The company, headed by Elon Musk, signed an agreement last month with the Australian company (Sera Resources), which operates one of the world’s largest graphite mines in the South African country, in a distinguished partnership between the electric vehicle manufacturer and a critical metal producer for lithium-ion batteries. Disclosure of the transaction value.
Tesla will buy the material from the Australian company’s processing plant in Vidalia, Louisiana, which makes graphite from a mine in Balama, Mozambique.
The Austin, Texas-based electric car maker plans to buy up to 80 percent of the plant’s output – 8,000 tons of graphite annually – starting in 2025, according to the agreement.
Simon Moores, president of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a UK-based agency that provides specialized lithium-ion battery information for the electric vehicle supply chain, said the deal is part of Tesla’s plan to increase its ability to manufacture its own batteries so it can reduce Its dependence on China, which dominates the world’s graphite markets.
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