International Mining and Resources Conference 2025
Harry Minnis
26 October 2025
Graphite took centre stage at IMARC 2025.
This year’s International Mining and Resources Conference made it clear that graphite is now part of the critical minerals conversation. But from many of the investors I spoke with, it was clear that graphite is still widely misunderstood, especially its role in batteries, how exposed Western supply chains are to China, and how difficult it actually is to build qualified supply chains outside China.
Over three days, we saw presentations from Sarytogan Graphite, International Graphite, EcoGraf, Kingsland Minerals, Invert Graphite, and Black Rock Mining.
There was strong optimism around the new U.S.-Australia Critical Minerals Partnership and what it could mean for funding. The announcement of a US$860 million Letter of Interest to Graphinex from the U.S. EXIM Bank and Export Finance Australia was one of the standout moments of the week, and I caught up with Art Malone, Managing Director of Graphinex, to talk through what this means for them.
GraphiteHub met with several key leaders throughout the week, including:
- Shaun Verner, Managing Director & CEO, Syrah Resources
- Art Malone, Managing Director, Graphinex
- Andrew Worland, Managing Director & CEO, International Graphite
- Sean Gregory, Managing Director, Sarytogan Graphite
- Richard Maddocks, Managing Director, Kingsland Minerals
- Hamish Fraser, Exploration Manager, Margosa Graphite
- Tom Yingling, President & CEO, First Canadian Graphite
- Hugh Oswald, Corporate Development, First Canadian Graphite
- Andrew Spinks, Managing Director, EcoGraf
- Andrew Lawson, CEO, Invert Graphite
- David Christensen, Managing Director, Renascor Resources
- Jason Gu, EVP Corporate Development, Sakariya Mines & Minerals
Most people agreed that graphite prices need to improve before we see meaningful project finance or construction decisions. Costs are often marketed as “competitive with China,” but until prices move, a lot of high-quality assets will stay in “almost there” mode.
The week wrapped with a series of podcast recordings with Richard Maddocks, Andrew Worland, and John de Vries, which will be released soon.
It was also great to reconnect with Warren Bartlett, Deputy Commissioner at Trade & Investment Queensland (Europe), to discuss Queensland’s role in advancing critical minerals cooperation.
Overall, it was a great week to connect with the graphite industry and hear what’s really happening on the ground.