Research Reveals Geologic History of Critical Alaska Graphite Deposit
Photos Courtesy University of Alaska Fairbanks
By Rod Boyce A University of Alaska Fairbanks researcher is among the scientists who have revealed the metamorphic history of a high-grade graphite deposit on the Seward Peninsula. The Graphite Creek deposit is among the largest known of its kind in the United States. Graphite is used in lithium-ion batteries, which power modern portable electronics, electric vehicles and renewable energy storage systems. “This gives us a better understanding of how the rock evolved and how the processes affected the rocks’ texture and mineralogy over time,” said petrologist Sean Regan, an assistant professor of geology at the UAF Geophysical Institute and at the UAF College of Natural Science and Mathematics. “Knowing that can help with exploration,” he said. The United States extracts no graphite of its own. The nation imports one-third of its graphite from China, with Canada and Mexico among other suppliers.
The federal government has listed graphite as a critical mineral. The researchers’ findings can guide development of Graphite Creek by Graphite One, the company behind the mining project. The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council in January 2021 designated Graphite Creek as a high-priority infrastructure project. A research paper published Feb. 27 in the journal Mineralium Deposita defines the age and characteristics of the deposit and provides information geologists can use to understand other potential graphite sites. George Case of the U.S. Geological Survey in Anchorage is the paper’s lead author. Regan is among the eight co-authors. Geologists have had little understanding of the processes that lead to creation of high-grade flake graphite. That lack of understanding has been a barrier to evaluating such deposits for exploration and development. “To really understand the system, you need to
4 June 2023 I The Alaska Miner I www.alaskaminers.org
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