Factbox: Graphite producers doing deals with automakers and battery groups

NextSource Materials

21/06/2023 07:00

LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) - Automakers are rushing to
lock in graphite supply from outside dominant producer China as
mined graphite demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries
outpaces other uses.

    Below are details of some Western companies producing, or
planning to produce graphite, and their deals with auto makers
and battery producers.  
    
    NEXTSOURCE MATERIALS INC  NEXT.TO  
    Launched its Molo mine in Madagascar in April, which is due
to produce 17,000 metric tons of graphite per year, expanding in
the future. It aims to start annual production at a battery
anode plant in Mauritius in 2024 at 3,600 metric tons.
    It has two 10-year sales agreements with steelmaker
Thyssenkrupp and a Japanese graphite sales trading company. It
is in talks with automakers on other offtake deals.
    
    TALGA GROUP LTD  TLG.AX 
    Getting final permits for the Vittangi mine and Lulea
refinery in Sweden with the aim to launch output in 2024,
initially producing 19,500 metric tons of active anode material
a year.
    It has non-binding offtake deals with two battery makers:
    Automotive Cells Company (ACC), co-owned by Stellantis
 STLAM.MI , Mercedes-Benz  MBGn.DE  and Saft < TTEF.PA>.
    Verkor, partly owned by Renault  RENA.PA 
    Talga is in talks with other automakers, battery firms.
    
    SYRAH RESOURCES LTD  SYR.AX 
    Operates Balama mine in Mozambique, which doubled graphite
production to 163,000 metric tons in 2022 from the year before.
It is building the Vidalia processing facility in the U.S. state
of Louisiana, aiming for an initial annual output of 11,250
metric tons of active anode material.
    It signed a four-year deal to supply anode materials to
Tesla  TSLA.O , with an option to purchase more. It also has two
non-binding deals, one with LG Energy Solution  373220.KS  and
another with Ford Motor Company  F.N  and SK On.    
    
    MAGNIS ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES LTD  MNS.AX 
    Developing Nachu graphite mine in Tanzania, aiming to
produce 236,000 metric tons of graphite concentrate. It is
planning to build an anode plant in the United States and also
operates a battery factory in New York.
    Magnis signed an offtake deal with Tesla to supply 17,500
metric tons of active anode material for three years beginning
in February 2025, with an option to increase. 
    
    RENASCOR RESOURCES LTD  RNU.AX 
    Developing the Siviour mine and anode plant in South
Australia, with an initial capacity of 28,000 metric tons.
Production is expected to start in 2025, according to Macquarie.
    It has non-binding deals to supply processed graphite to
South Korea's Posco, China's Minguang and Zeto and Japan's
Hanwa.
    
    NOUVEAU MONDE GRAPHITE INC  NOU.V 
    Developing an operation in Canada consisting of the
Matawinie mine to produce 103,000 metric tons of graphite
concentrate and the Becancour battery material plant with output
of 43,000 metric tons of anode material.
    It has a non-binding offtake agreement with Panasonic
Energy.
    
    TIRUPATI GRAPHITE PLC  TGRT.L 
    Launched commercial shipments from its mining operations in
Madagascar in March 2023, aiming to ramp up annual capacity to
84,000 metric tons of graphite by the end of 2024.
    In April, it completed the acquisition of graphite mine
projects in Mozambique and plans to build a processing plant in
India.
    
    WESTWATER RESOURCES INC  WWR.A 
    Building a graphite processing plant in the U.S. state of
Alabama due to start production in 2024 at 7,500 tonnes of anode
material, rising to 40,500 tonnes in a second phase.
    It has a development agreement with battery producer SK On
to potentially supply anode material. The company is also
developing the Coosa mining project in an area of Alabama that
produced graphite from the late 1800s to the 1950s.

 (Reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
 ((eric.onstad@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 7093; Twitter https://twitter.com/reutersEricO;
 Reuters Messaging: eric.onstad.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))