The national production of graphite will register a considerable increase this year, and should be in the order of 128.6 percent in relation to the programmed for the last twelve months, according to the Government's projections.

Factors cited for the rise in graphite production are the resumption of activities in companies paralyzed due to the negative effects of Covid-19, coupled with falling international market prices.

According to the Executive, the improved demand for this mineral in the international market has a positive impact on the production plan.

In fact, very recently, the largest electric car company in the world, Tesla, signed an agreement to obtain material used in electric batteries from graphite extracted at the Balama mine in Cabo Delgado.

According to the Notícias newspaper, the company will obtain active anode material (AAM) from the mine operated by the Australian company Syrah Resources Limited, which is reportedly the world's largest deposit of high-grade graphite.

The material will be taken to a plant in Vidalia, in the US state of Louisiana.
Tesla has the option to expand the purchase if Syrah expands its production capacity.

The complex in Louisiana plans to use graphite from Mozambique to become the first source of supply within the United States of graphite anode for the rapidly growing electric vehicle industry and the lithium-ion battery manufacturing industry.

Experts in the field consider that the agreement confirms Mozambique's graphite as a product of strategic importance for use in new energies.

It should be noted that in addition to graphite, the major electric vehicle producers are also looking for lithium, cobalt, and nickel for use in their batteries.

The Mozambican government also expects that the production of heavy sands (ilmenite, zircon and rutile), including concentrates, will grow this year, mainly due to the resumption by Haiyu Mining of activities in one of its concessions, which had been paralyzed since early 2021, and an increase in mining production in Moma, as a result of improvements in its technical production capacities and an increase in the number of clients in the international market.