I Exploring opportunities to build a secondary battery raw material supply chain through a local visit to Africa
I Proactively secure mineral resources by signing two MOUs in Madagascar and Tanzania
I Plan to secure approximately 90,000 tons of impression graphite annually in Africa
POSCO International is taking full advantage of its rich overseas network to serve as a platform for procurement of secondary battery materials.
POSCO International (Vice Chairman Jeong Tak) visited Madagascar and Tanzania from August 28 to September 2 and signed two MOUs to establish a graphite supply chain, achieving meaningful results in securing mineral resources.
The first MOU to secure graphite was signed on August 28th in Antananarivo, Madagascar. On this day, POSCO International signed a business agreement with NextSource, a Canadian mining company, for joint investment in the Molo graphite mine. The signing ceremony was attended by POSCO International Vice Chairman Tak Jeong, Posco International Eco-Friendly Raw Material Business Director Yoo Sam, NextSource CEO Craig Scherba, and Madagascar Mining Strategy and Resources Minister Olivier Herindrainy Rakotomalala.
With this agreement, POSCO International expects to be able to procure impression graphite (30,000 tons per year) or spherical graphite (15,000 tons per year) produced in the Molo mine for 10 years. The secured graphite is planned to be supplied to POSCO Future M, a secondary battery business company within the group.
* Impression graphite: Graphite that can be used for electrodes because it is a natural graphite and has rich insulation properties.
* Spherical graphite: Graphite reprocessed into a sphere (round shape) suitable for manufacturing negative electrode materials
The Molo mine, owned by NextSource, is rated as one of the top-tier mines in Madagascar, with approximately 22 million tons of graphite reserves. In February of this year, a production system with an annual capacity of 17,000 tons was established and commercial operation started, and from 2026 onwards, it is possible to produce more than 150,000 tons of impression graphite per year.
Then, on September 1st, the second MOU was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, attended by Byung-Hwi Kim, head of eco-friendly division of POSCO International, Greg Wheeler, chief commercial officer of Black Rock Mining, and Alimiya Osman Munge, CEO of Farugraphite. has signed Through this, POSCO International plans to participate in the capital increase of Black Rock Mining in Australia and discuss expanding the off-take amount of natural graphite to 60,000 tons per year.
Australia’s Black Rock Mining has the second largest natural graphite mine in the world. In May of this year, POSCO International also signed a contract with Black Rock Mining to invest $10 million in the Mahengi mine to supply 750,000 tons of natural graphite at a rate of about 30,000 tons per year for 25 years.
As the importance of securing mineral resources is increasing recently, POSCO International expects that the two MOUs signed this time will be able to secure about 90,000 tons of impression graphite per year, laying the foundation for establishing a stable supply chain.
It is also meaningful in that it has secured raw materials that can respond immediately to a situation where the supply of non-Chinese graphite is essential for anode materials to be supplied to North America from 2025 due to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
POSCO International’s strategy is to actively secure raw materials for secondary batteries, such as waste batteries, copper foil, and lithium, in addition to graphite, by utilizing its 100-plus global network.
An official from POSCO International said, “The ability to confidently jump into the construction of a secondary battery material supply chain was possible thanks to the global non-ferrous metal business experience accumulated over the past 25 years.” We will become an axis and contribute to national resource security.”
▲ On August 28, in Antananarivo, Madagascar, POSCO International and NextSource, a Canadian mining company, signed a business agreement for joint investment in the ‘Molo’ graphite mine. (From left in the back row, POSCO International Vice Chairman Jeong Tak, Ambassador to Madagascar Son Yong-ho, Busan World Expo Hosting Committee Secretary-General Yoon Sang-jik, Madagascar Minister of Mineral Resources Olivier Herindrainy Rakotomalala, Lantosoa Rakotomalala Chairman of the Economic Development Council of Madagascar / From left in the first row of the photo, Yoo Sam, head of the eco-friendly raw material business department at POSCO International, and Craig Scherba, CEO of Next Source)
▲ On September 1st, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Posco International, Australia’s Black Rock Mining, and Faro Graphite signed a business agreement for joint investment.
(From the left, Greg Wheeler, Chief Commercial Officer of BlackRock Mining, Alimiya Osman Munge, CEO of Paragraphite, Byung-Hwi Kim, Head of Eco-Friendly Headquarters of POSCO International)
▲ Current status of POSCO International graphite supply MOU in Africa
2023-09-04 00:13:37
#POSCO #International #seeks #expand #secondary #battery #raw #material #business #territory #Africa
