US easy on Syrah loan breach after violent unrest tanks Mozambique mine

Syrah Resources’ (ASX:SYR) headaches in Mozambique are set, at least, to throb with less intensity after receiving a US government loan waiver.

Where backgrounding is needed, Syrah has previously inked a deal with the U.S. gov’t-backed United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to develop its Mozambique-based Balama graphite project.

Except, since mid-late last year, the security situation in Mozambique has been – in two words – rather poor. If you needed the tip-off, the country has an AK-47 on its official flag.

This isn’t the first time Syrah has had to deal with dangerous types of grief in the country. In 2022, a Triton-led project saw two staffers beheaded by radicals in Ancuabe. At the time, Syrah issued a travel ban along a major highway.

And now, Syrah has got new griefs – it’s defaulting on its DFC loan requirements due to a flare-up of unrest. Well, worse than that: It declared a force majeure.

On brand for the mid-2020s, the catalyst for this flare-up was a contested election.

Mining Review Africa quite recently estimated the 2024/25 unrest has led to the loss of 12,000 jobs with assets of 500 companies being damaged (‘vandalised’) in some way. That report cites a third-party body whose data suggests close to 300 deaths since last year in street violence.

So, that’s the backdrop against which Syrah is struggling. One-year returns are down -62%, and, Syrah has long been among the most heavily shorted stocks on the ASX.

As of late Tuesday morning, it’s the fourth heaviest shorted stock on the entire bourse – around where it’s hovered long before declaring force majeure – at 12.75%.

All in all, at this time, Syrah still has to spend some US$53M the DFC recently lobbed at the company back in November. However, as for an end to the unrest – Syrah wasn’t providing any estimates.

SYR last traded at 21cps.

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