8 March 2024
Tirupati Graphite plc
('Tirupati', 'TG' or
the 'Company')
Global Graphite
Outlook
Tirupati Graphite plc (TGR.L,
TGRHF.OTCQX), the specialist flake graphite company and
supplier of the critical mineral for the global energy transition,
notes the recent report by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence ("BMI")
on the global graphite producers which highlights the strength of
the Company's position in this growing market.
BMI notes that China currently dominates
today's supply chain, but as can be seen on their newly released
map, the supply being developed globally is expected to shift this
balance. BMI anticipates that by 2030 more production will have
come on stream outside of China including in North America, Africa
and Australia.
Importantly for Tirupati, Africa is set to
become a key producer of natural flake graphite with the continent
forecast to produce an estimated 38% of the world's mined supply by
2030. The top 3 producing nations by 2030 in the world are
expected to be China, Mozambique, and Madagascar - overlapping
significantly with Tirupati's footprint in Mozambique and
Madagascar.
BMI forecasts that global demand for natural
graphite derived anode material for use in lithium-ion batteries
alone will be 1.2 million tonnes in 2030, a major increase from the
255,000 tonnes consumed in 2023, and a clear signpost of the
impending growth in flake graphite demand. It is important to note
that for manufacture of 1.2 million tonnes of natural graphite
based active anode material as forecast, circa 2.5 million tonnes
of below 100 mesh flake graphite with 94-96% purity will be
required as input material and the Company's projects in Mozambique
host a higher proportion of this type of flake graphite.
The Benchmark Minerals global map can be seen
here:
https://app-eu1.hubspot.com/documents/25724218/view/763116749?accessId=b8227d
BMI is a widely-respected market intelligence
platform specialising in assessing market prices, supply chain
data, and forecasting around the technologies and supply chains
central to the energy transition.
Shishir
Poddar, Executive Chairman, said:
"Graphite has
long been recognised as one of the critical minerals for the energy
transition. With extremely limited production outside of
China, western governments and international OEMs are keen to see
new sources come on stream, but with significant demand growth
forecast we believe that prices will rise significantly in coming
years to incentivise additional capacity creation. Our
current and future operations in Mozambique and Madagascar will be
at the centre of one of the key regions of future graphite
production, further underlining Tirupati's incredible
potential."
ENDS
For further information, please
visit https://www.tirupatigraphite.co.uk/ or
contact:
Tirupati
Graphite Plc
Puruvi Poddar - Joint Managing
Director
|
admin@tirupatigraphite.co.uk
+44 (0) 20 39849894
|
Optiva
Securities Limited (Broker)
Ben Maitland - Corporate Finance
|
+44 (0) 20 3034 2707
|
FTI Consulting
(Financial PR)
Ben Brewerton / Nick Hennis / Lucy
Wigney
|
+44 (0) 20 3727 1000
tirupati@fticonsulting.com
|
About Tirupati
Graphite
Tirupati Graphite Plc is a specialist Graphite
producer and a supplier of the critical mineral for a decarbonised
economy and the energy transition. The Company places a special
emphasis on green applications including renewable energy,
e-mobility, energy storage and thermal management, and is committed
to ensuring its operations are sustainable.
The Company's operations include primary mining
and processing in Madagascar where the Company operates two key
projects, Sahamamy and Vatomina with a combined 30,000 tpa of
currently installed capacity, producing high-quality flake graphite
concentrate with up to 97% purity and selling to customers
globally.
The Company also holds two advanced stage,
world class, natural graphite projects in Mozambique. Work has
already commenced to optimise the economics for development of the
Montepuez graphite project, which is permitted for 100,000tpa
production and where substantial construction work has already been
undertaken by the predecessor.