About Mada Graphite

The natural flake graphite mine of Etablissements Gallois S.A. is located in the northeast of Madagascar, in the province of Tamatave. The mining operation was created in 1901 by the Gallois family, who started to produce graphite exported to the United States and Europe.

Along with successive global industrial revolutions, the Gallois mine has operated for more than 120 years. Because of its specificities and special quality, Gallois graphite has long been used by the global carbon industry.

In 2016, the mine was taken over by a new operator who made significant investments to replace outdated production equipment with the most advanced technology. Annual production increased from less than 5,000 tons to 60,000 tons in 2017.

The Gallois mine covers 280 square kilometres. The deposit is entirely formed by weathering. The average carbon content of the ore is around 10%, which is quite rare in the world. Open-cast mining makes operations easy and safe; the carbon content can be easily increased to a high level by simple flotation. A team of Australian geologists has already estimated 240 million tons of graphite reserves while less than 1% of the total area has been explored.

Madagascar's Tamatave region has a mild climate throughout the year (15–35 °C) and rich water resources — supporting year-round production planning, subject to normal logistics and weather risks.

Gallois graphite is sold to Europe, USA, UK, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, India, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico and other countries and regions — covering all areas of carbon applications.

We market two brands, MADA1 and MADA2, named according to their origin. Since the mine went into operation, Gallois graphite has been broadly used in refractories, metallurgy, crucibles, sealing materials, brakes, pencils, and many more applications.

MADA1 graphite has natural specialties and high quality: it has a strong crystalline structure, high density and, in ash, a low content of substances unfavourable for purification. It can serve as natural flake graphite feedstock for downstream spheroidization and purification for lithium battery anode applications, subject to customer qualification.

With "every flake real, the quality first" at heart, the Gallois mine will carry on another 120 years of glory. Over the next five years, we will focus on upgrading our products by further involving science and technology — producing high-tech products alongside raw materials.