Date: 02 September
2024
Blencowe Resources
Plc
("Blencowe" or the
"Company")
600 tonne Commercial Scale
Processing of Graphite Successfully Completed to Final
Battery-Ready SPG Product
Orom-Cross Project Advances on several
Definitive Feasibility milestones
Blencowe Resources Plc (LSE: BRES) announces
the successful completion of the last internal stage of the
graphite pre-qualification test program, being upgrading of
substantial quantity of small flake concentrate into battery ready
99.95% uncoated SPG by leading SPG producer, Qingdao TaiDa Carbon
("TaiDa").
Definitive Feasibility Study
Progress
Key DFS milestones now achieved,
including:
·
Metallurgical
testing: Completion of 600 tonne commercial
scale test work on Orom-Cross concentrate.
·
SPG
Production: Large volume of battery-ready
uncoated SPG successfully produced by TaiDa and now sent for
testing by potential tier one Asian customers.
·
Water Borefield
Completion: Essential water borefield at
Orom-Cross now completed.
·
Micronisation
Testing: Successfully completed at AETC in
Chicago producing all five key product ranges.
·
ESIA
Update: Updated Environmental and Social Impact
Assessment submitted for local authority approval.
·
ESG
Update: Successful certification of
Environmental and Social Governance ("ESG"), policies and
procedures.
SPG
Product Samples Shipped - Final Step Toward Offtake
Agreements
Blencowe has processed fine flake concentrate
into commercial scale volumes of high quality uncoated SPG (99.95%
spheronised, purified graphite) via graphite industry leader TaiDa,
and commenced delivery of samples to potential tier one customers
in South Korea and Japan for their in-house testing. This is the
final step for qualification of Orom-Cross material for commercial
use by these potential customers and is the pathway toward securing
future offtake agreements. Samples are also being supplied to major
Chinese battery manufacturers.
Senior management are currently visiting the
testing firms along with various Asian OEMs to advance discussions
towards offtake agreements.
Additional Value-Added Testing Completed
Blencowe has successfully concluded further
testing with leading US graphite expert American Energy
Technologies ("AETC") in Chicago to further beneficiate fines
concentrate into a range of high value specialised micronised
products. These niche products, offering up to 10
times the value of basic fines concentrate, can add significant
additional value to Orom-Cross ahead and are thus being integrated
into the DFS plant design and overall production strategy.
Samples will now be tested by potential offtakers as the next step
towards sale agreements.
Uganda Operations Update
Blencowe has submitted an updated ESIA to
reflect the revised Orom-Cross operation plan, enhancing content of
environmental and social commitments to align with guidelines from
potential funding parties.
A water borefield at Orom-Cross has also been
completed, ensuring sustainable life-of-mine water supply for the
project and local communities. The project also included
refurbishing bores and establishing water supplies for the local
school and clinic as part of Blencowe's social
commitment.
Blencowe has also successfully achieved ESG
accreditation through well-known industry agency, Digbee ESG, for
its current policies and planning on ESG. This certification is a
major step towards satisfying both the investment community and
industry expectations for sustainable and environmentally
responsible operations at Orom-Cross.
Significant progress continues within the DFS,
including plant design, power supply studies, and infrastructure
development.
Cameron Pearce, Executive Chairman
commented;
"We continue to make solid progress, including the completion
of the 600-tonne bulk sample metallurgical test work from source
material to battery-ready products. We aim to build on our initial
offtake agreement already announced (for 15,000tpa large flake
concentrate) and gain further endorsement from potential tier one
consumers of SPG. Once we have assembled a range of customers and
offtake agreements, we have effectively de-risked the project ahead
of project financing and construction, therefore the next few
months will be highly value accretive for the
Company.
We expect this final external customer testing,
including shipping product within Asia, to take approximately one
month to complete, and thereafter we will be able to discuss
offtake agreements with our senior management team visiting various
Asian parties regularly."
For further information please
contact:
Twitter https://twitter.com/BlencoweRes
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/72382491/admin/
Background
Orom-Cross Graphite
Project
Orom-Cross is a potential world class graphite
project both by size and end-product quality, with a high component
of more valuable larger coarse flakes within the
deposit.
A 21-year Mining Licence for the project was
issued by the Ugandan Government in 2019 following extensive
historical work on the deposit. Blencowe completed a
successful Pre-Feasibility Study on the Project in July 2022 and is
now within the Definitive Feasibility Study phase as it drives
towards first production.
Orom-Cross presents as a large, shallow
open-pitable deposit, with an initial JORC Indicated & Inferred
Mineral Resource of 24.5Mt @ 6.0% TGC (Total Graphite Content).
This Resource has been defined from only ~2% of the total tenement
area which presents considerable upside potential ahead.
Development of the resource is expected to benefit from a low strip
ratio and free dig operations together with abundant inexpensive
hydro-electric power off the national grid, thereby ensuring low
operating costs. With all major infrastructure available at
or near to site the capital costs will also be relatively low in
comparison to most graphite peers.
