Tesla is turning to Mozambique, Africa, for graphite, a key component of its electric vehicle batteries. By observers, it is seen to reduce dependence on China in obtaining graphite materials.

Last month, Tesla signed an agreement with Australia’s Syrah Resources, which operates one of the world’s largest graphite mines, in southern Africa. Cooperation between electric vehicle manufacturers and the mining industry is very important to obtain materials for electric vehicle batteries. The value of the agreement between Tesla and Syrah Resources itself was not announced.

Tesla will buy the material from Syrah’s graphite processing plant in Vidalia, Louisiana. The source of graphite comes from its mines in Balama, Mozambique. Tesla plans to buy 80% of the graphite it produces, which is 8,000 tons per year. According to the agreement, the purchase begins in 2025.

The agreement between Tesla and Syrah Resources is seen as a way to increase capacity to manufacture its own batteries so as to reduce Tesla’s dependence on China as the world leader in the graphite market, said Simon Moores, UK-based provider of battery materials intelligence and data, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.