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# [MADAGASCAR] Africa's Top Graphite Producer Still Struggles to Add Value at Home
- URL: https://businessoi.media/en/madagascar-premier-dafrique-en-graphite-la-grande-ile-peine-a-valoriser-ses-richesses-en/
- Published: 2026-09-04T02:56:18.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-04T02:56:18.000Z
- Description: Madagascar became Africa's top graphite producer at 85,000t in 2024. But processing happens in Abu Dhabi and the US — not on the island. The industrial equation that must be solved.
- Author: Emmanuel TAOCHY
- Tags: Madagascar, Économie, Investissement, Revue matinale, #en

Madagascar became Africa's leading graphite producer with 85,000 tonnes extracted in 2024, surpassing Mozambique. But this rise conceals a persistent paradox: the island exports its raw minerals, leaving the processing — and the margins — to foreign operators in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

## Africa's Top Rank: An Ambiguous Trophy

With 85,000 tonnes of graphite produced in 2024 — and a similar estimate for 2025 — Madagascar has risen to the top of African producers, ahead of Mozambique (between 39,000 and 60,000 tonnes). This graphite, essential for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, is highly sought after by American, European and Asian industrialists. Yet most of the value added remains abroad: NextSource, which operates a Malagasy deposit, processes its output at a plant in Abu Dhabi, targeting 30,000 tonnes per year of refined material.

## Abundant Critical Minerals, Lagging Local Processing

Beyond graphite, Madagascar holds significant reserves of so-called "critical minerals": cobalt, nickel, ilmenite, zircon and rare earths. The Ambatovy project operates a local refinery producing around 40,000 tonnes of nickel and 4,000 tonnes of cobalt per year — a notable exception in a landscape dominated by raw export. For rare earth monazite, refining takes place in the United States (Energy Fuels, Utah). The 2023 mining code focuses on attracting foreign investment rather than mandating local processing, in contrast with strategies like Zimbabwe's ban on raw lithium exports.

## Structural Obstacles to Upgrading

Barriers to local processing are structural: chronic energy instability, logistics challenges, limited skilled labour in metallurgy, and the absence of a binding incentive framework for operators. Without suitable industrial infrastructure, even the richest deposits risk perpetuating a low-value raw material export pattern.

## Why It Matters

In an era of global energy transition, Madagascar's critical minerals are strategically valuable. Global demand for graphite and cobalt for batteries is expected to triple by 2030\. The country that manages to process these resources locally — rather than export them raw — will create skilled jobs, foreign currency earnings and a durable industrial chain. The window of opportunity is narrowing. *Sources: Agence Ecofin, AFSIC, capmad.com, May 2026.*