Miner Ends Quest for Gold to Unearth Strongest Material in World
- ‘Freak’ graphite deposit to supply ore for atom-thin graphene
- New possibilities for next-generation batteries, electronics
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Mark Thompson dumped his plans for a gold mine to pursue a fortune in graphite, the same stuff used in pencils for centuries.
But he isn’t so interested in old-school writing instruments. Thompson’s Talga Resources Ltd. plans to convert high-grade graphite from Sweden into a material called graphene, which is stronger than steel, conducts electricity better than copper and is so light and flexible that companies like Samsung Electronics Co. are using it to develop new devices.