Syrah Resources (ASX: SYR) has remobilized its teams to the Balama graphite operation in Mozambique following the restoration of site access after earlier disruptions due to nationwide protests and disruptions related to federal elections. Operations had been impeded since late September 2024 due to protests from farmers with resettlement complaints. The company’s contractors have returned to the site this week to conduct inspections in preparation for the restart of operations. So far, Syrah has identified no significant issues with the mine site, plant, equipment, tailings storage facility, or associated infrastructure.
Syrah is targeting the restart of natural graphite production during the June quarter, with product shipments to follow soon after. The company has reported latent demand from customers due to supply disruptions in the ex-China natural graphite market and plans to prioritize break-bulk shipments to shorten delivery timeframes. Balama has a run-of-mine inventory totaling approximately 400,000 tonnes of graphite ore, which the company expects to support at least three months of plant operations. The US International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) has agreed to defer Syrah’s first half-yearly interest payment under the terms of the $227 million loan it granted the company in October.
