S.Korea's Posco International secures graphite in Africa

Annual procurement of 90,000 tons from Madagascar, Tanzania will stabilize supply chain of secondary battery's raw materials

 S.Korea's Posco International secures graphite in Africa
Hyung-Kyu Kim 1
Sep 04, 2023 (Gmt+09:00) khk@hankyung.com
Batteries

South Korea's POSCO International Corp. is broadening its footprint in Africa's secondary battery raw material sector, with plans to secure an annual supply of 90,000 tons of natural graphite.

The company said on Monday that it has recently signed two memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in Madagascar and Tanzania to acquire essential mineral resources.

On Aug. 28, in a ceremony held in Antananarivo, Madagascar, POSCO International and the Canadian mining company NextSource signed a MOU for joint investment in NextSource's Molo graphite mine. Notable attendees included Jeong Tak, Vice Chairman of POSCO International, and Craig Scherba, CEO of NextSource. 

The Molo mine is one of Madagascar's largest graphite reserves, with an estimated 22 million tons. Under this MOU, POSCO International is expected to secure roughly 30,000 tons of natural graphite and around 15,000 tons of spherical graphite annually for the next ten years.

 S.Korea's Posco International secures graphite in Africa


POSCO International announced a second MOU signed on Sept. 1 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The MOU aims for joint investment between POSCO International, Australia's Black Rock Mining, and Faru Graphite Corporation. Through this, the company intends to participate in Black Rock Mining's capital increase and extend its natural graphite purchase volume to 60,000 tons per annum.

Black Rock Mining is the world's second-largest natural graphite mine. POSCO International had earlier, in May, invested $10 million in Black Rock Mining's Mahenge mine, further solidifying the relationship.

The secured graphite is expected to be channeled to POSCO Future M Co., South Korea’s electric vehicle battery materials maker. According to the company, these recent agreements lay the groundwork for a stable supply chain of natural graphite.

The move comes at a significant time, as the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will require non-Chinese graphite supplies for anode materials exported to North America starting in 2025. POSCO International suggests that its recent MOUs set the stage for complying with these new regulations.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com

POSCO Int'l secures graphite supply from Tanzania

POSCO Int'l secures graphite supply from Tanzania

South Korea's POSCO International has signed a deal on the supply of natural graphite to strengthen its battery raw materials unit.The company on Monday said it signed a contract with the Tanzania-based Faru Graphite, a subsidiary of the Australian company Black Rock Mining, on the supply of

POSCO International to set up EV parts factory in Poland

POSCO International to set up EV parts factory in Poland

POSCO Mobility Solution’s motor core production (Courtesy of POSCO Mobility Solution) POSCO International, the general trading and energy exploration unit of South Korea’s steel giant POSCO Holdings Inc., plans to build an electric vehicle parts plant in Poland to meet surging deman

POSCO International aims to join Top 10 global food enterprise

POSCO International aims to join Top 10 global food enterprise

POSCO has been producing crude palm oil in Papua, Indonesia, since 2017 (Courtesy of POSCO International) POSCO International Corp., the general trading and energy exploration unit of South Korea’s steel giant POSCO Holdings Inc. , has unveiled an ambitious blueprint for its food business

POSCO International to transform into green company by 2030

POSCO International to transform into green company by 2030

Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo (fourth from left) at a ceremony marking the merger of POSCO International and POSCO Energy POSCO International Corp., the general trading and energy exploration unit of South Korea’s steel giant POSCO Holdings Inc., on Thursday unveiled its vision to transfo

POSCO Chem buys stake in Chinese graphite processor

POSCO Chem buys stake in Chinese graphite processor

Qingdao Zhongshuo New Energy Technology's new plants under construction (Courtesy of POSCO Chemical) POSCO Chemical Co. has acquired a 13% stake in a Chinese graphite processor as part of the South Korean company's efforts to secure a stable supply of the key anode material used for electric ve