JV HoT Signed for Anode Materials Production

RNS Number : 5917U

Beowulf Mining PLC

06 December 2021

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR") (EU) No. 596/2014, as incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

6   December 2021

Beowulf Mining plc

("Beowulf" or the "Company")

Joint Venture Heads of Terms Signed for Anode Materials Production in Finland

Beowulf (AIM: BEM; Spotlight: BEO), the mineral exploration and development company, is pleased to announce that its 100 per cent owned Finnish subsidiary Grafintec Oy ("Grafintec") and Epsilon Advanced Materials Private Limited ("Epsilon Advanced Materials"), a subsidiary of Epsilon Carbon Private Limited, have signed a Joint Venture ("JV") Heads of Terms for the establishment of an anode materials production facility to be located in Finland. 

It is intended that the proposed plant will supply battery/cell manufacturing companies in Europe, complementing Epsilon Advanced Materials' growing anode materials business in India.   The plant will be built in two phases, Phase 1 with a production capacity of 10,000 tonnes per annum ("TPA") and Phase 2 which will add 40,000 TPA, taking overall plant capacity to 50,000 TPA of anode material.

During the summer this year, Grafintec was granted funding by Business Finland as part of the BATCircle2.0 (Finland-based Circular Ecosystem of Battery Metals) consortium.  BATCircle2.0 is a key project in Business Finland`s Smart Mobility and Batteries from Finland programmes.  As a critical first step, this grant funding will be used by Grafintec to develop a Bankable Feasibility Study for the plant in Finland, including a detailed strategic marketing and commercialisation plan, based on a comparable plant being developed by Epsilon Advanced Materials in India.

Under the JV, Grafintec (which will own 49% of the JV) and Epsilon Advanced Materials (which will own 51% of the JV) will work together on the study with the ambition of creating a sustainable value chain in Finland from high-quality natural flake graphite resources to anode materials production, leveraging renewable power, targeting net zero CO₂ across the supply chain, benefiting from the significant support of Business Finland and collaboration within the Finnish Battery Cluster.

Kurt Budge, Chief Executive Officer of Beowulf, commented:

"Since March this year, we have had a productive working relationship with Epsilon Advanced Materials. From signing the MoU, to developing ideas through the summer, and my visit to India in September which accelerated our plans.

"With the financial support of Business Finland this summer under BATCircle2.0 and signing the Heads of Terms with Epsilon Advanced Materials, we are looking forward to a busy start to 2022.

"In Epsilon Advanced Materials, we have found a partner that shares our sustainability values and we are looking forward to an exciting future ahead as we seek to establish a Finnish anode materials supply chain."

Vikram Handa, Managing Director of Epsilon Advance Materials Private Limited, commented:

"Over the year, our belief has grown in the opportunity of establishing an anode materials plant in Europe. As we continue to qualify our active anode material portfolio with customers in Europe, we believe that the Epsilon Advanced Materials - Grafintec JV will bring the supply chain closer to our European customers leading to lower risks and enhanced service levels. We are seeking to  leverage Epsilon Advanced Material's technological advances with Finland's natural resources, renewable power and natural flake graphite, and play a full role in the collaborative Finnish Battery Cluster."

Enquiries:

Beowulf Mining plc
Kurt Budge, Chief Executive Officer	Tel: [phone]
SP Angel (Nominated Adviser & Broker)
Ewan Leggat / Stuart Gledhill / Adam Cowl	Tel: [phone]
Blytheweigh
Tim Blythe / Megan Ray	Tel: [phone]

Cautionary Statement

Statements and assumptions made in this document with respect to the Company's current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs, and other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Beowulf. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those using words such as "may", "might", "seeks", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "believes", "projects", "plans", strategy", "forecast" and similar expressions. These statements reflect management's expectations and assumptions in light of currently available information. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to , (i) changes in the economic, regulatory and political environments in the countries where Beowulf operates; (ii) changes relating to the geological information available in respect of the various projects undertaken; (iii) Beowulf's continued ability to secure enough financing to carry on its operations as a going concern; (iv) the success of its potential joint ventures and alliances, if any; (v) metal prices, particularly as regards iron ore. In the light of the many risks and uncertainties surrounding any mineral project at an early stage of its development, the actual results could differ materially from those presented and forecast in this document. Beowulf assumes no unconditional obligation to immediately update any such statements and/or forecast .

About Beowulf Mining plc

Beowulf Mining plc ("Beowulf" or the "Company") is an exploration and development company, listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and the Spotlight Exchange in Sweden.

Beowulf's purpose to be a responsible and innovative company that creates value for our shareholders, wider society and the environment, through sustainably producing critical raw materials, which includes iron ore, graphite and base metals, needed for the transition to a Green Economy and to address the Climate Emergency.

The Company's asset portfolio is diversified by commodity, geography and the development stage of its various projects.

The Company's most advanced project is the Kallak iron ore asset in northern Sweden from which testwork has produced a 'market leading' concentrate of 71.5% iron content.  Across the Company's exploration licences, 389 million tonnes of iron ore mineralisation has been estimated, which represents a potential source of supply for fossil-free steel production in Norrbotten for decades to come.

Grafintec (previously Fennoscandian Resources), a wholly-owned subsidiary, through its Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with Epsilon Advance Materials Limited (" Epsilon Advanced Materials ") is enhancing its position within the Finnish battery ecosystem, collaborating with a strong and innovative technology/processing partner, with plans to develop an anode materials plant in Finland to supply the growing lithium-ion battery sector.

In Kosovo, the Company owns approximately 49.4% of Vardar Minerals ("Vardar"), which is focused on exploration in the Tethyan Belt, a major orogenic metallogenic province for gold and base metals.  Vardar is delivering exciting results for its Mitrovica licence which has several exploration targets, including lead, zinc, copper and gold. It also has the Viti licence which is showing potential for copper-gold porphyry mineralisation. With Beowulf's support, Vardar is focused on making a discovery.

Kallak is the foundation asset of the Company, but with Vardar and Grafintec, the Company has many opportunities to grow, each business area displaying strong prospects.

About Epsilon Advance Materials Private Limited

Epsilon Advanced Materials was established in 2018 to mark its entry into Lithium-Ion Battery space. Its vision is to develop and manufacture innovative, high performance and quality carbon products for anode components of lithium-ion Batteries (LIB). Currently the Company has a commercial capacity of 2,500 TPA for anode precursor material (EMC series) and a pilot facility for coke powder (EMP series) and graphite anodes (EMG series). It will expand the natural graphite flake processing capacity to 25,000 TPA b y 2027 .

Epsilon Advanced Materials is a subsidiary of Epsilon Carbon Private Limited, a leading manufacturer of coal tar derivatives and India's only backward-integrated company with a dedicated source of raw materials. Epsilon Advanced Materials has ambitious plans to grow its capacities and become a full-fledged anode maker in the global LIB supply chain.

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