Graphite stocks surge as Beijing opens new frontier in trade war

afr.com:

Australian graphite stocks surged after China announced export controls restricting supply of one of the key battery minerals required for electric vehicles, opening a new frontier in a trade war with the US and its allied nations.

China is the world’s top graphite producer and exporter, and also refines more than 90 per cent of the world’s graphite into material used in electronics and defence applications including weapons systems.

On Friday, China’s commerce minister said Beijing would require export permits for some graphite products to protect national security, escalating the tit-for-tat trade war that spans semiconductors to raw materials.

The export controls on graphite come as the trade war between China and US-allied countries intensifies over technology and commodities.  

It comes as Beijing weaponised its dominance earlier this year over gallium and germanium by imposing restrictions on exporting the two processed metals crucial to the semiconductor, EV and weapons industries.

The US and its allies are seeking to break China’s grip on strategic materials.

But there are few non-Chinese options to procure graphite which is one of 50 minerals listed by the US, and one of 26 commodities identified by Australia as being critical to national security and economic growth.

This triggered shares in ASX-listed Syrah, the largest graphite producer outside China, to soar 44 per cent on Monday afternoon to 76.5¢.

Syrah, AustralianSuper’s preferred battery minerals miner, produces graphite from its Balama mine in Mozambique, and is on the cusp of opening its battery anode factory in the US.

Walkabout Resources, which is developing a graphite mine in Tanzania, surged 18 per cent to 13¢. Shares in Black Rock Mining, which is