Mohammed Dewji's MeTL Bets $275M on Tanzania Graphite Boom

BREAKING NEWSJuly 13, 2026 at 12:45 PM UTC

TLDR

MeTL Group to invest $275 million in graphite mining in Tanzania for electric vehicle battery market.
Initial focus on 94% pure graphite for Chinese refining, with plans to upgrade for European, Japanese, and South Korean markets.
Expansion part of MeTL’s goal to reach $10 billion in annual revenue by 2035, with investments in luxury tourism and industrial projects.

MeTL Group plans to invest $275 million in graphite mining in Tanzania as the company positions itself to supply the growing electric vehicle battery market and expand its industrial business.

Chairman Mohammed Dewji told Bloomberg commercial production is expected to begin within 18 months. The company is working with European customers to meet battery-grade graphite specifications while sourcing processing technology from China.

MeTL plans to begin with graphite that is about 94% pure and sell it to Chinese refiners before upgrading production to battery-grade material for direct exports to Europe, Japan and South Korea. The investment comes as governments and automakers seek to diversify supplies of critical minerals away from China, which dominates graphite processing.

The graphite project is part of MeTL’s plan to increase annual revenue to $10 billion by 2035. The company is also expanding into luxury tourism, developing a 150-hectare island near Zanzibar into a high-end resort and building a luxury safari lodge in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park.

Founded as a manufacturing and consumer goods company, MeTL now produces more than 50 product categories, operates in 11 African countries and employs more than 40,000 people. Dewji recently also expressed interest in investing $100 million in Aliko Dangote’s proposed refinery project in Kenya, adding to the group’s push into large industrial investments.

Key Takeaways

MeTL’s graphite investment reflects a broader shift in Africa’s role in the global energy transition. Tanzania holds some of the world's largest graphite deposits, and demand for the mineral is expected to grow because graphite is the main material used in lithium-ion battery anodes. While much attention has focused on lithium, cobalt and nickel, every electric vehicle battery also requires large amounts of graphite. At the same time, governments in Europe, Japan, South Korea and the US are trying to reduce dependence on China, which controls most of the world's graphite processing capacity. MeTL’s strategy goes beyond mining by targeting processing and higher-value exports rather than selling only raw material. That could allow the company to capture more value from the supply chain if it meets international quality standards. The tourism investments also provide diversification, giving the group exposure to another sector benefiting from rising global demand. For Tanzania, projects such as this could increase export earnings, attract industrial investment and strengthen the country's position in the critical minerals market. The main challenges remain processing technology, infrastructure, financing and competition from established producers, particularly China, which continues to dominate global graphite refining and battery supply chains.

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