Long term graphite producer Etablissements Gallois in Madagascar has announced expansion plans and a new graphite manufacturing site in Malaysia.

At the mine located in the northeast of Madagascar, Tamatave Province, production has been ramping up since 2018, and last year was over 140tpy of natural flake graphite. Production capacity by the end of 2023 was raised to 400ktpy and output is set to increase again in 2024. 

Gallois is famed for its sizeable proportion of jumbo and large flake graphite grades in the orebody, of which around 50% is currently shipped to China. It has also been increasing production of other flake sizes and higher purity graphite through flotation, and in 2023 the company established a 30ktpy high-purity and expandable graphite production line.  To meet customer demand, the company is also building and planning warehousing in Japan, the USA, India and Europe. 

 In another development, Etablissements Gallois is proposing to build an active anode material plant in Malaysia, which will be one of the biggest outside of China. Under its subsidiary, Gallois New Energy Materials in collaboration with SEDC Energy, the new facility will be built in Samaluju Industrial Park, Bintulu. The estimated investment is US$1.5Bn. In the first phase, the plant is scheduled to be on stream in 2026 and produce 50ktpy of spherical graphite and 50ktpy of synthetic graphite. This is subject to the availability of 100kW of power, largely hydroelectric energy in the company’s bid to supply carbon-neutral graphite. 

 Two subsequent phases are planned.  By 2028 the company is aiming to produce 150ktpy of spherical graphite and 150ktpy of synthetic graphite, which will require 300MW of power, and by 2030 this will be increased to 200ktpy of spherical graphite and 200ktpy of synthetic graphite. This will considerably increase the availability of both spherical graphite and synthetic battery-grade anode material with a visible supply chain outside of China.