TotalEnergies further delays $20 bln Mozambique LNG project, FT reports
Mozambique: Syrah Resources targets Balama graphite production restart
3:05 CAT | 16 May 2025
FILE - Balama production targeted by end of June 2025 quarter . [File photo: Syrah Resources]
Australian mining company Syrah expects to resume natural graphite production at its Balama mine in northern Mozambique by June, which is intended for electric car batteries, after months of shutdown due to social unrest.
In information sent to the markets, seen yesterday by Lusa, Syrah states that it ” targeting Balama natural graphite production resumption before the end of the June 2025 quarter, with product shipments expected to follow several weeks later”.
Syrah has remobilised teams to our Balama #Graphite Operation in Mozambique following restoration of site access in early May. Production is targeted to resume before end of June 2025 quarter, supported by ~400kt of run-of-mine ore. $SYRhttps://t.co/QaPAxnG1C2 pic.twitter.com/zvduFbZh6l
— Syrah Resources (@SyrahResources) May 14, 2025
Syrah adds that there is “significant, and increasing, latent demand from customers for Syrah’s natural graphite products due to supply disruptions, including from Balama, in the ex-China natural graphite market.”
“Syrah’s finished product inventory is fully depleted the company will prioritise breakbulk shipments to shorten delivery times for its customers and bring forward cash receipts,” the information states.
Syrah announced on May 5 that it had regained access to the graphite mine it operates in Balama, about five months after invoking “force majeure” due to the worsening of post-election demonstrations.
At issue, it explained at the time, were the protests near the mine, which had conditioned activity until then, and which “were ended, and access to the site regained,” following the intervention of the Mozambican authorities, who removed the last “illegal protesters.”
“Following a formal agreement signed between farmers, Mozambican government authorities and the company, most of the protesters stopped the protests in Balama in April 2025. A small group of people continued to block access to the site without legitimate reason, nor any complaint against Syrah,” reads the same statement from the mining company.
The company has been remobilizing teams to the site of the operation for “inspection and maintenance” activities to resume operations: “Inspections to date have not identified any significant issues with Balama plant or equipment at the Ativa mine pit, tailings storage facility or associated infrastructure.”
READ: Mozambique: Syrah Resources says Balama site access restored
The mining company had announced on December 12, also in a market announcement, that it had invoked “force majeure” due to the worsening of demonstrations and protests against the results of the general elections of October 9, 2024, which were conditioning activity at the graphite mine in Balama.
The term “force majeure” is a legal concept that refers to external, unpredictable and unavoidable events that prevent the fulfilment of contractual obligations.
“With conditions continuing to deteriorate in Mozambique and new protest actions by the opposition to the government announced recently, Syrah is unable to carry out a production campaign in Balama in the December quarter [last quarter] of 2024, which is necessary to replenish the inventory of finished products and for sales to customers. Consequently, a case of force majeure is declared under the terms of the mining agreement,” the report said.
According to Syrah, the initial dispute involved a “small group” of local farmers, with “historical grievances regarding the resettlement of agricultural land” that had not been resolved.
The Australian firm is also building, in Vidalia, in the United States of America, a factory to produce material for electric car batteries, which will be powered by Mozambican ore.
READ: Mozambique: Syrah’s commitment to human rights and sustainable development
Graphite production in Mozambique, for electric car batteries, fell 64% in 2024, to 34,899 tonnes, one of the lowest records in recent years, according to government data reported by Lusa in February.
Source: Lusa
Show comments
Also read
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.