Five years after its IPO and the acquisition of the Orom-Cross Graphite Project in Uganda, Blencowe Resources Plc (LSE:BRES) is on course for end of 2025 production.
Millions of dollars in grant funding from the United States International Development Finance Corporation, high net worth backing, government approval, successful reconnaissance in China and discussions with South Korean graphite importer Posco are some of the myriad elements bringing the production timeline into actuality.
Chief executive Mike Ralston is now focussing on the Definitive Feasibility Study for the project. It’s not yet been completed, but already he’s confident that the US dollars per tonne life-of-mining costs can be shaved from $500 to a possible $400. He’s also got a small plant by the end of next year firmly in his sights.
“Once we're comfortable that we're doing things properly and we're delivering the recoveries and the grades that we need to, then we can upscale it to the 50,000 tonne, which is what we're looking to do as phase two. It's going to be a staged process as we go forward. But I think that that's a lower risk option to take, rather than throwing all this capex at something that's untitled and tested and we want to make sure that we get it right.”
Getting it right is shared by the many offtakers who are interested in the product. That is comforting, but Ralston is getting his funding ducks in a row first in the form of government grants and non-dilutive consortium investment. “At the end of the day, you can have all the off takers in the world. But if you can't raise the money to build it, it's not going to happen.”
In this interview with focusIR, investors will also learn:
Why Uganda is one of the safest mining jurisdictions in Africa
How a close relationship with China is advantageous for the progression of the business
The amount of interest from end users of graphite
Why graphite is a non-replaceable essential for the EV economy
How Blencowe intends to become an independent operation with in house downstream facilities
The extent the company is supported by the government and a consortium of high net worths
Ralston’s step-by-step strategy to get into modest production by the end of 2025 is one supported by the Ugandan government, high net worths and existing practitioners who are willing to share their expertise with the junior with a Tier One project. “We've got a unique project. Low operating costs, low capex, purity of product and an added downstream strategy. And we think we're pretty unique in having all of those because not many projects do. If you like graphite, we see Blencowe as one of the unique standout Tier One projects to be invested into going forward.”
