Graphite miner Kibaran Resources Ltd (ASX: KNL) has climbed 144% over the past week, including more than 13% today.
Not bad when you consider the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is up just 0.2% coming into the close of trading today.
Over the past 12 months, Kibaran has soared 476%, as demand for all things graphite-related rises. As I mentioned in this article, graphite is featured heavily in new age products including lithium ion batteries and in products for the renewable energy sector.
Demand is expected to double over the next eight years, according to the company, thanks to a growing number of applications including batteries, computer chips and lasers. Kibaran also says that a crackdown on Chinese graphite producers means 20% of China's supply is currently on hold, further supporting graphite prices.
In a presentation released to the ASX today, Kibaran says it is fast-tracking production at its Epanko graphite deposit, located in Tanzania, Africa. The company says its goal to become a major producer of high value, premium quality large flake graphite. Epanko graphite has a rare purity of 99.98%, and the deposit is estimated to hold 1.56 million tonnes of graphite, but that could easily soar, given recent drilling results.
Kibaran has already signed an offtake agreement with a major European graphite trader for 5 years, with a further 5 year option of up to 10,000 tonnes per annum of graphite concentrate.
If all goes to plan, Kibaran plans on having a Feasibility Study completed by mid-2015, with detailed processing plant and infrastructure engineering to commence shortly after.
Investors looking beyond Kibaran for graphite exposure may want to consider these other stocks listed on the ASX include Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR), Lamboo Resources Ltd (ASX: LMB) and Triton Minerals Ltd (ASX: TON). For those investors who want our top ideas in the copper, oil and gold sectors, the following report may be of interest…
