A graphite mine located in northern Mozambique will start to be operated by German company Graphit Kropfmuhl AMG this year, said the representative of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Southern Africa.

“I spoke to the manager who told me that he hopes to start work at the mine by the end of the year so that next year they can start exporting graphite via the port of Nacala in northern Mozambique,” Friedrich Kaufmann, told Portuguese news agency Lusa.

The mine is located in Ancuabe district and the German company acquired the exploration rights following an international tender in 2012.

Kaufmann regretted that there is little German investment in the country, saying that “German companies are averse to the risk of investing money in Mozambique.”

Germany has around 40 companies in Mozambique in the areas of logistics, services, engineering, project implementation, trade and imports, i.e. companies “without application of capital,” he added.

Kaufmann said countries such as South Africa have attracted more German investment due to the English language and the fact that German multinationals are already established in the country, helping with the familiarity of the market.

In 2015, Mozambique exported to Germany aluminium and agricultural products such as sugar, cotton and cashew nuts and Germany supplied machinery, cars, electrical equipment ad wheat, yielding bilateral trade worth 270 million euros.

Source: Macauhub