Blencowe Resources (BRES ) said work is underway ‘in all facets’ to deliver a high quality pre-feasibility study ("PFS") at the Orom-Cross graphite project by mid-year target date.
The Orom-Cross graphite project, located in Uganda, is a substantial graphite deposit with an estimated 2-3 billion tonnes, of which twenty years life of mine has already been drilled out.
Due to the deposit being so vast that this represents less than 1% of the estimated graphite within the tenements, the graphite is shallow and the company will therefore be mining to just 25 metres which means low cost mining from a free dig open cut operation, it explained.
While a preliminary economic assessment has provided the basis for a large-scale 75,000tpa graphite operation at Oromo-Cross, Blencowe intends to scale this down in the early years to allow for a lower risk, lower capex start-up, around 25,000tpa of high grade concentrate.
The company said there will be provision for ramping this plant size and production rate up quickly over the first ten years to accommodate what is expected to be a surge in demand for flake graphite, predominantly for use within lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).
Blencowe said it is working closely with its technical partner, Battery Limits, to deliver a low cost mining operation that will put the project ‘in the lowest percentile of worldwide graphite producers,; which provides more margin and earnings and de-risks the operation significantly.
Blencowe is awaiting the revised JORC Resource estimate, based on a 2021 infill drilling programme, and its geological partner Minrom is expected to provide this update shortly.
This JORC Resource is expected to increment the 16Mt at 6.0% TGC and provide additional tonnes that can be utilised for a much longer mine life than previously indicated in the PEA.
It said work is also being completed on phase three metallurgical test work to refine the end products that will be delivered as concentrate from Orom-Cross, with results expected shortly.
The company explained that phase two met test work indicated a high quality array of end products that should be sought after in the market. Meanwhile, phase three is expected to underline this further ‘by confirming the marketable characteristics of the different mesh size products and producing concentrates for consumer testing prior to pilot plant production.’
One of the key additions within the PFS is the expectation that Blencowe will deliver a pilot plant by 2023 in order to produce small quantities of these same end products to pre-qualify sales into end users. This is seen as a necessary and integral step to sell higher quantities of graphite concentrate from 2025 when the main plant is expected to be commissioned, it said.
Furthermore, Blencowe is also looking at all options to deliver green graphite products via a project that leans heavily on renewable energy and other sustainable components. It said this is seen as “a very important objective within the PFS and the strategy moving beyond.”
Executive Chairman, Cameron Pearce, commented: "Blencowe is moving quickly to establish itself as a producer of premier grade green graphite products, delivered at a low operating cost to both de-risk and to ensure highest possible margins. The PFS is exploring all options, including a pilot plant from 2023 as a precursor to the main plant commissioned by 2025.”
He said graphite demand is forecast to expand considerably from 2025 onwards and that Blencowe “wants to be positioned by then not only as a producer but also ready and able to expand quickly and cost-effectively to take advantage of growing worldwide demand.”
He added: “Events in Eastern Europe over the past month have underlined the importance of supply chain diversification and we aim to provide a high quality alternative supply route for a key battery metal, within a low risk location. We have also recently added a highly prospective nickel sulphide project into our portfolio as well, to further expand our upside.
We have come a long way in the 2 years since we acquired Orom-Cross, and the upswing in demand that we are seeing for the products we will produce has fully justified our strategy.”
Follow News & Updates from Blencowe Resources: