REG - Blencowe Resources - Conversion of 600t bulk sample to concentrate

Blencowe ResourcesAnnouncement

05/07/2024 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20240705:nRSE2348Va&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 2348V  Blencowe Resources PLC  05 July 2024

Date: 05 July 2024                             Blencowe
Resources Plc

 
               ("Blencowe" or the "Company")

 

Conversion of 600 tonnes bulk sample to Graphite Concentrate

Key step successfully achieved to qualify end products for Offtake Agreements

 

Blencowe Resources is pleased to report it has completed a critical step in
commercial scale testing, by converting 600 tonnes of in situ raw material
into 30 tonnes of graphite concentrate. The 600 tonnes bulk sample conversion
was undertaken by Jilin New Technology Graphite Co. ("Jilin"), a market leader
in graphite processing, with results reconfirming the attractive qualities of
Orom-Cross graphite.

Highlights:

·    Commercial Scale delivery of concentrate: 600 tonnes of raw material
shipped to China several months ago has now been successfully upgraded to 30
tonnes of 96% concentrate.

·    Maintaining High Quality: testing indicates that the Orom-Cross
concentrate delivered in this sample size maintains the same high quality as
previous smaller scale tests.

·    Bulk concentrate available: Blencowe now has substantial quantity of
both large and small flake concentrate products to apply further testing for
potential offtakers.

·    Final Stage testing on Small Flakes: Leading SPG producer Qindao
Taida Carbon Co Ltd ("Taida") to beneficiate 20 tonnes of small flake
concentrate into 10 tonnes of 99.95% uncoated SPG (spheronised purified
graphite) over the next one month as the final step in the qualification
process.

·    Ongoing Tier-One Discussions: The bulk sample testing and
qualification process is going to plan, with the end goal ultimately being
offtake agreements with several tier one partners.

·    Hurdle achieved for further DFC grant funds: The completion of this
stage of the test work is one of the milestones for another tranche of DFC
grant funding to be released shortly.

 

Jilin Concentrate

Jilin, who successfully completed a 100 tonne bulk sample for Blencowe in
2023, has now completed a 600t bulk sample to concentrates.  Approximately 30
tonnes of concentrate has been produced, which represents a substantial sample
size for the Company to use for ongoing trials at various offtakers, for both
large and small flake products.

Test results indicate a very high quality 96% concentrate for small flake
products and 96-97% concentrate for large flake products (+100mesh, +80mesh
and +50mesh).  The concentrate mix is 55/45 as small/large flakes.

Jilin has already highlighted its support for the larger flake Orom-Cross
concentrate product by signing an MOU for 15,000tpa, which was announced to
the market in May 2024.

 

Next Step: SPG Production

Work has now begun at one of the most experienced graphite beneficiation
companies in the world, Qingdao Taida Carbon Co Ltd, to deliver 10 tonnes of
high quality uncoated SPG product from the small flake concentrate.  This has
been successfully completed previously via smaller scale testing but this will
be the first commercial scale delivery of SPG from Orom-Cross to provide
necessary samples for high profile tier one offtakers to test in their own
facilities.  Once the OEM testing is completed by end of the June quarter
Orom-Cross will effectively be qualified and have the ability to move to
offtake agreements for all end products used in batteries.

Taida has been producing uncoated SPG for over two decades and has one of the
most advanced facilities in China, and is generally regarded as one of the
leading experts in anode-ready graphite products worldwide.  Having Taida
expertise manage Orom-Cross concentrate through to SPG is a key advantage as
this company has the skill and prowess to deliver the best end results.

Blencowe is developing a broader graphite strategy to incorporate downstream
processing in Uganda to deliver 99.95% SPG made in-country, and will be
looking to include leading experts such as Taida within that strategy.  This
proposed facility would be the first commercial scale SPG operation outside of
China and Blencowe would produce a valuable downstream product that other
graphite mining peers cannot easily replicate.  The Company will continue to
provide updates as this strategy evolves.

Offtake Agreements

The process to complete all necessary metallurgical test work, including bulk
sample testing, is a pre-requisite for all graphite miners that want to sell
their end products into battery markets.  End users are particularly
discerning and will not consider offtake agreements until this work is
adequately completed and qualification is therefore attained.  Blencowe has
been guided through this process by parties who have successfully completed
this qualification previously, and using experts who understand the nuances of
all the products, and how to get the best out of what Orom-Cross has to offer.

The end target is offtake agreements for 100% of the products that Blencowe
will mine and process from Orom-Cross, and to achieve the highest quality that
builds strong tier one relationships and delivers the highest prices.  The
Company is moving swiftly towards qualification and with that the potential
for offtake partnerships with some of the leading brand names in this
business.

Funding

The completion of the conversion of raw material into concentrate represents
one of the milestones to allow for further DFC (Development Finance
Corporation) grant funds to be released shortly.

 

Executive Chairman Cameron Pearce commented:

"We have highlighted this bulk sample test requirement as a key component of
the Definitive Feasibility Study and we have undergone this process using some
of the most experienced graphite producers in the world, and in doing so we
have opened some interesting doors for additional value-add strategy.  We
will continue to press forward to get to our goal of having tier one offtake
agreements in place as soon as possible for all of our end products, which
will underline the unique status of Blencowe Resources as a standout graphite
producer for the future."

 

For further information please contact:

   Blencowe Resources Plc

  Sam Quinn                 www.blencoweresourcesplc.com

                            Tel: +44 (0)1624 681 250

                            info@blencoweresourcesplc.com (mailto:info@blencoweresourcesplc.com)
 Investor Relations         Tel: +44 (0) 7891 677 441

 Sasha Sethi                sasha@flowcomms.com (mailto:sasha@flowcomms.com)
 Tavira Financial           Tel: +44 (0)20 3192 1733

 Jonathan Evans             jonathan.evans@tavira.group (mailto:jonathan.evans@tavira.group)

Twitter https://twitter.com/BlencoweRes (https://twitter.com/BlencoweRes)

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/72382491/admin/
(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 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 and Blencowe 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 a maiden
JORC Indicated & Inferred Mineral Resource deposit of 24.5Mt @ 6.0% Total
Graphite Content. Development of the resource is expected to benefit from a
low strip ratio and free dig operations, thereby ensuring lower operating and
capital costs.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  MSCFLFFRDIISIIS