Name of the Project
Balama graphite project.

Location
Cabo Delgado, Mozambique.

Project Owner/s
Syrah Resources.

Project Description
Balama is one of the highest-grade large-flake deposits globally. The project has mineral reserves of 108-million tonnes grading 16% total graphitic carbon (TGC) and mineral resources of 1.42-billion tonnes grading 10% TGC.

The project will be a high-grade, openpit operation using conventional mining methods with an extremely low stripping ratio. Operations will start with free-dig mining within the high-grade pits of Balama West using conventional truck-and-shovel mining. Operations will shift to the pits in Balama East thereafter.

The processing plant will have a feed rate of two-million tonnes a year using conventional processes, including crushing and screening, grinding, flotation, filtration and drying, as well as classification, screening and bagging.

Graphite concentrate will be transported using a sealed highway south-east of the project and shipped at the Port of Nacala, about 490 km away.

The mine is expected to produce an average of 365 000 t/y of graphite concentrate during its first ten years of production, and has a 50-year mine life.

The mine’s production will be sold to traditional industrial graphite markets and emerging technology markets.

Syrah also intends to pursue its downstream strategy, which involves further processing of flake graphite from Balama into spherical graphite at a plant in Louisiana, in the US. Spherical graphite is a high-margin, value-added product that is currently in significant demand, owing to its use in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicle and energy-storage applications.

Potential Job Creation
The labour contingent increased to 499 staff in the quarter ended June 2021, excluding contractors.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Based on the assumptions used in the feasibility study dated May 2015, the  project has a post-tax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $1.1-billion and an internal rate of return of 71%, with a payback period of less than two years from the start of commercial production.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Syrah Resources has announced that its subsidiary, Twigg Exploration and Mining, has received the first disbursement of $53-million from its loan agreement with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to support the development of the Balama project.

The loan proceeds will be allocated for working capital, sustaining operations, and funding the expansion of the Balama tailings storage facility (TSF), as well as covering associated loan transaction costs. The disbursement is part of a broader $100-million loan package, with an additional $47-million committed and available to Twigg up until October 2027. These funds will support ongoing operational needs, the TSF expansion, and the development of vanadium resources at the site.

In addition, Syrah reported on November 11 that widespread post-election protests in Mozambique had impacted on the responsiveness of authorities to resolving illegal action at Balama.

The protests at Balama stem from grievances pertaining to historical farmland resettlement, and are said to hinder movement of people, interrupting site access and currently preventing the start of the next production campaign.

Balama is operating on a campaign-mode basis, and may temporarily halt production owing to maintenance, inventory positions, and other planned or unplanned factors. 

Syrah will require a campaign in the December quarter to replenish inventories.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
CPC Engineering (detailed engineering and design).

Contact Details for Project Information
Syrah Resources GM – investor relations John Knowles, tel +61 419 893 491 or email ljknowles@optusnet.com.au.