Triton Minerals to Accelerate Development of Mozambique Ancuabe Graphite Project Amid Growing EV Demand

(Ecofin Agency) – The Ancuabe project can deliver 60,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate annually over 27 years. As the growth in electric vehicle sales has led to increased demand for the product, Triton Minerals wants to accelerate the development of its Mozambican asset.

In Mozambique, Triton Minerals awarded the Chinese company Yentai Oriental Metallurgical Engineering (YOME) the initial engineering design (FEED) of the processing plant at its Ancuabe graphite project. This is the announcement made on April 3 by the Australian mining company which specifies that this progress follows the decision taken at the end of 2022 to follow the scenario of a large-scale development for its asset.

According to a feasibility study published in 2017, this involves a processing plant with a capacity of around one million tonnes per year, capable of delivering around 60,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate annually over 27 years. The decision to go directly to large-scale mining is justified by the rapid growth in global demand for graphite, linked to the explosion in sales of electric vehicles in recent years.

Note that the initial investment to develop Ancuabe is estimated at $99.4 million, with a payback period of 3.8 years after the mine goes into production. The objective of this engineering contract is to improve the design and efficiency of the processing plant in order to potentially reduce its cost. This, Triton says, would allow for the best possible engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the plant.

« We are convinced that the results of the FEED will bring benefits to the project by improving the expected results […]. This is a critical milestone as we work to secure financing and award an EPC contract for the construction of the Ancuabe Graphite Projectcommented Andrew Frazer, Executive Director of the company.

As a reminder, Mozambique is the leading African producer of graphite, a material used to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles.

Emiliano Tossou

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