Graphite One’s Alaska Graphite Project Gains Rare Earth Appeal as Competitors Enter Accelerated Permitting

Graphite One's Alaska project reveals high-grade rare earths, but must secure federal permits by September 2026 amid growing domestic competition and local opposition.

Graphite One has unearthed a potential second revenue stream at its Graphite Creek deposit in Alaska, with recent tests revealing elevated rare earth grades that could bolster the project’s economics. The find comes at a pivotal moment as the developer faces an increasingly crowded field of domestic graphite rivals and a hard September deadline to secure federal permits.

Samples taken from garnet material at the site showed that roughly 85% of the detected rare earth elements fall into the magnetic or heavy categories, including dysprosium, yttrium and scandium. Dysprosium is essential for high-strength permanent magnets used in electric motors, while scandium can enhance aluminium alloys for aerospace and defence applications. Graphite One plans to work with a national US laboratory in 2026 to assess whether these metals can be extracted and processed economically, moving from proof-of-concept to a viable byproduct stream.

Graphite Creek itself is designed as an integrated operation: a mine and concentrator in Alaska producing 95% pure graphite, with a downstream refining plant in Warren, Ohio making battery-grade anode material. The Ohio facility targets initial output of 48,000 tonnes per year by 2028, ramping to 169,000 tonnes annually by 2031 — enough, the company says, to supply more than two million mid-sized electric vehicles.

That timeline now depends heavily on Graphite One’s remaining window under the federal FAST-41 permitting programme. The project was added to the accelerated dashboard in June 2025 as the first mining venture from Alaska to enter the system, with the US Army Corps of Engineers leading the environmental review. But in March 2026, two other domestic graphite projects — Westwater Resources’ Coosa site in Alabama and Kilbourne in New York — also secured FAST-41 status, eroding Graphite One’s first-mover advantage. Coosa targets more than 1.8 million tonnes of battery-grade graphite on a 650-hectare footprint, while Kilbourne plans a 40,000-tonne-per-year concentrator backed by a $360 million investment. Graphite One must obtain all necessary federal approvals by September 29, 2026, or risk delaying its planned construction start in 2027.

Public sentiment around the Alaska site remains a headwind. Of the 301 comments submitted during the consultation period, more than 57% voiced concerns and only 16.6% expressed support. The mine would involve an open pit roughly 1.8 kilometres long, a milling complex and water treatment facilities across over 475 hectares, with more than 150 hectares of US waters permanently affected — a region local communities have used for hunting and gathering for generations. While regulators are considering a streamlined environmental assessment, they could still opt for a more comprehensive study.

Political tailwinds have also proven weaker than hoped. A US trade investigation into Chinese graphite anode material concluded in March 2026 without any tariffs, after the International Trade Commission ruled that imports from China had not “materially injured” domestic industry and did not threaten its establishment. China continues to control more than 95% of the global processing capacity for graphite anode material, keeping price pressure on US producers.

On the financing front, Graphite One has a non-binding letter of intent from the US Export-Import Bank for up to $2.07 billion — covering roughly 70% of estimated project costs, with $670 million earmarked for the Alaska mine and $1.4 billion for the Ohio plant. A public placement of C$35 million has been completed to fund engineering work, permitting and long-lead items for the Ohio site.

The market, however, remains unconvinced. Shares closed on Thursday at €0.74, down 37.36% since the start of the year and trading below the 50-day average of €0.79. The rare earth discovery, while promising, has yet to shift the sceptical tone.

Graphite One is now navigating a thicket of converging pressures: the September deadline, the arrival of well-funded competitors in the same fast-track process, local opposition, and the unproven viability of a rare earth byproduct. The next twelve months will determine whether it can turn technical promise into a permitted, financed and socially accepted project — or lose ground in the race to build a US battery graphite supply chain.