A soft, steel-gray to black, hexagonally crystallized allotrope of carbon with a metallic luster and a greasy feel, used in lead pencils, lubricants, paints, and coatings, that is fabricated into a variety of forms such as molds, bricks, electrodes, crucibles, and rocket nozzles.

The mineral is very soft, with hardness 1½; it soils the fingers and leaves a black streak on paper, hence its use in pencils.. The color is black in earthy material to steel-gray in plates, and thin flakes are deep blue in transmitted light. Graphite is a conductor of electricity

It is dark gray to black, opaque, and very soft. Its layered structure,It occurs in nature and is used (mixed with clay) as the "lead" in pencils. It is also used in lubricants, crucibles, polishes, arc lamps, batteries, brushes for electric motors, and nuclear reactor cores .There are three principal types of natural graphite, each occurring in different types of ore deposit

Natural graphite has found uses as the marking material ("lead") in common pencils, in zinc-carbon batteries, in electric motor brushes, and various specialized application

Graphite properties determine the variety of the areas of its applications in industry, transport, energetics, defence, medicine, science, sport.

The most important graphite properties:

• High thermal resistance;
• Low friction and self-lubrication;
• High electrical conductivity;
• High thermal conductivity;
• Low wettability by liquid metals;
• High resistance to neutron radiation

Most applications utilize unique combinations of graphite properties, such as thermal resistance and elecrical conductivity or thermal conductivity, self-lubrication and low wettability by liquid metals, etc.

In Pakistan grafite ore is found in large quantities in shape of lumps.Huge reserves are located in the mountaneous region of NWFP in the tribal belt of mohmand agency.Mining is done and raw grafite in lumps and flakes is transported to storing yard in Karachi for local marketing and export.