Graphite
The name of the freely mineable mineral resource graphite is deduced from the Greek word for writing, “graphein”, as the dark mineral is excellently suited as writing material (for example as pencil lead).
The major part of the global raw material production of graphite is nowadays used to manufacture refractory products (for example crucibles) and special electrodes, which is the reason why the demand for high-quality graphite is sharply rising.
Kaisersberg near St. Stephan ob Leoben in Styria is presently the last active graphite mine in the Alps. The graphite in Kaisersberg is extracted in underground mining. Records prove that mining started as early as in 1755 there.
The current production data for Austria and the world can be found in the Austrian Montan-Handbuch and in the international statistics on raw materials, WORLD MINING DATA.