The Australian mining company Syrah is complaining about the ongoing protests by a group of national farmers who are restricting access to the graphite mine in Balama, admitting that the post-election protests in the country are delaying the outcome, the Lusa news agency reported on Monday, 11 November .
In a briefing to the markets, the mining company explained that the issue is protests in Balama, a district of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, by a ‘small group’ of local farmers, with ‘historical complaints about the resettlement of agricultural land’ that remain unresolved, ‘combined’ with other problems.
‘The problem continues to hamper the movement of people, interrupting access to the site and currently preventing the start of the next production campaign,’ reads Syrah’s information.
The note adds that following the announcement of the results of the general elections on 9 October, the widespread protests associated with the vote are ‘causing widespread disruption across the country’.
‘The circumstances surrounding these protests appear to be affecting the authorities‘ and government’s ability to respond in resolving illegal actions at Balama,’ it adds, emphasising that ‘the mine is operating in campaign mode and may temporarily suspend production, also for reasons of maintenance, inventory and other factors’, also admitting that it needs to carry out operations until December to replenish ‘stocks’.
‘The company continues to engage intensively with government authorities and stakeholders to ensure a permanent and positive resolution,’ Syrah concludes.
The Balama graphite mine made its export debut this year to an Indonesian battery manufacturer, which bought 10,000 tonnes, Australian company Syrah announced in April.
According to information released to the markets by the mining company, which owns the mine, this was the ‘first sale of large volumes of natural graphite from Balama to Indonesia, acquired by the company BTR New Energy Materials’.
According to Syrah, it was the ‘first large volume sale of natural graphite to a participant in the battery supply chain outside of China’.
Balama’s production had risen to 41,000 tonnes of natural graphite in the first quarter of 2023, compared to 35,000 tonnes in the previous quarter, above sales, which rose from 28,000 to 30,000 tonnes.
This year Mozambique expects more than 329,000 tonnes of graphite, the raw material needed to produce batteries for electric vehicles, an increase of more than 180% on this year’s performance, according to the government’s forecast.
The country produced 120,000 tonnes of graphite in 2020, a performance that fell to 77,100 tonnes the following year, while the estimates for 2022 and 2023 were 182,000 and 117,400 tonnes respectively.
