The Canadian company said its next goal at K1, which began producing this year, is to fast-track commercial production volumes.

"Graphite mined from the company's K1 site is known to be some of the highest grade in the world and has been confirmed to be suitable to be easily upgraded for a range of applications including the high-growth electric vehicle and battery storage markets," the producer said of the project, which made its first commercial sale in June.

Ceylon is also making progress toward the completion of development at the M1 site, and is currently attaining mining licensing approval for production.

It is also looking at development of additional sites and to initiate geological work at other prospective areas.

The company is continuing talks with global graphite processors and end-users to realise further sales agreements beyond the first two from earlier this year, said chairman and chief executive Bharat Parashar.

"We are in active discussions with international vendors for equipment that will enhance our capabilities underground and are close to restarting drilling at our third site known as H1," Parashar said.

According to Ceylon Graphite, Sri Lanka graphite is among the purest, has a low cost of production and currently accounts for less than 1% of the world's total graphite production.

It can be upgraded to battery-grade graphite for lithium-ion batteries and can also be used in graphene applications, it added.