Australian mining company Syrah Resources announced on Tuesday that in April it produced 15,000 tons of graphite for electric car batteries, which it exports from Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, having stopped production the following month due to international stocks.

In an activity report for the second quarter, the mining company states that "operations at the Balama [Nacala/Pemba] plant were interrupted in May and June 2023, due to volatility in the Chinese anode market and the good availability of 'stock' of finished products". However, the company estimates costs of four million dollars for each month of closure at the plant.

For the Australian mining company, the decision to suspend production since May is due to the need to dispose of stock, currently at 28,000 tons, while waiting for an "improvement" in market demand conditions for natural graphite, also admitting the impact on global synthetic graphite production.

According to Syrah Resources, the mining company's production in Cabo Delgado rose to 41,000 tons of natural graphite in the first quarter of this year, compared to 35,000 tons in the previous quarter, above sales, which rose from 28,000 to 30,000 tons.

To this end, "the decision to restart production will depend on increased sales of stock and new sales orders at prices above operating costs in production volumes of at least 10,000 tons per month, in accordance with the revision of the operating mode at Balama," reads the document, in which Syrah acknowledges that the orders and proposals received for that production "have not yet reached that level".

It should be remembered that in June 2022, the Syrah Resources logistics chain was temporarily suspended due to terrorist attacks near the road where the graphite is transported.