Name of the Project
Orom-Cross graphite project.

Location
Uganda.

Project Owner/s
Graphite, nickel and copper developer Blencowe Resources.

Project Description
A prefeasibility study (PFS) has highlighted an exceptional long-life project that delivers considerable returns over an initial life-of-mine of 14 years.

An estimated 600 000 t/y of ore will be mined from the commissioning date and this will increase to 2.4-million tonnes a year by the time the project is fully ramped up in Year 10.

Mining will be free-dig, with no drill-and-blast required. Initial ore will come from saprolite (clay) at an average depth of about 15 m to 20 m. Both deposits (Northern syncline and Camp lode) identified in the drilling programmes will be mined and a composite blend of both will be fed into the processing plant that will be built on site.

An initial 36 000 t/y of end-product will be delivered from the plant as concentrates, which will increase in two additional stages to 147 000 t/y once the mine is fully ramped up. 

Further resources, higher production volumes and an extended mine life can all be obtained at any stage by drilling additional ready-targets. This, however, is not currently considered a priority.

The processing flowsheet comprises a flash and rougher flotation stage, followed by a primary cleaning circuit with a polishing mill and three stages of cleaner flotation. The intermediate concentrate is classified and then further upgraded in secondary cleaning circuits using stirred media mills, followed by cleaner flotation.

Orom-Cross will deliver at least five different end-products, characterised by +50 mesh, + 80 mesh, +100 mesh, +150 mesh and -100 mesh. These products will have different markets and will be branded and packaged on site.

Initially, transport to port will be by road, but it is expected that a rail option might be available by 2025, further reducing logistics costs.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $482-million and an internal rate of return of 50%.

Capital Expenditure
The initial capital requirement has been lowered by 23%, to $62-million, since the preliminary economic assessment was announced in 2021. 

Planned Start/End Date
Blencowe will start the main operations from 2025 at an initial output of 36 000 t/y of end-product.

Latest Developments
Blencowe Resources, together with its Chinese partner Jilin New Technology Graphite Co, is nearly done with processing 600 t of raw material.

Blencowe has said this commercial-scale testing, in China, has been crucial to fast-tracking product qualification, bypassing the need for a costly pilot-scale graphite processing facility at site.

Jilin has extensive knowledge of Orom-Cross graphite through this and previous testwork.

Jilin completed a 100 t bulk sample to concentrate for Blencowe in 2023 and has been processing a 600 t bulk sample over the past quarter.

Blencowe describes the yields and recoveries delivered to date as “excellent,” adding that this once again highlights the strong purity and overall characteristics of Orom-Cross graphite.

The programme is expected to deliver about 30 t of 95% to 97% loss on ignition graphite concentrate with a 55:45 mix of small flake/large flake.

Blencowe has said that it will, thereafter, have substantial volumes of small and large flake concentrate for further testing.

End-products will be made available to prospective offtakers as product testing is completed, with most small flake concentrate sent to Blencowe's spheronised purified graphite (SPG) processing partner for further beneficiation to deliver about 10 t of 99.95% uncoated SPG.

The battery-ready product original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) want to test the concentrate before signing offtake agreements.

Blencowe has already announced its first memorandum of understanding (MoU) for offtake for the large flake concentrate.

Through completion of these next steps, the company anticipates signing further MoUs with leading buyers of graphite products worldwide to secure offtake partners for the entire production output from Orom-Cross.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Battery Limits (PFS); IMO (technical testwork); and CPC Engineering (DFS).

Contact Details for Project Information
Blencowe Resources, tel +44 1624 681 250 or email info@blencoweresourcesplc.com.