Graphite One Confirms the Presence of Rare Earth Elements at its Graphite Creek Deposit

On November 13, 2025, Graphite One announced it has confirmed the presence of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) at its Graphite Creek Deposit in Alaska. Geochemical analysis identified all five principal permanent magnet REEs: neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, and samarium, in addition to scandium and yttrium. The company states that additional work is underway to quantify the REE inventory and that it is in discussions with the Department of Energy to develop extraction methods. Management suggests that the presence of both graphite and REEs, two materials covered under the Defense Production Act, positions Graphite Creek as a "generational deposit" and that REEs could be recovered as a by-product, enhancing project value.

The confirmation of REEs is a positive development, but its material impact is currently limited and speculative. While finding magnet REEs enhances the project's strategic narrative and aligns with the company's goal of becoming a key US domestic supplier of critical materials, the announcement lacks crucial details. There is no information on grade, tonnage, or the potential economics of extraction. The key phrase is "to quantify the REE inventory," which means the economic viability is completely unknown.

This news should be viewed in the context of the company's primary objective: financing and developing a massive US$5 billion graphite project. Over the past year, the company has successfully de-risked the project by completing a bankable Feasibility Study (FS), securing a coveted spot on the FAST-41 federal permitting dashboard, and obtaining non-binding letters of interest for up to US$895 million from the EXIM Bank. It has also astutely brought on local Alaska Native Corporations as strategic investors, which is crucial for permitting and social license.

Compared to these major milestones, the REE discovery is an incremental positive. It adds a potential by-product credit that could improve the already robust FS economics (Post-tax NPV8 of US$5.0B, 27% IRR). However, it does not address the core challenge: securing the enormous capital required for construction. The market is likely to treat this news as a "nice to have" until the company provides quantitative data demonstrating that the REEs can be economically recovered. The positive rating is based on the news enhancing the strategic importance of the asset, which is critical for attracting further government support and financing, rather than on any quantifiable economic benefit at this stage.

Graphite One Inc. is a development-stage company aiming to build a 100% U.S.-based, vertically integrated supply chain for advanced graphite materials. Its flagship asset is the Graphite Creek project, which consists of two main components: 1. A large-scale, open-pit mine at the Graphite Creek deposit in Alaska, cited by the U.S. Geological Survey as the largest in the United States. 2. An advanced graphite manufacturing facility planned for Warren, Ohio, to process graphite concentrate into anode materials for lithium-ion batteries and other high-value graphite products.

The April 2025 Feasibility Study outlined a project with a 20-year mine life, a post-tax NPV8 of US$5.0 billion, and a 27% IRR. The project is strategically important due to the U.S.'s 100% import dependency on graphite.