Maputo, Sept. 21, 2026 (Lusa) - Graphite production in Mozambique, a mineral used to make electric car batteries, almost quadrupled in the first half of 2026, reaching 25,474 tonnes and already exceeding the government's annual target by 72%.
According to government data covering January to June, compiled by Lusa on Monday, this represents a 278% increase from the 6,734 tonnes produced in the same period in 2025 and amounts to 172% of this year's annual target of 14,815 tonnes.
According to the government document, this performance is also due to «the operational consistency of the largest producer of this mineral and the entry into the market of a new company in Niassa, factors which have driven the increase in production».
The figures confirm the sector's recovery after overcoming various operational constraints in recent years, and its strategic importance to the global electric vehicle battery production chain.
By 2025, domestic graphite production had almost doubled, rising 92% to 67,078 tonnes, up from 34,899 tonnes in 2024.
This recovery followed two years of reduced activity; according to data previously released by the government, graphite production reached an all-time high of 165,946 tonnes in 2022, then fell to 97,346 tonnes in 2023 and again to 34,899 tonnes in 2024.
Among the main producers, the Balama mine in Cabo Delgado province, operated by the Australian company Syrah, stands out as one of the world's largest natural graphite mines outside China.
The company's half-yearly results, published in August, show that the mine's operational recovery continued in 2026. Between January and June, gross production reached around 25,800 tonnes of graphite, almost four times the 6,500 tonnes recorded in the same period of 2025, whilst sales and shipments to customers totalled approximately 26,600 tonnes, compared with 1,800 tonnes a year earlier.
The mining company notes that the results exceeded those recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year, which had been affected by a prolonged suspension of operations, although it acknowledged that activity continues to be shaped by selective demand for natural graphite outside China and by the influence of global supply dynamics and competition from Chinese producers.
Syrah also highlighted progress at the Vidalia plant in the US state of Louisiana, which produces active anode material, a component used in electric vehicle batteries. During the first half of the year, the facility produced around 150 tonnes of this material for customer qualification processes and to demonstrate the plant's industrial capabilities.
According to the company, the first commercial sales of anode material produced in the United States using graphite mined in Mozambique are expected to begin later this half-year, a step considered essential for the project's expansion.
Syrah intends to combine graphite production from the Balama mine with battery-material manufacturing in the United States, as governments and car manufacturers seek to diversify supply chains and reduce reliance on China.
On 1 January 2024, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo inaugurated a Chinese-funded graphite processing plant in Niassa province, valued at around $200 million (€171 million), to process the ore locally for higher-value industrial applications.
Located in the district of Nipepe, the plant can process up to 200,000 tonnes per year and employs over 1,000 workers, with jobs expected to exceed 2,000 at full capacity.
PVJ/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
