Sydney, October 29th (Argus) - Australian producer Syrah Resources increased its production at the Balama graphite mine in Mozambique during the period from July to September. The mine had been out of operation for several months and ended in June.
The company stated in its quarterly report released on October 28th that this quarter the mine produced 25,700 tons of graphite, while the previous year's output was zero, and only 6,500 tons were produced in April-June.
Syrah also exported 23,900 tons of graphite from Balama in this quarter, an increase of 103%. However, due to the oversupply in the Chinese domestic market and competition, the average realized price of graphite per ton from September to May this year dropped from $698 to $625 (fob basis).
Syrah stated that the premium of graphite prices outside China relative to those in China would gradually widen during the period of 2025.
The company suspended production in July-September 2024, originally planning to restart the mine in October-December 2024, but due to farmers' resettlement and election issues, non-violent protesters blocked the access road to the mine from September 2024 to May 2025. The Balama mine resumed shipments on July 23rd this year.
From July to September, Syrah faced challenges at its Vidalia graphite active negative electrode material plant in Louisiana.
The company stated that it does not expect to sell any active negative electrode materials to American automakers Tesla and Lucid this year.
From July to September this year, Syrah did not transport any graphite raw materials from Balama to Vidalia, which was less than 1,500 tons compared to 1,500 tons in the same period last year.
In September, the company and Tesla negotiated an 8,000-ton/year contract and postponed the deadline for the certification of the delivered contract products.
Syrah stated that the product certification work and negotiations with other potential buyers are progressing steadily.
Further delays at Vidalia may affect Syrah's expansion plan. The company hopes to increase the capacity of the factory to 45,000 tons/year. Its board will consider the final investment decision for this project before June 30th, 2026, but it is unlikely to make a decision before Syrah starts commercial sales and obtains additional purchase agreements.
