Balama Operations

Operations

Processing

The Balama processing plant has a feed rate of 2Mtpa using conventional processes including:

• Primary crushing / crushed ore storage / recycled crusher
• Primary milling
• Flotation
• Secondary milling¹ and classification
• Filtration, flake and fine drying
• Classification and product bagging

Waste material is pumped to the Tailings Storage Facility after the graphite flotation process.

(1) Secondary milling process separating the coarse and fine flake circuits

Based on the current mine plan, the recovery target for the earlier periods is 88% then gradually increasing to feasibility study range of 92.5%.

Other Facts

Flotations Cells: At Balama, there are 51 flotation cells, in three groups of flotation cells banks:

• Roughers – the first stage in the flotation circuit that treats the fresh circuit feed
• Cleaners – a stage in the flotation circuit treating the concentrate
• Scavengers – a stage in the flotation circuit that treats the tailings

Attrition Cells: Attrition cells allow for fixed carbon grade of 96-98%. The process used by the attritions cell is very simple and involves the removal of gangue minerals from graphite particles, which cleans the surface of the particles and improves flotation efficiencies downstream without a significant impact on particle size. The attrition cells became operational in August 2018 (ASX Announcment) and Syrah achieved its first spot sale of 98% fixed carbon grade product in November 2018 (ASX Announcment). Under normalised production, Syrah’s natural flake graphite fixed carbon (FC) grade is expected to be a baseline minimum of 95% FC. Historically for every 1% increase in FC grade attracts a premium in price of approximately 4%-7% per tonne. The majority of exiting production of natural flake 98% FC requires chemical purification, whereas Syrah has successfully produced 98% FC products via standard flotation process. Chemical purification adds significant unit operating costs relative to Syrah’s use of attrition cells.

Value in use advantages for Syrah’s customers and supply chain include:

• Reduced acid usage
• More efficient energy use
• Reduced environmental footprint

Syrah expects higher selling prices for higher grade FC due to the cost differential and value in use providing a pricing premium. The combination of Flotation control performance and liberation from milling and attrition cells are critical for recovery and quality. The Balama circuit is designed with enough phases and combinations to allow for maximum performance.

 

 

 

 

Infrastructure

Chipembe dam

Power station 

Bitumen road to the Balama Project

Logistics

The Balama Project is connected by a bitumen road to the Port of Nacala, some 490km south east of the project. Nacala is a major port in Mozambique and the deepest port in southern Africa. There are twin berths for containers with a total length of 395m as well as four berths for bulk traffic with a total length of 600m. Balama graphite will be packed into one tonne bags, hauled by road to Nacala and then packed into 20 foot containers for export. The Nacala port will be ample for the volumes proposed by the Balama Operation. The port is serviced by major international container carriers.

Syrah’s graphite distribution and logistics services have been contracted out to a third party for an initial term of five years (ASX announcement).

Water

A water licence has been granted to Syrah. Water for Balama is supplied from the Chipembe Dam which has a capacity of approximately 25 million m3 and is located 12km from the Balama Operations. Syrah’s Water License allows two million m3 of water to be drawn from the Chipembe Dam annually which is sufficient for its demands.

Power

Balama is powered by a 15.4 MW diesel driven power station comprised of seven 2.2MW generators. The power station will provide sufficient electricity for Balama to operate independently without any requirement to access grid power. Currently, power supply from the main grid remains intermittent.

Plant Site Buildings

• Medical Centre
• Emergency Response Centre
• Warehouse Facility
• Laboratory
• Administration Building
• Accommodation Village
• Canteen

Balama Flake Graphite Production Split

(US Mesh)	(µm)	Description	Average Size Distribution	Application
+50	>300	Extra large	8%	Traditional uses (e.g steelmaking, iron castings, foundries, automotive parts, lubricants)
+80	<300 - >180	Large	12%	Traditional uses (e.g steelmaking, iron castings, foundries, automotive parts, lubricants)
+100	<180 - >150	Medium	12%	Traditional uses (e.g steelmaking, iron castings, foundries, automotive parts, lubricants)
-100	<150 - >106	Fines	68%	Spherical graphite for anode in Lithium Ion batteries and recarburiser products

(1) Average estimated size distribution over the LOM based on Snowden Feasibility Study. Refer to ASX announcement “Balama Feasibility Study and Corporate Presentation” on 29 May 2015.

Fixed carbon (FC) grade will range from 95% to 98% inclusive.

What does mesh size mean?  - The mesh size refers to the number of openings in a one inch screen. A 100 mesh screen has 100 openings etc. As the mesh size number increases, the size of the particles decreases with higher numbers indicating finer material.

What does minus (-) and plus (+) signs mean when describing mesh sizes? - -100 mesh means that all particles smaller than 100 mesh would pass through +100 mesh means all particles 100 mesh or larger are retained.

 

Regulatory Approvals

Syrah has received the following key government approvals for the Balama Operation.

Approval	Grant date	Term
Mining Concession	6 December 2013	25 years (renewable)
Water License	22 November 2014	10 years (renewable)
Environmental License	23 April 2015	5 years (renewable)
Land Access (DUAT) Lincese	22 June 2015	23 years (renewable)