Mafic (Black Basalt) Ireland plans to build a new production facility for basalt fibres in Kells County / Ireland, which will create roughly 70 jobs over the next three years. The plant is set to be built in Meath, about 70 kms north of Dublin, and will produce basalt fibres for use in composite products at its Canadian subsidiary, Mafic Canada (Mississauga, Ontario). Mafic SA is a recently established holding company based in Luxembourg and Mafic (Black Basalt) Ireland is a 100%-owned subsidiary of the new founded entity.

Basalt fibres are produced from a single material, crushed basalt, which the company plans to source from the Ukraine. Next the crushed basalt needs to be melted and Mafic says it will start with three furnaces before expanding to six within the first 18 months. In fact, the company apparently has plans to install a pultrusion line to produce composites using basalt fibres. Mafic envisions its new facility becoming a manufacturing centre of excellence and production headquarters.

The multi-million euro investment is part of a "Succeed-in-Ireland" initiative, which was launched more than a year ago as part of the Irish government's "Action Plan for Jobs" strategy.