Global Battery Materials Corp. has inaugurated its GBM Graphite Lab in Quebec and completed its initial shipments of graphite samples from the Kearney Mine in Ontario to U.S.-based customers for qualification. The move underscores the company’s commitment to establishing a secure North American supply chain for battery-grade graphite.
The Quebec laboratory is equipped to analyze, purify, and upgrade natural graphite from low-grade ore to a final concentrate with carbon content of up to 97 percent, using production-representative processes at lab scale. Operating in accordance with ISO 9001 quality standards, the facility can simulate full-scale plant operations and is already producing batches of purified graphite concentrate for customer testing.
Strategically located to tap into Quebec’s advanced materials talent pool, the GBM Graphite Lab strengthens the company’s vertically integrated critical minerals platform. “North America has very limited capacity to process critical minerals like graphite, and this facility represents a crucial step toward closing that gap,” said Eric Miller, CEO of Global Battery Materials. He added that the lab’s rapid sample production demonstrates the company’s ability to meet rising local demand without relying on overseas processing.
The laboratory is led by Benoit Briere, Senior Director of Lab Services, who brings nearly 30 years of experience in the natural graphite sector, including leadership roles at Imerys and Nouveau Monde Graphite. Under his direction, the lab has already delivered high-quality graphite samples and will scale operations as market demand grows.
This announcement follows recent expansions of Global Battery Materials’ Canadian and South Korean operations, which encompass the restart of the Kearney Mine—one of North America’s few producing natural graphite mines—and the acquisition of a pilot production and R&D facility in South Korea that manufactures advanced anode materials. The new lab in Quebec further enhances the company’s end-to-end capabilities and supports plans to develop a large-scale anode production site in North America.
Source: PR Newswire
