London-listed Tirupati Graphite has announced the start of commercial production at its Vatomina graphite project, in Madagascar, effective December 6.
The project can produce 9 000 t/y of flake graphite, while the company’s total production capacity in the country stands at 12 000 t/y, when factoring in the Sahamamy project.
During the project’s commissioning process between September and December, the plant achieved a recovery rate of more than 90%, against a targeted 85% and produced a product grade of up to 96%.
The company is aiming to sell 4 000 t of graphite from its two projects in the country, for the second half of its financial year ending March 31.
Tirupati will upgrade its production capacity to about 18 000 t/y by the second quarter of next year and, ultimately, to 84 000 t/y of flake graphite by 2024.
Executive chairperson Shishir Poddar says the significant production the company is adding will transform Tirupati into a globally significant supplier of primary flake graphite and speciality graphite and enhance the company’s trading position going forward.