Blencowe Resources #BRES – Placing to Raise £635,000

Blencowe Resources Plc (“Blencowe Resources” or the “Company”) (LSE: BRES), the natural resources company focussed on the development of the Orom-Cross Graphite Project in Uganda, is pleased to announce that it has raised £635,000 at 5 pence per share (“Placing”) through the issue of 12,700,000  new ordinary shares of 0.5p (“Placing Shares”). The Company will issue investors in the Placing with 1 warrant per 2 Placing Shares (Investor Warrants”) which are exercisable at 8p for a period of 3 years from Admission of the Placing Shares.   

Use of Funds

The net proceeds of the Placing will be used to maintain momentum on the Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”) work, which has been underway since start of 2023, and is managed by leading firm CPC Engineering.

The Company recently announced it had passed the key screening hurdles by the Development Finance Corporation (“DFC”) regarding a US$4.5M Technical Assistance Grant (“TAG”) to fund 50% of the DFS. The Company expects to complete the process of obtaining the TAG with DFC over the coming weeks and then be able to draw down funds for the DFS work. The net proceeds allows the Company to avoid any immediate delay to the DFS programme whilst the DFC grant is being finalised.

In parallel, the Company awaits results from its metallurgical testing programs in both China and the United States of America. In January 2023 the Company delivered 20kgs of concentrate to technical experts in Wuhan University of Technology in China and 5kgs to American Energy Technologies Co. for SPG and expandables testing. A further 100 tonnes bulk sample has been extracted and is in transit to Jilin Huiyang New Material Technology Company, with results expected to reconfirm historic results of IMO testing in Perth, which demonstrated concentrates from Orom-Cross is of consistently high quality. The net proceeds will enable the Company to accelerate these discussions.

Related Party Transaction

RAB Capital, Jangada Mines plc and JUB Capital are considered related parties on the basis their respective holdings are greater than 5%. The major shareholders participated in the Placing which is deemed a related party transaction as defined under DTR 7.3. The Board considers their participation in the Placing are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company’s shareholders are concerned having taken financial advice from its financial adviser Tavira Financial Ltd given the Board does not have an independent director.

Admission

An application has been made for 12,700,000 Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on the official list and the London Stock Exchange from 8.00 a.m. on 23 May 2023 (“Admission”). 

In accordance with the FCA’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, the Company confirms that following Admission, the Company’s enlarged issued ordinary share capital will comprise 209,379,950 Ordinary Shares. The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in Treasury. Therefore, following Admission, the above figure may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations to determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in the Company, under the FCA’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

Cameron Pearce Executive Chairman commented:

 “We are very pleased to secure additional funding to continue the DFS work programmes without delay. The DFC grant should be completed in the near future and the Company is focused on maintaining the momentum to optimise the benefits of this.

Securing the support of a tier one financial institution such as the DFC provides the Project and our Company with a high degree of credibility and we are working through the process with the DFC so that they may formally join as our partner on the balance of the DFC work.

At the same time we are making progress on our metallurgical studies in China and the US, with initial results expected in the near term. A favourable outcome in the test work has the potential to ultimately provide a funding solution for Orom-Cross to first production.

I look forward to providing further updates in the coming weeks.”

For further information please contact:

Twitter https://twitter.com/BlencoweRes

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Background

Orom-Cross Graphite Project

Orom-Cross is a potential world class graphite project both by size and end-product quality, with a high component of more valuable larger coarse flakes within the deposit.

A 21-year Mining Licence for the Project was issued by the Ugandan Government in 2019 following extensive historical work on the deposit and Blencowe completed a successful Pre-Feasibility Study in 2022.  The Company has now moved into the Definitive Feasibility Study phase as it drives towards first production.

Orom-Cross presents as a large, shallow open-pitable deposit, with a maiden JORC Indicated & Inferred Mineral Resource deposit of 24.5Mt @ 6.0% Total Graphite Content, with only a small percentage of the overall deposit drilled to date. Development of the resource is expected to benefit from a low strip ratio and free dig operations, thereby ensuring lower operating and capital costs.