The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Award-winning mine engineer Schaffner new senior VP, mining North of 60 Mining News – June 3, 2022
The camp at Graphite Creek has been named the largest known graphite deposit in America by the USGS.
Graphite One Inc. June 1 named mining veteran Mike Schaffner as senior vice president, mining of its Alaska subsidiary, Graphite One (Alaska) Inc., effective July 1.
"I'm excited to join the Graphite One team as the company moves into its next phase of development," Schaffner said. "I've been involved at every stage in the development process, from design to start-up, into operation and closure. I'm ready to help the team realize G1's tremendous potential of becoming America's first US graphite mining operation since 1990."
Prior to joining Graphite One, Schaffner worked at Ambler Mining, where he oversaw engineering work for the Arctic Mine project prefeasibility study and managed the metallurgical test work for the company's drilling on the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in Northwest Alaska. He joined Ambler after 15 years with Newmont Mining, where he rose through the ranks to the position of general manager at the Cripple Creek and Victor gold mine. While with Newmont, he managed operating budgets in excess of $750 million and a workforce of 1,200 employees. Schaffner began his mining career with Echo Bay Mining and Coeur Mining at operations in Nevada.
Operations under Schaffner's leadership are three-time winners of the National Mining Association's Sentinels of Safety award, which recognizes the U.S.'s safest mines for continuous injury-free operations. He also holds two patents related to bio-oxidation heap leaching.
"G1 will benefit greatly from Mike's long record of superior performance in mining operations," said Graphite One CEO Anthony Huston. "Mike's hallmark has been operational excellence, while maintaining a strong working relationship within local communities and regulatory agencies. He's the right addition to our team as we step up to the next level."
Schaffner's appointment coincides with the retirement of Stan Foo, who has served as COO of Graphite One (Alaska) for the past four years.
"The Board of Directors sincerely thanks Stan for his dedication to Graphite One," said Graphite One Executive Chair Doug Smith. "His sound guidance – and particularly his commitment to making Graphite One a good neighbor of our local communities – is a testament to his leadership these past four years. We wish him the best in his well-earned retirement."
By the time Schaffner joins the Graphite One team, a prefeasibility study that details the company's plans to establish a complete U.S.-based, advanced graphite supply chain solution should be complete.
The Graphite One project plan includes a processing facility expected to be located in Washington that will upgrade concentrates mined at its Graphite Creek project in western Alaska to the spherical coated graphite needed for lithium-ion batteries and other advanced graphite materials.
Graphite One's circular supply chain also involves the establishment of a battery materials recycling facility to be developed alongside the advanced graphite material and battery anode manufacturing plant.
According to a 2019 calculation, the Graphite Creek mine project about 35 miles north of the Alaska gold mining town of Nome hosts 10.95 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 7.8% (850,534 metric tons) graphitic carbon, plus 91.89 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 8% (7.34 million metric tons) graphitic carbon.
Earlier this year, the United States Geological Survey named Graphite Creek as the largest known graphite deposit in the U.S. in its updated U.S. Mineral Deposit Database.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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