PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Graphite miner Syrah Resources has reported a slight drop in production from its restarted Balama graphite operations, in Mozambique, during the three months to December.

The company on Tuesday reported that graphite production for the December quarter reached 35 000 t, down from the 38 000 t produced in the September quarter, as operations were impacted by illegal industrial actions in October and a precautionary security measure in November.

Balama operations were interrupted by illegal industrial action with production suspended for 26 days from the start of October and the company’s workforce temporarily moved from site for part of this period. In late October, mining and processing operations, and unrestricted logistics movements, resumed at Balama with the full complement of employees and contractors returning to site.

In November, the company was informed of security concerns in Namuno district, some 50 km from Balama site. Syrah temporarily suspended operations and moved most of Balama’s workforce and contractors from site. The workforce returned to site and operations resumed after a two-day outage, with full production capability achieved one week after production was suspended.

C1 costs for the quarter also increased from the $615/t reported in the September quarter to $709/t on the back of the operational interruptions and sustained higher diesel costs throughout the quarter.

The company told shareholders that the Balama operation achieved a good performance in the month of December, in uninterrupted operations, notwithstanding ore feed variability and processing instability in the ramp-up of operations, with stable grade and recovery compared with the September 2022 quarter. Plant recovery was 80% in December and 78% during the quarter.

Meanwhile, the installation of an 11.25 MWp solar photovoltaic installation combined with an 8.5 MW/MWh battery energy storage system progressed during the quarter. Site clearing and earthworks are complete, solar and battery components have been delivered, and the piling and installation of trackers and solar panels is well underway. As a result of interruptions at Balama through the quarter, the solar battery system is now expected to be commissioned and operating before the end of the June 2023 quarter.