Syrah Resources (ASX:SYR) temporarily suspends Balama operations amid security concerns

• Syrah Resources (SYR) over the weekend suspended operations at its Balama graphite operation due to “security concerns” in the nearby Namuno district in Mozambique
• The company took the precautionary measures following a security review on November 11, moving the majority of its workforce and contractors away from the Balama site
• According to Syrah, the company’s full contract security service, with a small number of employees and contractors, remained at Balama
• After assessing the situation, Syrah has deemed it safe for its workforce to return to the site and resume operations from today
• Shares in Syrah are down 2.66 per cent and trading at $2.56 at 3:36 pm AEDT

Syrah Resources (SYR) has faced further disruptions to work at its Balama graphite project in Mozambique after suspending operations over the weekend due to “security concerns” in the nearby Namuno district.

The company took the precautionary measures following a security review on November 11, moving the majority of its workforce and contractors away from the site.

According to Syrah, the company’s full contract security service, with a small number of employees and contractors, remained at Balama.

Syrah said all employees and contractors remained safe.

While Syrah has not provided the details about the security concerns, the company said after assessing the situation — and following close engagement with the Mozambique government, security authorities and other stakeholders — it had deemed it safe for its workforce to return to the site and resume operations from today.

Operations at Balama have been put on hold multiple times over the past year.

In June, Syrah suspended movement in one of its transport routes from its Balama project in Mozambique after reports of insurgent attacks occurring nearby.

The move was made as a safety precaution, with one of the conflicts occurring at a mine project site.

In September, Syrah announced that operations were once again halted following an interruption by “illegal industrial action by a small contingent of local employees and contractors”.

Syrah subsequently consulted with the relevant Mozambique Government authorities and concluded that the employee strike was instigated by a small group outside of a Company Level Agreement (CLA) negotiation process.

Shares in Syrah were down 2.66 per cent and trading at $2.56 at 3:36 pm AEDT.