Australian based company Battery Minerals has signed its fourth binding offtake agreement for graphite concentrate from its Montepuez project.
The company said 80% of the forecast production of mine has been sold a year before its first scheduled shipment.
David Flanagan, the company’s Chief Executive Officer said privately owned Chinese company Qingdao Keshuo New Materials Technology – a specialist spherical graphite and anode producer – has signed up for 10 000 t/y of graphite concentrate over an initial three-year term.
“Keshuo’s status as a leading battery anode producer means this agreement is particularly important because it reflects the high quality of the Montepuez graphite,” said Flanagan.
The first binding offtake agreement was signed in December with US-based graphite processor Urbix Resources for 11 000 t/y of graphite concentrate.
Battery Minerals is aiming to be in production at Montepuez by December 2018 and is targeting its first shipment in the March quarter of 2019, at export rates of 45 000 t/y to 50 000 t/y at an average flake concentrate grade of 96.7% TGC.
The company also plans to grow production from Montepuez to more than 100 000 t/y graphite flake concentrate through expansion projects by 2022.
