London-listed Blencowe Resources has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Italian graphite processing company Alkeemia to provide toll beneficiation and purification services for graphite from its Orom-Cross project, in Uganda, establishing a European downstream processing pathway outside China.

On January 23, Blencowe said the nonbinding agreement would result in graphite from Orom-Cross being processed at a purification facility being developed by Alkeemia in Italy, providing Blencowe with access to cleaner, lower-toxicity processing technology and an alternative to conventional Chinese purification routes.

The arrangement is intended to support Blencowe’s downstream strategy as the Orom-Cross project advances towards production.

Under the terms of the LoI, Alkeemia has made an initial allocation of up to 1 000 t/y of processing capacity for Blencowe, with the intention of increasing volumes over time as both companies expand their operations. The toll treatment model allows Blencowe to access downstream markets without committing to immediate large-scale capital expenditure on its own purification facilities.

The agreement follows testwork announced by Blencowe on January 15, which demonstrated that graphite from Orom-Cross can be purified to 99.99% carbon content using Alkeemia’s proprietary European technology. This purity level is recognised as the highest commercially accepted standard and qualifies the product for sale into niche end-markets that require ultrahigh-purity graphite.

Blencowe said the purification process offered by Alkeemia was simpler and faster than traditional Chinese methods and used lower-toxicity inputs. The company added that cleaner processing technologies were increasingly required by European and US offtakers and funding bodies, particularly in battery and energy transition supply chains.

The company said the Europe-based purification route aligned with growing US and European policy focus on securing critical mineral supply chains and reducing reliance on Chinese-controlled processing.

Blencowe added that the arrangement also strengthened its ability to engage with European offtakers, strategic partners and funding institutions, where local processing and traceable supply chains were increasingly prioritised.

Blencowe said the toll treatment option provided near-term downstream flexibility while it continued to pursue longer-term plans to develop in-country spherical purified graphite processing in Uganda.

The company said it viewed the LoI as an important step in de-risking its downstream strategy, while preserving optionality as Orom-Cross moves closer to production.

The company added that establishing a European purification pathway may improve access to European funding initiatives, where local processing, environmental standards and supply chain transparency are key criteria.

Blencowe said this strengthened its positioning in ongoing discussions with European stakeholders across offtake, strategic partnerships and funding.

Blencowe is already an exclusive supplier of natural flake graphite into the EU SAFELOOP initiative, which forms part of the EU’s €100-billion Project Horizon energy transition programme.

"This LoI with Alkeemia represents a significant strategic step for Blencowe, providing a credible European purification pathway for Orom-Cross graphite using cleaner, innovative processing technology.

“As Orom-Cross advances towards production and Alkeemia continues to develop its facilities in Italy, this relationship is expected to support increasing scale and to act as a platform to bring further European offtake opportunities into play.

“With China announcing export controls on lithium battery products, equipment and processing technologies, alternatives delivered through Alkeemia have the potential to play a substantial role in supporting the transition of international markets towards purified graphite products produced outside of China,” Blencowe executive chairperson Cameron Pearce said.

Alkeemia CEO Lorenzo Di Donato added that the testwork had confirmed the technical suitability of Orom-Cross graphite for the Italian company’s purification process.

"Testwork has confirmed that Orom-Cross graphite responds well to our purification process, achieving very high purity levels suitable for demanding niche end-user applications.

“We see this as the beginning of a constructive partnership, with the potential to expand processing volumes over time and support the development of European-aligned graphite supply chains,” he said.