Atlas Critical Minerals has published the maiden mineral resource estimate for the Malacacheta project, located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil: a total of 24.2 million tonnes of graphite, including 17.2 million tonnes in the Indicated category at a grade of 5.73% total graphitic carbon (TGC). This is the largest and highest-grade graphite resource ever certified in South America under a globally recognized mineral reporting code.
The estimate, independently prepared by SGS Canada Inc. and filed with the SEC via Form 6-K, covers only one of the project’s three contiguous tenements, leaving two additional areas yet to be assessed — opening the door for further resource expansion. The remaining 7.0 million tonnes in the Inferred category grade at 5.40% TGC, representing approximately 378,000 tonnes of contained graphite. The deposit is surface-outcropping and has been deemed by SGS suitable for open-pit mining, a meaningful advantage in terms of both cost and operational timelines.
The drilling campaign delivered strong results. All 21 diamond drill holes, totalling 2,394 metres, returned significant graphite intercepts. The best hole, MPDDH-0017, intersected 17.30 metres at 10.62% TGC. Only approximately 2.5 kilometres of an estimated 11-kilometre graphitic corridor have been explored to date, pointing to substantial resource growth potential. A preliminary economic assessment is scheduled for Q2 2027.
Of direct relevance to the nuclear sector is the material’s purity profile. Malacacheta graphite has passed the purification tests required for use in nuclear reactors — the most stringent purity standard in the entire industry. High-purity graphite is an essential component in gas-cooled reactors and advanced next-generation reactor designs, where it serves as a neutron moderator. Achieving this qualification gives Atlas Critical Minerals access to an exceptionally high-value market segment, one that runs parallel to and complements the EV battery supply chain.
The project’s Indicated grade is approximately 25% higher than the combined Measured and Indicated grade of the Graphite Creek deposit in Alaska, the largest known flake graphite resource in the United States. Brazil is already South America’s leading graphite producer, having extracted 65,000 tonnes last year to rank as the world’s fourth-largest producer according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The country holds the world’s second-largest natural graphite reserves, estimated at approximately 74 million metric tonnes as of 2024.
With a preliminary economic assessment due in 2027 and two-thirds of the deposit still unexplored, Malacacheta is positioning itself as a strategic node in the graphite supply chain for nuclear energy in the Americas. The nuclear reactor qualification is no mere technical footnote: it is the key to securing long-term contracts with utilities and reactor builders actively seeking to reduce their dependence on Asian supply.
