Appian Capital to invest US$70mn in graphite project in Brazil

European investment fund Appian Capital Advisory will invest 350mn reais (US$70mn) in the Boa Sorte graphite project in Brazil’s Bahia state.

Funds will also go toward a new 5,500t/y graphite concentrate plant.

The investment will be made by Graphcoa, a joint venture controlled by the fund.

“Spherical graphite, the final product produced from the graphite that will be mined in our projects, represents 95% of the anodes in electric vehicle batteries and will supply the growing global demand for electrification,” Appian country manager Paulo Castellari said in a statement.

In the first quarter of 2025, the graphite concentrate will be submitted for quality assessment by strategic customers and the definitive potential of the plant's production scale will be identified before construction of the project in its final size starts.

Appian underlined that Graphcoa could increase total production capacity to up to 25,500t/y, with potential support of other projects in the portfolio.

But this and further investment approval will depend on the feasibility studies that will be completed in 2025. If studies confirm the viability of expanding the project, investments could reach up to 1.5bn reais.

In November 2022, Appian formed Graphcoa to explore mining rights held by Buffalo Minerais do Brasil and Columbia Exploração Mineral, covering graphite deposits in strategic locations.

Graphite plays an important role in the production of EV batteries, as each requires around 68kg of the mineral. With the growing demand for electrification, compound annual growth in the graphite battery market is estimated to reach 20% between 2022 and 2035, according to Appian.