Tag Archives: cpc

Blencowe Resources Plc (LSE: BRES) is pleased to announce results of the recently completed Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”) for its 100%-owned Orom-Cross graphite project in Uganda.  The DFS assesses an initial 15 year Life of Mine (“LOM”); with only ~2% of the deposit drilled, the Company expects significant Life of Mine extensions as further drilling converts additional resources to reserves.

The DFS has been managed and signed off by Independent consultants, CPC Engineering (“CPC”), one of the world’s leading graphite technical experts responsible for feasibility work on tier-one developments such as ASX listed Syrah Resources’ Balama project and ASX listed Black Rock Mining’s Mahenge project.

The DFS showcases Orom-Cross as a Tier-1 graphite project, delivering strong margins from a low capital base, and incorporating a downstream beneficiation facility to produce uncoated spheronised purified graphite product (“USPG”) in-country.

Completion of this independent DFS marks the single most important technical milestone in the Company’s history and formally transitions Orom-Cross into the financing and development phase.

DFS Highlights:

·    Net Present Value (NPV10): US$1.087 Billion

·    Internal Rate of Return (IRR10): 96%

·    All in Sustaining Costs (AISC): US$485/t over LOM (lowest quartile globally)

·    Free Cash Flow: US$2.034 Billion over initial 15 years LOM

·    Average Annual EBITDA: US$230 million per annum over LOM

·    Phase 1 Production (“P1”): Smaller scale, fast-track operation targeting first production in 1H-2027 (20,000 tpa concentrate with micronised products)

·    Downstream Value-Add: In-country beneficiation facility to produce purified graphite.

·    Phase 2 Production (“P2”): Expansion to 70,000 tpa concentrate and 20,000 tpa USPG nearby.

·    Scalability: Long-term pathway to 175,000 tpa concentrates and 80,000 tpa purified products.

·    Offtake: Non-binding offtake agreements already in place for all planned P1 Production.

·    Lowest Quartile Total Capital Requirement of US$160 million comprising:

o  US$40 million for P1, delivering up to 20,000 tpa concentrate

o  US$120 million for P2, lifting up to 70,000 tpa concentrate and up to 20,000 tpa USPG

o  Significant contingency included within these capital estimates.

·    All further expansions post-P2 to be funded entirely from internal cash flow

Project Strategy

Orom-Cross will commence with P1 Production, a smaller-scale, fast-track development delivering up to 20,000tpa of 96% TGC concentrates by 1H-2027.  P1 is designed to be profitable from first production, materially reducing financial risk.  Offtake agreements covering all planned P1 volumes are already in place.

With the DFS now complete, the immediate next step is securing the P1 project financing package, which becomes the Company’s primary corporate focus. This funding package will initiate ordering, construction and commissioning. Once P1 production begins and product quality is demonstrated at scale the Company expects additional offtake interest, particularly given the scarcity of new high-quality graphite projects coming online.

Within two years of P1 commissioning, Blencowe intends to implement P2 Production, expanding mine output up to 70,000tpa of concentrate.  A downstream beneficiation facility will be built near to Orom-Cross to upgrade small flake concentrate to 99.95% TGC USPG, initially producing up to 20,000tpa.  This facility will expand in sync with mine scale-up and will serve as a long-term captive offtaker for Orom-Cross concentrates over life of mine. This will position Orom-Cross among the few commercial-scale producers of 99.95% USPG outside of China, and the first in Africa.

Beyond P2 Production, Orom-Cross is expected to expand in stages toward 175,000tpa concentrate and 80,000tpa USPG, funded entirely by internally generated cash flow and marking a pathway to becoming an industry leading producer of both concentrates and high-value purified graphite, aligning with accelerating global demand for ex-China graphite supply.

Sales and Marketing

·    Blencowe continues to use leading global graphite sales and marketing specialists, expanding commercial networks and progressing additional offtake opportunities.

·    In 2025, 700 tonnes of Orom-Cross raw material was processed and bulk sample end products were delivered to graphite end users worldwide for extensive test work and evaluation.

·    Non-binding offtakes covering all P1 volumes will convert to binding agreements on P1 financing.

·    SAFELOOP (EU Gen3 battery initiative) volumes remains outside the DFS as the programme remains under development; however, a substantial additional Tier-1 offtake opportunity will likely emerge from 2028 onwards once SAFELOOP commercialises.

·    Continued interest from battery, industrial and specialty-materials sectors reinforces the strategic importance of reliable, high-quality ex-China graphite supply.

Orom-Cross will continue to scale in line with contracted market demand, ensuring disciplined and commercially led expansion. Ongoing engagement with a broad global end-user network remains central to the expansion strategy.

Next Steps: Pathway to P1 Funding and First Production

Completion of the DFS provides Blencowe with a fully defined, independently verified and finance-ready project, marking the transition into the execution phase of development.

Together with its corporate advisor WaterBorne Capital, the Company is advancing a financing solution for P1 Production with active engagement underway with:

·    Development finance institutions (DFIs)

·    Strategic industry partners

·    Institutional investors

·    Government and quasi-government funding bodies

Several promising structures are under evaluation. Blencowe’s target is to secure P1 financing by end-1Q 2026, enabling ordering, shipping and construction through 2026, and first production targeted for 1H 2027.

Importantly, the Company expects P1 financing to be primarily funded through non-Blencowe plc equity structures. The combination of strong DFS economics, low capex, secured offtake and integrated downstream value-add support a balanced funding package designed to minimise plc equity dilution.

P2 financing is expected to adopt a more traditional debt-plus-strategic-partner approach. With the DFS complete, formal engagement will now begin with groups that have shown interest, including the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the African Finance Corporation (AFC), and other Tier-1 institutions. P2 financing will run in parallel with P1 execution, supporting a rapid scale-up to commercial production.

All expansions beyond P2 are expected to be funded entirely from internally generated cash flow. Blencowe believes that demand for all its products will rise substantially over the next few years, especially once Orom-Cross is in production, and the Company needs to prepare for scaled growth.

SPG Beneficiation Facility

The downstream graphite beneficiation facility will be constructed near Gulu, approximately 150 kms from Orom-Cross and adjacent to existing hydropower infrastructure. The facility will:

·      Process Orom-Cross concentrate into battery-ready 99.95% TGC USPG.

·      Utilise low-cost, renewable hydroelectricity available through Ugandan national grid.

·      Produce both high-value USPG and saleable by-products.

·      Expand modularity in line with mine output.

·      Function as a long-term captive offtaker for up to 50% of Orom-Cross concentrate (small flake concentrate).

This integrated upstream-downstream model positions Blencowe as one of the very few ex-China suppliers capable of providing high-specification purified graphite to global battery and industrial markets.

Key Performance Indicators

The following represents the KPIs for Orom-Cross initial operations as envisaged within the DFS:

Capital Comparison (PFS vs DFS)

Whilst the full capital requirement has risen since the PFS (2022) there are several important factors to consider in making comparisons:

·    Orom-Cross will have a smaller, lower risk initial phase (P1) production which was not part of the PFS scope.

·    Orom-Cross will deliver 70,000tpa concentrates by P2 in the DFS, versus 50,000tpa at startup within the PFS.

·    The DFS includes micronisation plant and equipment which was not part of the PFS scope.

·    The DFS also incorporates a 20,000tpa downstream beneficiation facility, compared to zero downstream production in the PFS.

·    Inflation since 2022 has increased capital and operating cost inputs across the sector.

Despite these factors, Orom-Cross delivers a significantly more profitable operation for the capital deployed, as demonstrated by the increase in valuation metrics:

·    NPV10: US$1.087Bn in DFS vs NPV8: US$482M in PFS

·    IRR10 96% in DFs vs 49% in PFS

·    Higher discount rate used in (10% DFS versus 8% PFS)

Project Benchmarking

Orom-Cross compares extremely favourably with global graphite peers, demonstrating:

·    Lowest-quartile capital and operating costs.

·    Robust margins and over US$2 billion in free cash flow over initial 15-year mine life.

·    With only ~2% of the licence drilled, substantial additional reserve growth and life of mine extensions is anticipated as new graphite deposits are incorporated.

·    Premium product quality supporting strong pricing and long-term demand.

A further updated JORC resource is anticipated in 1Q 2026, incorporating results from an additional 192 step-out holes, including new deposits at Iyan and Beehive.

De-Risking

The DFS together with its world class KPIs, materially de-risks Orom-Cross across technical, financial and commercial dimensions. All capital and operating assumptions have been generated using current input costs validated by technical experts CPC Engineering.

Local infrastructure is largely already in place, and preparatory works can begin immediately following completion of P1 financing.

Non-binding offtake agreements cover all planned P1 Production and these will transition to binding status post-financing. Additional offtake interest is expected post-DFS, particularly given the diverse mix of Western and Asian end-users currently testing Orom-Cross products, including Tier-1 groups such as US DoW, and the EU SAFELOOP initiative.

The Company’s Community Agreement and strong Ugandan Government support provide a stable local operating platform, and key technical relationships (AET, TaiDa Graphite, ADT and others) remain in place, while Orom-Cross’s Minerals Security Partnership accreditation continues to support engagement with strategic funders and offtakers.

As the project advances toward construction, Blencowe will expand its executive and operational teams to support the transition to P1 production.

Market Outlook

Blencowe believes that demand for natural flake graphite, particularly high-purity anode material such as that produced at Orom-Cross and the SPG facility, will grow materially over the medium term.  Graphite remains an essential, non-substitutable component of lithium-ion batteries used for energy storage and EVs. Supply is forecast to tighten sharply as global decarbonisation accelerates.

Orom-Cross is exceptionally well positioned as a near-term producer with a defined development pathway. Once in production, the Project will be highly leveraged to rising graphite prices, with its low operating costs ensuring strong margins across a wide range of market conditions. Any future supply deficits or price increases would further amplify the already robust DFS economics.

With a diverse network of relationships across Western and Asian markets, Blencowe intends to prioritise niche and premium applications to maximise returns – a strategy that will strengthen further as purified USPG output commences. The Project also benefits from additional drilled but undeveloped deposits (Beehive and Iyan) that can be rapidly converted to support higher production if required.

Cameron Pearce, Executive Chairman commented:

“I would like the thank the entire Blencowe team and all our associated consultants for their exceptional work over the past two years to deliver this outstanding DFS. Achieving such strong NPV and IRR metrics from a relatively low capital base is a world-class outcome. It is rare to see a project with such consistently strong fundamentals across scale, cost structure, margins and downstream potential.”

“This Study marks a transformational moment for Blencowe clearly demonstrating the scale, quality and longevity of Orom-Cross as we move into the financing and development phase. The DFS confirms Orom-Cross as a Tier-1 graphite project and our focus now turns to the financing process and delivering first production as our next major goals.”

“With the Project now considerably de-risked, graphite markets improving, and a clear pathway to become a major ex-China supplier, we believe Blencowe is exceptionally well positioned for a meaningful re-rating as investors realise the scale of the opportunity ahead.”

For further information please contact:

Twitter https://twitter.com/BlencoweRes

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/72382491/admin/