Follow six connected stages. Each has its own geography, capability requirements and evidence to verify.
Ore, brine or another primary source enters a project-specific extraction route.
Look for
Mine location, permits, recoverable grade, water, energy and logistics.
Ask
Does the project produce the form you need, or an intermediate requiring further treatment?
Concentration and separation prepare an intermediate material. Routes depend on mineralogy and impurities.
Look for
Recovery, reagents, waste streams, metallurgical expertise and processing infrastructure.
Ask
Which step constrains output even if the deposit itself is geographically diversified?
Purification and conversion create a product to a defined chemical and physical specification.
Look for
Purity, contaminant limits, consistency, product form and laboratory verification.
Ask
Can the processor repeatedly meet the purchaser’s specification?
Qualified inputs enter cathodes, anodes, magnets, alloys or semiconductor materials.
Look for
Yield, intellectual property, component qualification and production compatibility.
Ask
Can an alternate input be qualified within the required timeframe?
Materials become grids, storage, machinery, electronics and other industrial systems.
Look for
Design choices, substitution, service life, reliability and end-customer requirements.
Ask
Which performance requirement makes the material difficult to replace?
Production scrap and end-of-life products may re-enter a recovery route.
Look for
Collection, chemistry, separation costs, safety, recovery efficiency and end-market acceptance.
Ask
Is suitable feedstock available now, in the right composition and scale?
This is an original decision framework. Real routes can combine, repeat or omit stages. No stage map certifies a project or establishes available supply.
IEA — Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026 ↗
16 July 2026 · CC BY 4.0 · Reviewed 5 November 2026.
USGS — Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 ↗
6 February 2026; revised May 2026 · Reviewed 5 November 2026.
Natural graphite production and anode-ready material are different outputs.
Concentration, shaping, purification and coating may stand between a mineral feedstock and a qualified battery input. Synthetic graphite follows a different production route.
Read the graphite profile