Maputo, May 6, 2025 (Lusa) - Australian mining company Syrah Resources announced on Tuesday that it has regained access to the graphite mine it operates in Balama, northern Mozambique, about five months after invoking ‘force majeure’ due to worsening post-election protests.
In a statement to the markets, Syrah said that the protests at the mine, which had hampered operations until now, "have been ended and access to the site restored" after the intervention of the Mozambican authorities, who removed the last "illegal protesters" over the weekend.
"Following a formal agreement between farmers, Mozambican government authorities and the company, most of the protesters ended their protests in Balama in April 2025. A small group of people continued to block access to the site without legitimate reason or complaint against Syrah," the mining company said in the same statement.
The company adds that it is "mobilising support teams" to the site of the operation for "inspection and maintenance" activities, promising an update soon on the resumption of operations in Balama and product shipments, after almost three quarters without graphite exports, which are intended for electric car batteries.
The Australian mining company announced on 12 December, also in a statement to the markets, that it had invoked ‘force majeure’ due to the worsening of demonstrations and protests against the results of the general elections of 9 October 2024 - which have already caused around 400 deaths, as well as the destruction of public and private equipment - which affected activity at the Mozambican graphite mine in Balama.
The term ‘force majeure’ is a legal concept that refers to external, unforeseeable and unavoidable events that prevent the fulfilment of contractual obligations.
"With conditions continuing to deteriorate in Mozambique and new protests 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 finished product inventory and for sales to customers. Consequently, force majeure is declared under the terms of the mining agreement," the statement said.
According to Syrah, the initial dispute involved a “small group” of local farmers with “long-standing complaints about agricultural land resettlement” that had not been resolved.
The mining company said in December that it was "committed to reaching a positive resolution" to this dispute through "appropriate consultation and dispute resolution mechanisms" and said that the government "must uphold the rule of law and ensure the free movement of goods and people to and from the Balama site, as required by the mining agreement".
The Australian firm is also building Vidalia, in the United States, a battery material factory that will be supplied with Mozambican ore, in this case with two tonnes shipped in April last year.
Graphite production in Mozambique for electric car batteries fell by 64% in 2024 to 34,899 tonnes, one of the lowest figures in recent years, according to government data reported by Lusa in February.
According to the Ministry of Finance's budget execution report for 2024, the reduction, which corresponds to only 11% of the target of 329,040 tonnes of graphite set for the whole year, was mainly due to the shutdown of GK Ancuabe Graphite Mine in 2023.
"As well as the interruption of the activities of Twigg Mining and Exploration [part of the Australian Syrah Resources group], due to the introduction of synthetic graphite on the international market, combined with labour problems at the company that culminated in the shutdown of mining operations," the document reads.
Mozambique produced 97,346 tonnes of graphite in 2023 and a peak of 165,932 tonnes in the previous year, according to government data.
PVJ/AYLS // AYLS
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