Canada-based NextSource Materials is set to construct a graphite purification plant within Mauritius' freeport zone, Bloomberg reported.

The initial production capacity of the plant is projected to be 3,600t per annum, with an expansion to 14,400t anticipated post-2024, according to the news agency.

The graphite material, sourced from NextSource's mine in Madagascar, will undergo processing at the Mer Rouge site in Mauritius to produce battery-grade graphite.

The finished product, known as coated spherical purified graphite, is earmarked for export to prominent global battery manufacturers from Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius.

NextSource stated: “Graphite demands are on the rise as valuable and broad applications are being researched and developed ranging from consumer electronics, green energy storage and medical applications.

“The company said that while deposits are not scarce, the supply of battery-grade graphite 'is much tighter'.

In June last year, NextSource began graphite production at its Molo mine in Toliara, Madagascar.

The mine will initially have 17,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of flake graphite concentrate, with plans to increase that to 150,000tpa.

The flake graphite produced at the mine was sold to key customers including Germany’s thyssenkrupp Materials Trading under existing offtake deals.

NextSource also sold the graphite to its Japanese technical partner that supplies value-added graphite to Japan’s largest anode processor, which supplies several Japanese and international original equipment manufacturers with graphite anode material.