Tirupati Graphite PLC announced on Tuesday it successfully achieved commercial production of pure flake granite at its Vatomina project in Madagascar.

Shares in the company traded 8.6% higher at 33.67 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.

Tirupati is a graphite and graphene producer with operations in Madagascar and India. Vatomina and Sahamamy are its two key mining sites.

The company announced that it reached commercial production of 97% pure flake granite in Vatomina.

Tirupati added that its first container of jumbo flakes was produced for an undisclosed German manufacturer which specialises in graphite products.

The company noted that it is ‘technically challenging’ to produce high grade jumbo flakes, but said it ‘provides new opportunities’ as some specialist markets require high-grade flakes which commands premium prices.

Tirupati is working towards increasing its high grade output and associated sales, targeting an uplift of around 10% in basket price realisation from Madagascan production to between $910 and $935 per metric tonne until March 2024.

Executive Chair Shishir Poddar said: ‘Achieving commercial production at a grade of 97% is another significant milestone in Tirupati’s continued progress as we establish ourselves as a leading supplier of flake graphite outside of China. Our increasing output is timely with a demand supply gap forecast over the next year, and we are well positioned to play our role in the evolving flake graphite opportunities.’

Tirupati also provided an update on production at its Sahamamy development in Madagascar, stating that a ramp up of production has continued in line with expectations since operations started in February.

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