Tirupati Graphite PLC (LSE:TGR, OTCQX:TGRHF) said production has commenced from its new flake graphite production facilities at Sahamamy in Madagascar.
Production will be 18,000 tonnes a year (tpa) initially, taking the group to 30,000 tpa flake graphite capacity.
The new facilities also comprise a new mining equipment fleet with a capacity to mine 450,000 tpa, two pre-concentrate plants each and the final concentrate plant.
Commissioning was delayed for three months due to shipping delays and a cyclone in the region.
At Vatomina, its second site on Madagascar, a second preconcentrate was commissioned in December and head grade has been increased to boost nameplate capacity to 12,000 tpa.
Tirupati now expects total group production of between 2,500-2,900 tonnes in the three months to March and 6,100-6,500 tonnes in the April to June quarter.
Shishir Poddar, executive chairman, said: "The start of production at the new 18,000 pa Sahamamy project is a significant milestone for us. This takes our production capacity to 30,000 tons of high-quality flake graphite cementing our position as a leader in the space.
"While we will remain focussed on bringing our projects to nameplate capacity production in the immediate term, we will continue to grow to 84,000 tpa production from our Madagascar projects."