London-listed Total Graphite has announced the successful proof of concept and ongoing development of its newly launched business trading in high-value, downstream processed graphite materials.

Trading of value-added graphite materials represents the company’s first step towards a fully vertically integrated, commercial business model.

Leveraging existing and new relationships across the graphite value-added supply chain, Total Graphite says it has secured supplies of downstream processed graphite products for existing and new customers.

This new trading business line is expected to support up to four different, high value downstream processed products during the first half of the financial year alone, generating additional positive margins for the group, and requiring no additional working capital.

Initial trades are focused on serving customers across Europe, Asia and the Far East.

Subject to ongoing review and development of relationships, the company will target development of a wider portfolio of traded value-added graphite products targeting global markets.

Total Graphite is focused on leveraging its partnerships to generate potential supply agreements with the producers of various value-added products themselves, whereby the production of value-added products could use the company’s natural flake graphite produced in Madagascar or Mozambique, as the raw material input required, for onward sale to existing and new customers of the company.

Potential production of value-added products using the company’s flake graphite and their qualification by end-users could strengthen the near term revenue potential of the group, and support securing additional demand to underpin further mining project production growth and further capacity development across Madagascar and Mozambique, Total Graphite posits.

In line with its mission to become a vertically integrated producer of mine-to-market natural graphite products, potential successful qualification of value-added products using Total Graphite’s flake graphite with ultimate end-users could support the development of a fully-owned downstream facility.

TRADING PRODUCTS

Total Graphite indicates that it is positioned to trade in several products over the course of the first half of the financial year.

The includes high-purity flake graphite, a premium subsegment of the natural flake graphite market used in electric vehicle battery anodes among other applications, carrying a market size estimated at about $2.5-billion to $3.5-billion in 2024/25, and estimated to grow toward $6-billion to $9-billion by 2030 to 2033 at about 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). 

There is also ultrahigh-purity flake graphite, used for semiconductors, nuclear, aerospace and premium battery applications, carrying a market size of $870-million last year and projected to reach $1.43-billion by 2030 (CAGR 10.5%).

Also, expandable graphite (intercalated flake graphite used for flame retardants, gaskets, flexible graphite foils, among other applications), carries a market size of $290-million last year and is projected to reach $420-million by 2030 (CAGR about 7.4%).

Lastly, colloidal graphite (fine graphite dispersions, usually in water/oil; includes water-based colloidal graphite), carries a market size of $874-million last year and is projected to grow to about $1.3-billion by 2032 (CAGR about 5.9%).

“Today’s announcement confirming the successful proof of concept of the new trading business marks a significant evolution in the sales and marketing strategy and outlook for the company. By capitalising on our partnerships across the graphite industry, we have positioned the company to benefit from the trading of value-added flake graphite derived products,” says Total Graphite CEO Arun Somani.

“Flake graphite supplied from our own graphite production assets is expected to be used in these products in future. These products have significant and fast expanding total addressable markets, and supplying growing production lines with our flake graphite aligns with our aim of expanding primary flake graphite production across our suite of graphite assets.

“As well as diversifying our means of revenue generation, this innovation helps to broaden Total Graphite’s commercial offering and increase our visibility across the market, and we look forward to providing further updates,” Somani adds.