POSCO will invest in Mahenge Graphite Mine in Tanzania, Africa, to strengthen its anode material business. Anode materials are one of the key materials for secondary batteries for electric vehicles.
POSCO announced on Dec. 17 that it will acquire a 15 percent stake in Black Rock Mining, an Australian mining company that owns Mahenge Mine, for US$7.5 million. As a result, POSCO has secured permanent offtake rights to powders for anode materials produced at the Mahenge Mine.
POSCO will also have the right to nominate one director at Black Rock Mining’s board of directors.
POSCO is making investments in graphite mines in Africa and Australia to build a value chain for secondary batteries. Currently, it imports graphite, a raw material for anode materials, from China. POSCO is planning to lower its dependence on China for the raw material to less than 50 percent in the mid- to long-term by diversifying graphite supply.
Meanwhile, POSCO Chemical, which is in charge of POSCO Group's battery material business, is capable of producing 44,000 tons of anode materials a year and plans to jack up its production capacity to 120,000 tons in 2023 and 260,000 tons in 2030.
