Mozambique’s graphite push faces new regulatory test amid U.S. market expansion

British company Total Graphite, formerly Tirupati Graphite, announced on Monday, June 8, that it had updated the definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its Montepuez project in Mozambique. The move forms part of a broader strategy to direct output from the future mine to a processing facility in the United States. 🔔 Total Graphite has released an updated corporate presentation following its announcement regarding a Graphite Portfolio Optimisation Programme.

The presentation is now available on the company’s website:https://t.co/SntUN4eMcP#TGRpic.twitter.com/u7BP4GXCZd The project would strengthen an existing Mozambique-U.S. graphite supply chain centered on the Balama mine, which already serves as a supplier of graphite material to the American market. Australian miner Syrah Resources operates Balama, the largest graphite mine in Mozambique, and has received financial support from Washington.

The company has increasingly directed production from the mine to supply its battery anode facility in Vidalia, Louisiana. Total Graphite aims to replicate that model by building a vertically integrated value chain linking Montepuez to a purified spherical graphite (PSG) plant for battery anodes that it is developing in the United States. The updated feasibility study seeks to optimize the parameters of the Mozambican project and align production with the requirements of the downstream processing facility.

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At present, Total Graphite estimates that Montepuez could produce up to 100,000 metric tons of graphite annually. The focus on the U.S. market reflects the appeal of a rapidly expanding industrial hub for battery materials.

While Balama has supplied that market for several years, the Montepuez project signals an acceleration of the trend. Graphite remains a critical mineral for batteries, particularly those used in electric vehicles. However, China continues to dominate both primary graphite production and refining capacity.

manufacturers are therefore seeking to reduce that dependence by diversifying supply sources toward countries such as Mozambique. “Given the continued strong growth in demand for anode materials driven by energy storage and the energy transition, combining the fully permitted and advanced-stage Montepuez graphite mine in Mozambique with a potential PSG anode facility in the United States represents a compelling strategy for Total Graphite,” Total Graphite Chief Executive Arun Somani said in May.

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