Africa’s largest graphite mine in Balama, Mozambique, seals seven-year supply deal with Canada’s NextSource

Australia’s Syrah Resources has signed a seven-year supply agreement with Canada’s NextSource Materials for graphite shipments from Mozambique’s Balama mine, reinforcing Africa’s growing footprint in the global battery minerals race. The Balama operation, located in northern Mozambique, is the largest graphite mine in Africa, with a nominal production capacity of 350,000 tonnes per year. Under the agreement, NextSource has committed to purchase between 34,000 and 68,000 tonnes of graphite over seven years starting June 1.

The material will feed a large-scale anode production plant the Canadian firm plans to develop in the United Arab Emirates. Sale prices will be set quarterly by mutual agreement and adjusted for product quality and freight costs, Syrah said. The deal remains conditional on the UAE facility reaching commercial production and securing approval from its future customers to use Balama-sourced graphite.

NextSource expects to take a final investment decision soon as the project moves from pre-development toward construction. The agreement comes at a crucial time for Balama, which has been operating below capacity due to weak global graphite prices and subdued demand. Syrah signed a multi-year binding conditional offtake agreement with NextSource for natural#graphitefines from Balama.

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Balama is a major supplier of high-quality natural graphite outside China, reinforcing the ex-China anode & battery supply chain.$SYRhttps://t.co/ck9hfahW16pic.twitter.com/Afr03Wl3OF Syrah has been running the mine in “campaign mode,” scaling production in line with market conditions rather than at full output. A stable, long-term offtake arrangement could help smooth revenue flows and support more consistent operations.

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