -0.34693877551 -0.529411764706 0.032 30.4M
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Nearly 35 per cent was wiped off Battery Minerals shares this week after the Resource Capital deal fell through.

Other graphite stocks were sold down as well.

Crater Gold Mining (ASX:CGN) slid nearly 17 per cent, while Volt Resources (ASX:VRC) and Castle Minerals (ASX:CDT) both slipped around 10 per cent.

About 22 players notched losses of between 1 per cent and 10 per cent.

Crater is primarily a gold explorer focused on its flagship Crater Mountain project in Papua New Guinea, but the company also has a graphite deposit called “Golden Gate” in Australia.

The company revealed in April that it had identified “jumbo and large flake” graphite — which fetches a higher price than smaller flake graphite — at the project.

Volt, meanwhile, announced on Thursday that it had received binding commitments for a share placement that would raise $2 million to fund its Bunyu graphite project in Tanzania.

The company is nearing the completion of a feasibility study.

Castle Minerals owns the Kambale graphite deposit, which is part of its Wa project in Ghana.

The company is looking for a partner to help it advance the project.

 

Stockhead is proud to use MakCorp as a provider of great value, accurate and reliable data on ASX-listed mining stocks. For more information head to MakCorp’s website.

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This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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