The Trump administration is moving to take an equity stake — up to 20 percent — in an Australia-based company operating one of the world’s largest graphite mines in Mozambique.
The mine, which has ties to Tesla, has been hampered by political unrest.
The proposal marks President Donald Trump’s latest foray into direct ownership of more than a half-dozen critical mineral companies while attempting to reduce the nation’s reliance on China. Democrats and consumer advocates have warned some of the deals directly benefit the president’s family and allies.
The International Development Finance Corp., or DFC, on Thursday proposed a “strategic investment plan” in Syrah, which owns a large-scale, vertically integrated active anode material production facility in Vidalia, Louisiana, and the Balama graphite mine in Mozambique, which hosts one of the largest natural graphite reserves in the world.
