Titan Mining comments on U.S. graphite import duties
U.S. Tariff Wall on Chinese Graphite Propels Titan as Sole Domestic Producer, Testing Investor Faith in Execution.
The U.S. Department of Commerce finalized aggregate anti-dumping and countervailing duties of at least 160% on certain Chinese graphite imports, with a minimum five-year duration pending affirmation by the U.S. International Trade Commission in March 2026. Titan Mining commented that this represents a structural shift enhancing its position as the only U.S. end-to-end natural flake graphite producer. The company's Kilbourne demonstration facility is producing concentrate and advancing customer qualification, with scale-up planned to a 40,000-tonne-per-annum operation aiming to supply up to 50% of U.S. natural graphite demand.
The news is materially positive and potentially game-changing for Titan. The imposition of prohibitive tariffs on the dominant Chinese supply fundamentally alters the competitive landscape for natural graphite in the United States. As the only company with a producing, permitted natural flake graphite facility (Kilbourne demonstration plant) and a clear path to commercial scale (40,000 tpa), Titan is uniquely positioned to capture a significant share of a suddenly protected domestic market. This external regulatory catalyst de-risks the commercial viability of the Kilbourne project more than any company-specific milestone to date. The news validates the core investment thesis around U.S. critical minerals security and could accelerate offtake agreements and financing for the full-scale buildout. The impact is significant relative to the company's market capitalization.
Titan Mining is a dual-commodity producer with a cash-flowing zinc operation and a developing graphite business. Its flagship project is the Kilbourne Graphite Project in New York State, targeting 40,000 tonnes per annum of natural flake graphite concentrate. A fully permitted 1,200 tpa demonstration facility commenced production in January 2026, marking the first end-to-end U.S. natural graphite production in over 70 years. The project has a maiden Inferred Resource of 22.4 million tons at 2.91% Cg (653,000 tons contained graphite). The company's Empire State Mine (ESM) is a producing underground zinc mine with 2026 guidance of 62-66 million payable pounds of zinc.