DFS Update

Blencowe Resources PLC

11 December 2023

 

Date: 11 December 2023                               Blencowe Resources

Orom-Cross Graphite Project Continues Progress on DFS Components

Project works continue towards staged DFC Milestone compliance

Highlights:

·    Blencowe has successfully completed the excavational and preparation for export of an additional 600 tonne bulk sample from Orom-Cross.

·    Test work nearing completion on environmentally sustainable tailings disposal options.

·    Expandability test work completed by leading Chinese graphite laboratory at Wuhan University.

·    Further test work on expandability nearing completion by a leading US graphite producer.

Blencowe Resources Plc ("Blencowe" or the "Company"), is pleased to provide an update of the progress of significant works currently underway across four continents as part of the DFS for its Orom-Cross graphite project in Northern Uganda. Test work is currently nearing completion on a number of phases critical for the meeting of staged milestone payments from the DFC and also for additional discussions with potential off-take firms, specifically for the large flake product generated by the project.

Blencowe has progressed the excavation and packaging of an additional 600 tonne bulk sample for processing at the Jilian New Technology ("Jilian") pilot plant facility in China. This is over and above the initial 100 tonne bulk sample that was successfully processed by Jilian earlier in the year.  This larger sample will be used to confirm consistency of end products delivered via commercial scale processing and it will also provide larger quantities of tailings for test work on environmentally friendly tailings disposal.  In addition it will also provide larger scale bulk samples of concentrates for SPG testing. These will be used to confirm the downstream options for the project and provide larger samples of several tonnes to various tier one potential battery off-takers who have requested same for commercial quality testing.

Tailings test work is nearing completion at IMO in Western Australia in line with the Company's philosophy to be one of the greenest graphite producers worldwide. Test work completed to date has shown that the Company can remove up to 80% of the sulphur in the tailings and achieve significant benefits with drying the tailings and removal of acid drainage and wet tailings disposal.  With the substantial advantage of powering the entire mining operation via hydro-energy from the Ugandan national grid Blencowe wants to go even further in its quest for maximum sustainability, as top ESG credentials will be a major advantage ahead as well as a key differentiator to most other graphite projects that cannot match this.

Expandability test work on the large flake from the Orom-Cross concentrate has again demonstrated the high quality and purity of the Orom-Cross graphite from all the laboratories which have indicated expansion volumes at the higher ends of industry average for moderate dosages of oxidant and acid wash. This coupled with the quality of the fines concentrate confirms overall highest quality and purity of the Orom-Cross end product in all graphite market segments.  This will bode well for offtake contracts and sales volumes.

Blencowe is now proceeding with additional metallurgical test work for other specialised market segments and to consider downstream processing as part of an enhanced value-add strategy for the project.  More will be announced on this as detailed work progresses ahead.

All of the work items noted above are key actions within the US$5 million Grant Agreement signed with the Development Finance Corporation ("DFC"), and completion of these milestones will unlock the next tranches of funding.

Executive Chairman Cameron Pearce commented:

"Blencowe is making progress on all parts of the Definitive Feasibility Study with key actions currently underway in Uganda, China, Australia and the United States respectively.  We are very pleased with all results to date and we will continue to add value to this world class project."

Mr Pearce added "Orom-Cross is one of the few graphite projects worldwide with the critical three inflection point factors all in play together, being lowest percentile capital cost, lowest percentile operating cost and highest purity of end products.  Not many other graphite projects have all of these together and any one of them out of sync creates big problems.  Add to this a very sustainable project with significant ESG advantages and Orom-Cross becomes almost unique.  These are what will ultimately allow Blencowe to secure offtake contracts, fund the project, and bring Orom-Cross into production once we have completed the DFS.  Our feasibility study continues to highlight these advantages and we will use them to showcase the quality of the asset that we are developing."

For further information please contact:

Blencowe Resources Plc  Sam Quinn	www.blencoweresourcesplc.com Tel: [phone] [e-mail]
Investor Relations Sasha Sethi	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]
Tavira Financial Jonathan Evans	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]
First Equity Limited Jason Robertson	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]

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 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 in the Definitive Feasibility Study phase shortly 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.

 

END