In its earnings report for the December quarter, the company said it is considering the current pandemic-related travel restrictions as well as the improved graphite market.

Once a decision is made to the affirmative, it said it will be able to restart work "promptly"; restart lead time, it added, would be about two to three months.

Syrah's decision in March 2020 to suspend production was tied to COVID-19, specifically the restrictions put into place for travel that limited the movements of its workers.

"Syrah continues to assess options to further reduce the operating cost base and improve the ESG credentials at Balama upon restart of production," the company said.

"To this end, Syrah signed a MoU with Solar Century Africa Ltd during the [December] quarter to progress a solar and battery storage hybrid power system to work in conjunction with the existing diesel generation power plant at Balama."

Balama, which sold 163,000 tonnes to the global market in 2019, is Syrah's flagship operation. It is located in the Cabo Delgado province and has a life of mine of about 50 years.