Bass aims to increase graphite sales to India

Australia-based graphite developer Bass Metals is aiming to increase its sales into the Indian market through a new agency agreement.

It has signed an agreement with industrial minerals group Polo Queen Minchems, a division of Mumbai-based Polo Queen Industrial and Fintech, for the distribution of graphite into India from its Graphmada project in Madagascar.

Bass has sold 600t of graphite concentrate into India over the past year and expects to increase this to over 3,000t in 2020 through the new sales agreement, in line with its plans for increased production.

India has a history of importing graphite from Madagascar but most of its graphite imports still come from China. Bass is seeking opportunities to supply graphite concentrate into India's spherical graphite and other upstream graphite market.

Bass last month said it was seeking to increase the size of its Graphmada project through exploration drilling aimed at proving up 4.1mn-8.4mn t of additional contained graphite.