PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed graphite miner Syrah Resources has reported record graphite production and sales for the 2022 financial year, with the company reporting $106-million revenue, up from the $29-million generated in the previous financial year.

The company on Thursday announced record annual graphite sales of 162 000 t, at a weighted average price of $661/t for the year, despite the fact that its Balama operations, in Mozambique, were intermittently interrupted through September and October by illegal industrial action driven by a small contingent of local employees and contractors.

Syrah told shareholders that unit costs at Balama trended higher during the year, with costs of sales increasing from $61.7-million to $92.9-million between the 2021 and 2022 financial years, on the back of production constraints and operating cost pressures. Diesel costs for power generation and shipping costs for inputs from outside of Mozambique also increased significantly through the year.

The miner achieved record sales volumes during 2022, with strong customer demand for Balama products, however, Syrah noted that it could have produced and sold more product without container constraints which impacted global shipping operations during the financial year.

The company said on Thursday that with the easing of container shipping constraints and the integration of breakbulk shipping from Pemba, Syrah expected there to be no logistic impediment to achieving higher sales and production from Balama in 2023.

Meanwhile, the company was advancing construction of its expanded Vidalia active anode material (AAM) facility, in Louisiana, which would increase production to 11 250 t/y, following the approval of the $85-million spend in February of last year.

The definitive feasibility study for the further expansion of the AAM facility to 45 000 t/y production capacity is nearing completion.