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. Balama 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 Balama 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 made a final investment decision for the installation of a solar and battery hybrid power system for its Balama project.

Syrah at the end of 2020 struck a memorandum of understanding with Solar Century Africa over an energy solution for the Balama project, and the company selected a 11.25 MW solar photovoltaic installation, combined with a 8.5 MW/MWh battery energy storage system, which will be integrated with Balama’s existing diesel power generation plant.

The system will be delivered under a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) arrangement, comprising a ten-year operating lease and an operating and maintenance contract with a Mozambique project company, which will be wholly owned by project financier CrossBoundary Energy (CBE).

The solar battery system will be transferred to Syrah at zero cost at the end of the ten-year BOOT term.

The solar battery system is scheduled to be commissioned and operating before the end of the March quarter in 2023.

The project is expected to provide 35% of Balama’s site power and will reduce diesel consumed for power generation by about 35%. During peak daylight times, the system will be able to supply all Balama’s power requirements.

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.