Canadian battery-metals developer South Star has started graphite production in Brazil and expects to deliver its first batch of the product this month.
The company has produced one metric tonne (t) of graphite concentrate in its Santa Cruz project, located in the Brazilian state of Bahia, it said on Monday. The move comes after the company completed the phase 1 of the project, it added.
It now expects to ramp up production and ship the material by the end of October.
South Star is committed to expanding to 50,000t/yr of graphite concentrate production "as the markets and clients need more material," the company's chief executive Richard Pearce said.
Santa Cruz phase 1 commercial output has a nameplate capacity of 12,000t/yr, with phase 2 expected to produce 25,000t/yr by 2026, and its final phase is expected to be producing 50,000t/yr by 2028, the company said.
Brazil holds one of the world's largest reserves in natural graphite of 74mn t, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
Second Star also holds a graphite project in the US state of Alabama, as the company aims to create a "multi-asset battery-metals company with near-term operations in strategic jurisdictions."
