Former NHL Player Jeremy Roenick Joins Hearst Graphite Mine Developer in U.S. Market Push

Former National Hockey League forward Jeremy Roenick has entered a business partnership to advance the prospects of a graphite deposit located near Hearst, Ontario. Roenick, who played 20 seasons in the NHL and is now active as an investor in consumer, technology, and sports ventures, has become a co-owner of ALO Graphite Partners LLC. Alongside business partner Nicolas Perkin, Roenick will play a key role in a new joint venture with Zentek, a clean-tech company based in Guelph, Ontario, which owns the graphite deposit.

Zentek announced the creation of the joint venture, Strategic Graphite Partners LLC, in a release dated June 26. Zentek will be the majority partner in the arrangement, holding a 90 per cent stake through its subsidiary, Zentek USA. Roenick and Perkin will also serve as consultants to Zentek, tasked with aiding the company’s government and industry lobbying efforts in the United States. Both will receive stock options as part of their engagement.

The focus of the joint venture is to open doors for Northern Ontario-mined graphite in the U.S. marketplace, with an emphasis on the energy, defence, and national security sectors. According to Zentek, graphite is a designated strategic defence critical mineral in both Canada and the United States. It is used in a range of applications, including lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and battery storage, as well as military technologies such as submarines, tanks, missiles, and fighter jets.

The graphite in question comes from the Albany deposit, which is located approximately 70 kilometres northwest of Hearst and 30 kilometres north of Highway 11. The deposit was discovered in 2011 by Zenyatta Ventures, which has since become Zentek. The deposit is noted for its high purity and has been described by the company as a “freak of nature.” Despite this, the deposit has not yet been developed into an open-pit mine. Zentek is currently evaluating its potential and is expected to release a preliminary economic assessment during the summer.

The joint venture does not include the Albany deposit itself, which will remain wholly owned by Zentek. The purpose of the partnership is to build connections with potential U.S. customers and government programs, with the aim of securing graphite offtake deals and gaining access to American funding opportunities. Zentek CEO Moe Jiwan stated, “Strategic Graphite Partners gives allied-sourced Albany material a footprint inside the U.S. value chain, where it can be qualified by U.S. customers and emerging government-supported programs. Albany remains a 100 per cent Zentek-owned Canadian asset.”

The United States currently has no domestic mining production of graphite and is entirely reliant on imports of natural graphite. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, China supplied nearly half of all American graphite imports in recent years. Zentek said that to be eligible for federal and allied funding to advance the graphite supply chain, it is necessary to source graphite from within North America.

Roenick commented on the significance of the partnership, stating, “I have spent my career on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, and that partnership has always been our greatest strength. Giving American energy and defence customers a secure, allied source of the highest-grade graphite is exactly the kind of work I want to be part of. Albany is that source, and Strategic Graphite Partners is how we put it in the hands of the customers who need it.”

Nicolas Perkin, who is the chairman and CEO of Perkin Industries, a New Orleans-based holding company and private equity investment firm, also indicated a strategic shift in his company’s focus toward infrastructure investments in U.S. defence. Perkin said, “In analyzing this transaction, it became clear to us that unrestricted access to military grade graphite is not a ‘nice to have’ - but a ‘must have,’ for our National Security.”

The formation of Strategic Graphite Partners reflects broader concerns in North America about the security of supply chains for critical minerals, particularly those with strategic and military applications. As both the U.S. and Canadian governments have identified graphite as a critical mineral for national defence and clean technology, the move by Zentek and its partners is aimed at positioning their Canadian asset within the U.S. value chain.

The process of qualifying graphite for use in U.S. government and industry programs requires engagement with potential customers and compliance with government requirements. Zentek’s strategy includes leveraging the expertise and networks of Roenick and Perkin to facilitate these engagements and to advocate for the use of North American-sourced materials in essential applications.

The outcome of Zentek’s ongoing evaluation of the Albany deposit will be a determining factor in the future development of the mine and the extent to which it can supply the U.S. market. The company has stated it will make its findings public with the release of a preliminary economic assessment in the coming months.

The collaboration between Zentek, ALO Graphite Partners, and their consultants represents an attempt to integrate Canadian mineral resources into the U.S. supply chain for critical minerals, at a time when reliance on overseas suppliers such as China is regarded as a strategic vulnerability by North American policymakers.