Posted on 02 Mar 2023
NextSource Materials says it plans to build its first downstream battery anode facility (BAF) to process its graphite in the East African island nation of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, Kallanish reports.
The plant to produce graphite anode material for lithium-ion batteries would be close to the Canadian company’s developing Molo graphite mine in Madagascar and on a strategic shipping route to Asian markets to target Japanese and South Korean customers, the company says in releasing its global anode expansion plan.
The new plant in Port Louis, Mauritius, would produce coated, spherical and purified graphite (CSPG) from Madagascar graphite. The project could begin production in Q2 2024. It would initially produce 3,600 t/y of CSPG. Three additional production lines could be added later, boosting capacity to 14,400 t/y of CSPG. The project would have a post-tax net present value of $106.9m and an internal rate of return of 42.7%. The payback would be 2.2 years. The capital costs would be $23.5m. The plant would produce annual revenues of $33.7m. Those totals increase with the planned expansion.
“Establishing our first BAF in Mauritius provides the shortest path to achieving commercial production of CSPG and providing customers a secure source of anode material that is decoupled from Asian supply chains,” says president and ceo Craig Scherba.
The company is planning a staged build-out of a series of BAFs in key geographic locations, each designed with modular production capacities to supply markets in Asia, North America and Europe. It is looking at sites and has commenced design work.
First production at the Molo graphite mine is expected soon, the company says. Phase 1 is designed to process 240,000 t/y of ore with production of 17,000 t/y of flake graphite. A Phase 2 expansion is planned.
Source:Kallanish
