Under the US$269 million agreement, which is currently subject to the organisation of debt funding, MCC will produce a turnkey solution for 240,000t/y of graphite production. It is inclusive of all items and inventory, including but not limited to the processing plant, as well as infrastructure including roads, power, workers camps and storage facilities.

MCC said that, during field trips, its team visited the site and local suppliers, along with the laboratory that has developed Magnis' graphite process. It also met with vendors as it established its procurement and pricing plan.

"The Nachu project is very unique…[and] our team has been very impressed with the high purity products it can produce, minus any purification," MCC vice president Wang Zhou said.

Magnis MD Marc Vogts added: "With the ability to produce 99.95% graphite purity via mechanical processes only, Magnis is in a unique position to become a leader in the production of anode materials for the rapidly growing battery market."

According to a study completed in 2016, Nachu has an initial operational life of about 15 years. Nearly 12 of those years will be at nameplate capacity of 240,000t/y.