GreenRoc Mining (GROC) , a Greenland-focused critical metals explorer, has raised £470k via a placing of 12.3 million shares at 3.8p a share, matching yesterday's closing price.
GreenRoc said it will put the proceeds toward finalisation of the preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its flagship Amitsoq graphite project in Southern Greenland. Proceeds will also be used for lab preparation of graphite samples as requested by a potential customer, field sampling in relation Amitsoq's Environmental and Social Impact Assessment studies, and to test processing of Amitsoq graphite by new flotation cells developed by FLSmidth & Co.
Alba Mineral Resources (ALBA) , which currently owns 54% of GreenRoc Mining, participated with c. 3 million placing shares. Following the placing, Alba will hold c. 63 million shares, equivalent to 43% of GreenRoc's issued capital.
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GreenRoc shares gained on the £470k fundraise undertaken at the company's current share price, that will be used to accelerate Amitsoq's timeline to production. Alba and other major shareholders' significant participation indicate continuing confidence on the part of investors in the project's strong economics.
Part of the funding will be used to complete Amitsoq's PEA, which will assess all key aspects of a future graphite mining operation, based on a projection of annual mining of 400,000t of ore for the production of c. 80,000t of graphite concentrate. The PEA is on track for release in September, and should assist significantly in the next round of discussions with potential customers.
Last week, GreenRoc announced it was in discussions with a potential offtake customer who had requested graphite samples in order to conduct its own testwork, adding to other ongoing discussions with potential offtake partners, indicating clear demand for Amitsoq graphite. GreenRoc is in the final stages of separating a large 700kg bulk sample of graphite ore with the assistance of UVR-FIA, that will be used for further testwork and to provide material for analysis by more potential customers. The concentrate material is expected to be available in autumn 2023.
The abovementioned Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Social Impact Assessment (SIA) are also on track for delivery in 2024, helped by today's fundraise. In August, primary field sampling for Amitsoq's EIA will complete, marking a significant milestone. Equally crucial is the submission of the SIA to the Ministry of Mineral Resources, initiating the negotiation process with the government of Greenland toward exploitation permitting. Coupled with the PEA coming in September, this gives investors much to look forward to before the end of the year.
Regarding the new flotation cells mentioned in today's release - these REFLUX cells were recently developed by FLSmidth, and have shown to vastly improve recovery rates while reducing ore processing time, power and water consumption, capital and running costs, and space needs for several different ore types. Positive results from an initial 200kg sample test will determine if the cells are the right processing technique for Amitsoq.
Overall, GreenRoc's flagship Amitsoq asset has proven one of the highest-grade graphite deposits in the world, with a resource estimate of 23.05 Mt at an average grade of 20.41% graphite, following January's 3x resource increase. Graphite is a key metal in the production of EV batteries, and earlier this year GreenRoc confirmed that Amitsoq graphite could be purified to exceed the EV battery requirement of 99.95%. With global demand for graphite expected to soar, Amitsoq's vast deposit is set to play a key role in the transition to net zero.
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