Balama
One of the few large graphite mines outside China.
- Material
- Graphite
- Stage
- Mine
- Place
- Cabo Delgado, Mozambique
- Operator
- Syrah Resources
- Coordinates
- 13.31° S, 38.65° E (approximate)
Seen from orbit
- Heat
- 3 of the last 7 days and 5 of the last 30 had furnace-hot pixels within 6 km (NASA FIRMS).
- Surface temperature
- Landsat, 21 Oct 2026: typical ground 51.3 °C; 1.2 ha more than 8 °C warmer than the land around it; hottest spot 11.0 °C above it.
- Armed conflict
- 9 events within 100 km so far this year, the latest on 22 Sep 2026 (UCDP).
- Radar
- Latest Sentinel-1 radar picture: 24 Oct 2026.
Signals show activity, not output. They are measured automatically and can be affected by weather, terrain and fires.
Facts
- Capacity of about 350,000 t a year of graphite concentrate
- Feeds Syrah's anode plant in Vidalia, Louisiana
- Operations suspended in December 2024 after protests
- Mozambique mined about 75,000 t of graphite in 2024 (USGS)