Australia's Syrah Resources, which explores graphite in Cabo Delgado, announced today the suspension of operations due to an "illegal strike" organized by a "small group of local employees and collaborators."

In a statement sent to the Sydney stock exchange and quoted by Lusa, Syrah Resources said it had decided, "as a precaution for the safety of employees," to suspend operations and withdraw personnel from the Balama mine on September 20.

The Australian company stressed that it is working with union representatives and the Mozambican government to begin negotiations with the strikers, who it said have "prevented access to the site" of the mine.

Syrah Resources also said it was preparing, "after an assessment of the security situation," to return employees and restart operations in Balama "as soon as possible."

In a statement the company revealed that the mine has so far produced 38 tons of graphite in the third quarter of this year, and most of the material has already been transported to Nacala, in Nampula province.

Syrah Resources said it has already sold 54 tons of graphite from Balama in the third quarter and has guaranteed that it will ship five tons of graphite from Nacala this month, with no impact from the strike.

The Australian company had resumed logistics operations on National Road Number One (EN1) in June, after suspending the movement of personnel across the highway due to rebel attacks in Ancuabe.

The attacks began on June 5 and are the first reports of insurgency-related violence in Ancuabe district, 100 kilometers from Pemba, an area that until now was considered safe and used to shelter displaced people.

It should be noted that the Balama mine began commercial production four years ago, and was highlighted in December when Syrah announced a deal with electric vehicle multinational Tesla, which intends to use graphite from the mine, which is described as one of the largest deposits of "quality" graphite in the world by the Australian company itself.