On September 8, 2022, Tirupati Graphite announced the purchase of three mining permits covering 31.25 km² in Madagascar. The latest investment by this company, which already operates two graphite mines in the center of the Big Island, illustrates the attraction that graphite from Madagascar arouses thanks to the explosion in global demand for this product. An interest that could well position the country as a choice alternative to China.
In a report published in August 2022, the firm Wood Mackenzie predicts that Africa will become the world’s largest producer of natural graphite by 2026. By this date, the combined production of African countries should indeed represent 40% of supply. (against 15% in 2021), better than China, which will have to settle for 35% market share (against 68% last year). If several countries will contribute to this performance, the case of Madagascar nevertheless deserves attention. According to several concordant data, the Big Island is currently the second largest producer on the continent behind Mozambique, but will soon face the emergence of other African producers such as Tanzania, a country where graphite projects are numerous.
Tirupati Graphite PLC (LON:TGR) is a fully integrated specialist graphite and graphene producer, with operations in Madagascar and India, with a vision of developing a world-leading benchmark flake graphite company.
