Australian mining company Syrah Resources, which operates in the Balama district of Cabo Delgado, recorded a loss of 44.7 million US dollars (67.1 million Australian dollars) in the first half of 2023. The results were released on Tuesday, September 10, and reveal a significant drop in revenues, which fell 33% to 12.6 million US dollars (19 million Australian dollars).
The decline in the company’s performance is attributed to the reduction in graphite production and sales, caused mainly by oversupply in China, one of the main global markets for this material.
China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of graphite, which is essential for the production of batteries used in electric vehicles. According to Syrah Resources, Chinese production of natural and synthetic graphite grew from 700,000 metric tons in 2020 to around 1.2 million metric tons in 2023. This increase in supply has led to a significant decrease in exports to the Asian country.
In the same period, production at the Balama mine, operated by Syrah, fell 38% to 34,900 tons, while sales fell to 29,800 tons, compared to 44,700 tons sold in the same period last year. As a result, the company did not export graphite to China in the first half of the year, focusing its sales on third-party customers, mainly in Indonesia. In addition, Syrah shipped 500 tons of graphite to its Active Anode Material (AAM) plant in Vidalia, in the United States, which began production in February this year.
