Vox Markets Logo

Blencowe Resources delivers JORC Mineral Resource Estimate at Orom-Cross

06:47, 13th April 2021
Francesca Morgan
Vox Newswire
TwitterFacebookLinkedIn

Blencowe Resources (BRES FOLLOW) has released its maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate at its 100% owned Orom-Cross graphite project in Uganda which it acquired back in April 2020. 

Orom-Cross is considered a potential world class graphite project both by size and end-product quality, with a high component of larger flakes identified from previous work.

The Company initiated its 2020 drilling program at the Orom-Cross graphite project, targeting a small part of the estimated 3 billion tonnes graphite deposit at the site. 

It aimed to establish a maiden JORC Mineral Resource of around 8-10Mt, being sufficient to provide the basis for an initial 25Kt per annum mining operation for the first ten years. 

Blencowe said its maiden JORC Mineral Resource, which covers only one of the two deposits drilled, being the Northern Syncline lode, has yielded almost double the targeted tonnage. 

The Company highlighted that these numbers will be further boosted by inclusion of the previously reported higher grade drilling results from the Camp Lode deposit which are to be reported in a further JORC Mineral Resource update which will be published in in 2H21. 

Overall, the company said the results from the resource estimate, which come from the weathered, close to or at surface, zone of the deposit, highlight the quality of the Project’s mineralisation and the potential for Orom-Cross to become a low-cost graphite producer. 

It added that the resources were identified in an area adjacent to the proposed plant site, thereby expected to further boost the project economics of any subsequent development. 

Blencowe said it plans to conduct a further geotechnical drilling programme which is to commence shortly for inclusion within the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) later this year. 

Blencowe will also add further holes on the Camp Lode deposit to enable this higher-grade portion of the deposit to be included in the next upgraded JORC Mineral Resource, it said. 

To date, Blencowe reported that ‘good progress’ is being made by globally respected consultants SGS Lakefield with respect to its metallurgical studies. It said it expects to be in a position to release the results from this test work towards the end of the current quarter. 

The metallurgical studies are considered ‘a key input’ into the upcoming Feasibility Study and will also progress a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the project. For the PEA, work is set to begin imminently and will be delivered prior to the Pre-Feasibility Study.  

Blencowe said the objective of the metallurgical test work is to ‘fully understand the quality of the end-product that Orom-Cross can deliver, as well as the process flow to achieve that.’ 

Blencowe believes Orom-Cross has the potential to deliver a high-grade graphite concentrate which would prove desirable to potential off takers and the broader market. Shares in the Company have increased by nearly 5% in value since the start of 2021. 

BRES price chart

Reasons to FOLLOW BRES 

Blencowe is a mineral resources company focused on fast-tracking its 100% owned Orom Cross Jumbo Graphite Project in Uganda to production. Orom Cross is an advanced exploration stage project which was awarded a 21-year mining licence in October 2019.  

The development company which is currently focused on bringing the Orom-Cross graphite project into production, completed its 69-hole (1,950m) diamond drill programme into the Eastern Limb Lode and the High-Grade Camp Lode in September 2020. 

The size and scale from exploration work that has already been completed in the licence area has clearly demonstrated that Orom Cross has the potential ‘to become one of the largest graphite projects in the world based on both size and the quality of the end product.’  

Blencowe is fast tracking the project through to defining a maiden JORC-compliant resource, completing further metallurgical test work with a plan to deliver a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) in Q1 2021 followed shortly after by a Pre- Feasibility Study (PFS).  

Align Research describes Graphite as ‘an important battery metal’ since it represents around 50% of Li-ion batteries by mass, which uses the smaller sized flakes. In recent years there have been some racy growth rates suggested for graphite demand for lithium ion batteries.  

Meanwhile, the group said demand for electric vehicles (EV) is rising on the back of green legislation being adopted by the UK, India, Germany, France, Norway and China, which is expected to lead to an increasing demand for Li-ion batteries and in turn for graphite.  

Another integral factor is that Uganda’s economy is believed to hold ‘great potential’ with this whole region of East Africa viewed as a key African growth platform by the World Bank, hosting significant natural resources including copper, cobalt, gold, nickel and platinum.  

Follow News & Updates from Blencowe Resources here: FOLLOW

TwitterFacebookLinkedIn

Disclaimer & Declaration of Interest

The information, investment views and recommendations in this article are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engaging in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the writer but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. Vox Markets may receive payment from companies mentioned for enhanced profiling or publication presence. The writer may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.

Recent Articles
Watchlist