Graphite miner Triton Minerals Ltd [ASX:TON] shares plummeted on Tuesday after exiting a trading halt and updating the market on a security incident at its Mozambique mine.
In late Tuesday trade, TON shares were down 12% on a day punctuated by heavy selling market-wide, with the ASX 200 benchmark down 4.3%.
Syrah Resources [ASX:SYR], another graphite miner that had also been affected by the security incident last week, was also down 12% late on Tuesday.
SYR shares are now 28% in the past month:
Source: Tradingview.com
Fatalities at the Ancuabe Graphite Project
Triton Metals exited a trading halt after giving the market further details on a recent insurgent attack at its Ancuabe site in northern Mozambique.
Triton reported that on Wednesday, 8 June, that the Ancuabe site came under attack.
Tragically, as a result of the attack, two of Triton’s security and caretaker staff died.
Triton said it is now supporting the affected.
The miner also said it’s liaising with local authorities and security forces while continuing to assess the situation.
Triton said that ‘no material damage occurred’, with the miner remaining ‘fully committed to the development of the Ancuabe Project’.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by this attack,’ the company concluded.
Triton’s Executive Director Andrew Frazer commented:
‘The management and employees of Triton are devastated by the loss of our colleagues and our focus is on supporting our workforce in the region, and their families.
‘The security, health and safety of employees and contractors is critical to Triton.’
TON share price outlook — risk, reward, and politics
Despite Triton’s tragic update, questions remain.
For one, Triton didn’t disclose whether operations at the Ancuabe project are currently suspended.
Will Triton halt mining activities at the site until the security issues are resolved?
How will this impact the near-term operations at the project?
And can Triton ensure the safety of its workforce going forward?
No doubt the next weeks will see Triton grapple with these questions.
The attacks in Ancuabe highlight the sovereign risk miners incur in choosing to develop assets in politically volatile regions, despite the broader strength in the graphite theme.
Now, while lithium has snatched much attention away from other battery metals, the mass adoption of EVs is set to boost demand in metals like copper, nickel, cobalt…and graphite.
In fact, the flood of capital into the lithium sector is making our team at Money Morning think there’s a much smarter way to play the EV boom.
It involves what you can call lithium’s little brother.
Regards,
Kiryll Prakapenka,
Money Morning
