Australia-based Syrah Resources plans to build a $25 million graphite processing facility in Vidalia.
Syrah plans to buy a 50,000-square-foot industrial building near the Vidalia Port for the plant, Louisiana Economic Development announced this morning. The facility, which can be expanded, will produce graphite anode materials for batteries in electric vehicles and other products.
LED estimates the project will create 25 new jobs, with an average annual salary of $60,000 plus benefits, as well as an additional 30 indirect jobs in central Louisiana.
To land the project, the state is offering Syrah an incentive package that includes the state’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs. Syrah is also expected to utilize the LED FastStart workforce training program.
The company expects to start hiring and begin operations later this year. It mines and produces natural flake graphite in Mozambique and plans to ship the material to Louisiana for processing. At the Concordia Parish facility, the company would mill and refine the material into high-purity spherical graphite for use in battery anodes, with a focus on the automotive industry. Â Â
This morning’s announcement follows last week’s announcement that Taiwan-based Formosa Petrochemical Corp. plans to build a $9.4 billion chemical manufacturing complex in St. James Parish. Read more.
