Triton Minerals has taken full control of the share capital of Grafex, Limitada, the Mozambican subsidiary in which it had an 80% interest and which gave it access to three mining licenses in the districts of Ancuabe, Balama and Montepuez in the province of Cabo Delgado, the Australian company said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The deal, which Triton Minerals says will allow it to secure mining concessions, customers for the graphite to be mined and better financing conditions, came after the company reached an agreement with partner Gregory James Sheffield to buy the remaining 20% stake for US$1.5 million.

Director-General Peter Canterbury said in the statement that an investment decision should be made in the second quarter of the year for the graphite exploration project in Mozambique.

Triton Minerals earlier this month signed a five-year agreement to sell 16,000 tons of graphite per year to be extracted from the Ancuabe project to Chinese company Qingdao Tianshengda Graphite.

The Ancuabe project contains estimated graphite deposits at 3.04 million tons and the definitive economic feasibility study concluded that the concession could produce 60,000 tons of graphite concentrate per year over a 27-year period. (macauhub)