Titan Mining targets Q4 2025 to become only integrated US graphite producer

According to me-metals cited from mining.com, More than half of the equipment to begin construction of the Kilbourne graphite project processing facility, including the ball mill, has been delivered, Titan said Monday. All key operating permits have been secured and the company aims for its first processed natural graphite in the fourth quarter, with sales qualification targeted for early 2026.

Shares in Titan Mining gained nearly 30% to close at C$1.45 apiece on Monday in Toronto, valuing the company at C$197 million. Titan has traded in a 52-week range of C$0.20 to C$1.77. 

The project at Empire State Mines, in St. Lawrence County about 300 km northwest of state capital Albany, has a resource from a tested strike length of 2,500 metres within a known total strike length of 7,620 metres, Titan CEO Don Taylor said in a news release.

“Kilbourne has significant resource expansion potential to meet the demands of US natural flake graphite over a long-term period,” Taylor said. “Graphite is a critical material, yet the US has gone decades without domestic production”

Zinc mill

From the Kilbourne graphite deposit discovered in 2023, Titan says it aims to process 20,000 tonnes per year of graphite concentrate in stage one, with a potential expansion to 40,000 tonnes per year in a second stage due in 2027. The project is to leverage existing infrastructure at Titan’s zinc mill complex.

Projected processing costs are about $14 per tonne, with mining costs of about $4.60 per tonne of ore, according to company modelling. Titan has assumed a base-case graphite concentrate price of $1,090 per tonne. A preliminary economic assessment is due this year.

The site holds 22.4 million inferred tonnes grading 2.91% graphitic carbon (Cg) for 653,000 tonnes of contained graphite using a cut-off grade of 1.5% Cg, according to a maiden resource issued in December. The estimate is based on 45 diamond drill holes totalling about 9,050 metres and is constrained within a conceptual pit shell.

Competition

Northern Graphite (TSXV: NGC) operates the only significant producing natural graphite mine in North America at Lac des Iles, Que. Nouveau Monde Graphite (TSXV: NOU; NYSE: NMG) is developing its Matawinie mine and Bécancour anode plant in Quebec with offtake deals from GM and Panasonic.

Syrah Resources (ASX: SYR) supplies Tesla from its Vidalia, Louisiana anode plant using Mozambique feedstock. GrafTech (NYSE: EAF) and Tokai Carbon GE are major US synthetic graphite producers for the steel sector, while Novonix (ASX: NVX; Nasdaq: NVX) and Anovion plan large-scale US anode material plants targeting EV battery markets.

Titan, part of the Augusta Group based in Vancouver, is aiming to expand its zinc operation at Empire, a large complex that comprises an operational mine, six historical mines and a 5,000-tonne-per-day mill. In June, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) approved a $15.8 million financing to support the company’s zinc and critical minerals portfolio in New York state. 

The equipment for Kilbourne is 90% sourced in North America, the majority from the US, CEO Taylor said.

“Our facility is a major step toward restoring US industrial graphite capability and delivering a fully Made in America natural graphite product in 2025.”

source: mining.com