A hydrothermal graphite deposit hosted in an igneous intrusion in the traditional territory of Constance Lake First Nation, approximately 70 km northwest of Hearst, Ontario. Bench-scale FBR thermal purification has demonstrated 99.9992% carbon purity and 2.60 ppm EBC in independent laboratory testing, results that are consistent with published purity thresholds referenced for certain nuclear, defence, naval, and aerospace graphite applications.
Albany is a unique deposit: no other known deposit of this type has been confirmed. A vapour overpressure likely caused an explosive volcanic event resulting in the formation of the two breccia pipes composed of rock fragments in a finer rock matrix. This event also caused the rapid precipitation of fine, polycrystalline graphite within the breccia pipes.
Four procurement channels. Each with independent buyers, procurement rules, and pricing. Albany's January 2026 FBR results support eligibility across four structurally independent markets. In each case, sourcing from non-aligned nations is restricted by law, policy, or strategic procurement requirements.
Next-generation Small Modular Reactors: particularly High Temperature Gas Reactors (HTGR), pebble-bed designs, and Molten Salt Reactors: use graphite as a core structural material: moderator, reflector, and fuel matrix. A single HTGR unit requires 500–3,000 tonnes of nuclear-grade graphite. The specification starts at 99.999% carbon with Equivalent Boron Carbon (EBC) below 5 ppm. Boron absorbs thermal neutrons: even trace quantities affect reactor efficiency and safety margins.
Albany's January 2026 bench-scale FBR testing achieved 99.9992% carbon and an equivalent boron content of 2.60 ppm, meeting commonly cited nuclear graphite purity criteria. Public disclosures indicate that current nuclear-grade supply is primarily served by synthetic graphite producers, including Tokai Carbon and Mersen. Albany may represent a rare natural-source Western option under active development at comparable purity levels.
Defence platforms: from advanced batteries to thermal management components: require graphite that meets strict purity, traceability, and origin requirements. Allied procurement frameworks legally exclude non-aligned sourced advanced materials. Albany's 5N grade meets the specification, with no comparable allied-nation natural graphite source currently qualified.
Once a supplier is qualified for a defence platform, the relationship typically endures for the life of the programme: creating durable, recurring demand that compounds over decades rather than years.
Defence battery applications require MIL-SPEC purity (99.99%+ C, EBC <10 ppm for most applications, <5 ppm for submarine), ITAR-compliant supply chain traceability, and allied-nation origin. Non-aligned sourced graphite is categorically excluded from ITAR-controlled defence supply chains: not by preference, but by law.
The proliferation of military UAVs is the single largest structural shift in defence battery procurement in a generation. As of 2024, global defence forces operate approximately 45,000 military-grade UAVs. That number is projected to exceed 180,000 by 2030 driven by procurement acceleration following demonstrated effectiveness in recent conflicts. Each military UAV requires 3–8 high-purity battery packs per operational year.
eVTOL aircraft, satellite power systems, and crewed aerospace applications require graphite that meets FAA AC 21.8 and EASA airworthiness qualification standards. Every component must be traceable to a certified origin. Battery failure at 2,000 feet is not a quality issue: it is a safety event. There is no tolerance for supply chain uncertainty.
Albany's preliminary results are consistent with commonly cited aerospace-relevant graphite purity ranges (≥99.99% C, low halogen content), and exceed those reference values. The Canadian origin of the material supports supply-chain traceability and allied-nation sourcing objectives. As urban air mobility platforms and satellite constellations expand, demand for high-purity graphite from certified, Western supply chains is expected to increase.
Resource figures are drawn from NI 43-101 compliant technical reports filed on SEDAR+.
The Albany graphite deposit is situated on the traditional lands of Constance Lake First Nation (CLFN), located approximately 40 km to the northwest of the community. Zentek has maintained a long-standing partnership with Constance Lake First Nation since 2011, formalized through multiple agreements that establish governance, collaboration, and a framework for long-term project development.
CLFN is not a peripheral stakeholder: they are an integral part of the project's social licence, environmental baseline work, and long-term operating structure. Any development scenario at Albany proceeds with, not around, Constance Lake First Nation.
Albany's graphite goes through four stages before it reaches a customer. Think of it as a ladder: each step up removes more impurities and unlocks a higher-value market. The January 2026 result proved the hardest step works.
The rock is dug out of the ground using conventional open-pit methods: drill, blast, and haul. Albany's deposit sits under relatively shallow and flat terrain, which keeps the operation straightforward. Nothing unusual about this step: it is standard mining practice.
The mined rock is crushed, ground fine, and mixed with water in a flotation circuit. Graphite naturally floats to the surface; the surrounding rock sinks. The result is a graphite concentrate: most of the impurities removed, but not yet pure enough for premium markets.
This is the step that matters. The concentrate goes into a Fluidized Bed Reactor and gets heated to above 2,500°C: hotter than the surface of the sun. At that temperature, every remaining impurity simply evaporates. No chemicals. No hydrofluoric acid. Just heat.
The January 2026 bench-scale test showed this process works on Albany material. The result: 99.9992% carbon purity and 2.60 ppm boron equivalent. Those numbers are consistent with what nuclear reactors, defence procurement, and aerospace applications require.
Having the right purity numbers is only the beginning. Each market has its own formal qualification process: independent testing, certification bodies, and sometimes years of evaluation. Think of it like a product getting regulatory approval before it can be sold.
The bench-scale result is the proof that Albany's graphite can pass those tests. The qualification programmes themselves come next. Each one unlocks a new market: nuclear, defence, aerospace, advanced batteries.
Most resource companies build the mine first and figure out the product later. We are doing the opposite.
The first capital decision is a processing facility: an FBR Centre of Excellence that takes graphite, heats it above 2,500°C, and produces material that meets the purity thresholds required by nuclear, defence, and aerospace procurement. The January 2026 bench-scale result proved the process works at specification. The scoping study underway will define what a commercial facility looks like.
But the facility is more than a purification line. The Guelph R&D operation: 25,000 square feet of operating infrastructure, the graphene synthesis capability, the ZenGUARD™ and ZenICE™ product lines, the Dr. Haddadi-led invention engine: all of it consolidates here. The team moves with it. The 25+ patent families move with it. Every client engagement, whether a graphite qualification programme, a graphene CRO project, or a defence coatings development, runs through the same facility, the same team, and builds the same IP portfolio.
Albany's deposit is what makes this defensible at scale. Once the facility is operational and generating revenue, developing the mine eliminates feedstock dependency and brings the full resource within reach: a 22-year asset sitting 60 kilometres northwest of Hearst, Ontario, on 22.9 million tonnes of Indicated resource at 4.07% Cg. The mine does not define the business. It protects it.
Mine development is a separate capital decision that requires its own updated PEA, development partner, and Board approval. The 2015 PEA is historical. Updated economics will be established through the PEA targeted for 2026.
The path from the current results-and-resource stage to nuclear-grade certification follows a defined sequence of de-risking milestones. Each has been achieved by comparable projects. Each triggered material re-ratings in sector analogues.
All values actual reported market caps of named analogues at or near stated development stage. NMG in CAD, Syrah in AUD. Sources: Yahoo Finance, StockAnalysis.com, company filings. Zentek reference = current market cap, a statement of fact. Not a projection of Zentek's future market cap. Not investment advice.