Top Canadian Graphite Stocks of 2020

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As the electric vehicle (EV) revolution moves forward, many expect increasing EV sales to drive demand for graphite, a key metal in lithium-ion batteries.

Even though pricing for the metal has been disappointing for some investors in the past few years, a number of graphite-focused companies have still seen impressive share price rises.

After a tumultuous year during which countries around the world had to react to the coronavirus pandemic, several Canadian graphite stocks are ending 2020 with impressive year-to-date gains.

Top Canadian graphite stocks to watch

Below we run through 2020’s top Canadian graphite stocks year-to-date on the TSX and TSXV. All year-to-date and share price information was obtained on December 15, 2020, using TradingView’s stock screener. All companies listed had market caps above C$10 million at that time.

1. Gratomic (TSXV:GRAT)

Year-to-date growth: 316.67 percent; current share price: C$0.25

Exploration and advanced materials company Gratomic has two graphite projects: Aukam in Namibia and Buckingham in Quebec. The company has two offtake deals for Aukam, which covers a historical vein graphite mine, and is solidifying plans to micronize and spheronize graphite from the asset.

Gratomic has been active throughout 2020, with work in the second half of the year focused on building a processing plant at Aukam. In mid-July, the final equipment required to complete the plant was shipped from China; it arrived at the end of August and progress continued over the next several months.

A mid-November update indicates that plant completion was expected by the end of the month, but Gratomic hasn’t given confirmation yet. The company’s share price has climbed fairly steadily since midway through the year, reaching a peak of C$0.27 on two days in December.

2. Focus Graphite (TSXV:FMS)

Year-to-date growth: 266.67 percent; current share price: C$0.05

Advanced exploration and mining company Focus Graphite is aiming to produce graphite concentrate at its wholly owned Lac Knife flake graphite deposit in Quebec. A 2014 feasibility study shows an initial capital cost of US$165.55 million for the top Canadian graphite stock’s project, with estimated production of 44,300 tonnes of concentrate per year over a 25 year period.

News from the company has been quiet in 2020. Focus Graphite transitioned to a new CEO midway through the year, and sold its Quebec-based Eastmain-Léran project around the same time for $500,000. Its share price peaked at C$0.06 in December.

3. Leading Edge Materials (TSXV:LEM)

Year-to-date growth: 264.71 percent; current share price: C$0.32

Leading Edge Materials has a portfolio of critical raw materials projects in the European Union. In Sweden it holds the Woxna graphite mine, the Norra Karr heavy rare earths project and the Bergby lithium project; in Romania it has a 51 percent stake in the Bihor Sud nickel–cobalt exploration alliance.

Woxna began production in mid-2014, but Leading Edge halted production the year after due to weak graphite prices. The mine is production ready, but the company has switched its focus to developing value-added graphite products. In October, the company launched a preliminary economic assessment for Woxna; it will include previously developed downstream processes that could allow the asset to produce ultra-high-purity natural graphite products for lithium-ion battery market.

Aside from that, Leading Edge commissioned a life cycle analysis report for Woxna in December. The company’s share price peaked on December 8 at C$0.40.

4. Nouveau Monde Graphite (TSXV:NOU)

Year-to-date growth: 248.72 percent; current share price: C$0.67

Nouveau Monde Graphite, another top Canadian graphite stock, is developing the Matawinie graphite project in Quebec. The project is forecast to produce 100,000 tonnes per year over 25.5 years with an average concentrate purity of 97 percent. The company is targeting full-scale commercial operations by 2023, and has committed to using all-electric equipment and vehicles by 2028.

The company’s share price remained fairly flat until late September. Since then, Nouveau Monde has released a slew of news — among other things, it has sold graphite produced using its demonstration concentration process to markets in the US, Europe and Asia, and received test results showing that its anode material outperforms leading Asian commercial producers.

Its highest share price for the year was C$0.89 on November 17.

5. Canada Carbon (TSXV:CCB)

Year-to-date growth: 164.29 percent; current share price: C$0.19

Canada Carbon is an exploration company with three Quebec-based graphite properties under its belt: Miller and Asbury, which are two past-producing graphite mines, and the Dun Raven project.

Canada Carbon’s share price hit its highest point of the year so far in Q1 at C$0.38 on the back of an initial order of 50,000 grams of Miller thermally purified graphite from Analytical Reference Materials International. The company, which is focused on the life science sector, will use the graphite to develop a certified reference material for the analysis of ultra-high-purity graphite samples.

Midway through the year, Miller received a conditional positive preliminary orientation from the Commission de la Protection du Territoire Agricole du Québec. In October, Canada Carbon delivered the required product to Analytical Reference Materials International, with the batch meeting specifications.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: Gratomic is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.