Business
Washington Summit Spotlights Critical Importance of Graphite Production
SENATOR MURKOWSKI PROPOSES NEW CRITICAL MINERALS LEGISLATION AT SUMMIT BENCHMARK’S MOORES: “U.S. IS A BYSTANDER” IN THE “GLOBAL BATTERY ARMS RACE;” CALLS GRAPHI
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[{"type":"text","content":" SENATOR MURKOWSKI PROPOSES NEW CRITICAL MINERALS LEGISLATION AT SUMMIT BENCHMARK’S MOORES: “U.S. IS A BYSTANDER” IN THE “GLOBAL BATTERY ARMS RACE;” CALLS GRAPHITE “THE MOST EXTREME EXAMPLE” VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Graphite One Inc. (GPH: TSX-V; GPHOF: OTCQB) (“Graphite One” or the “Company”) was the sole graphite developer taking part in Benchmark Minerals Summit 2019, an invitation-only/no media event for industry leaders and U.S. Government representatives held on May 2 in Washington, D.C. “We are in the midst of a global battery arms race that is intensifying,” Simon Moores, Managing Director of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence told summit participants. “Lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel are the key enablers of the lithium ion battery and, in turn, the lithium ion battery is the key enabler of the energy storage revolution. Globally, they are facing a wall of demand especially from electric vehicles, yet the U.S. has been a bystander in building a domestic supply chain capacity.” “Graphite is the most extreme example, with no flake graphite mining and anode production compared to China’s 51% and 100% of the world’s total, respectively,” Moores told the gathering. Responding to Moores’ opening statement, GPH CEO Anthony Huston told summit participants: “[Graphite One is] a solution to that problem – graphite, mined responsibly, to U.S. standards – from the State of Alaska.” In her keynote remarks at the summit, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said: “The significance of foreign oil dependence is widely understood, but our foreign mineral dependence is equally – if not more – serious. Last year [the United States] imported at least 50 percent of 48 minerals, including 100 percent of 18 of them. That should worry everyone, particularly because it is happening at the same time that demand, for everything from graphite and lithium to cobalt and nickel, is about to skyrocket…. I have introduced the American Mineral Security Act, a bipartisan bill that takes a comprehensive approach to rebuilding our domestic mineral supply chain. Unless we take significant steps, we’re at risk of ceding major economic drivers to other countries.” Speaking after the Senator’s announcement, and stating that “Senator Murkowski… has elevated the crit...