In this episode, we chat to Mike Ralston, CEO of Blencowe Resources, who owns 100% of the Orom-Cross graphite project in Uganda.  This is a huge deposit (estimated 2-3 billion tonnes) with proven high-grade end products (via substantial met test work, including the recently completed 600t bulk sample testing in China) and a 21-year mining license.  This project is now at Definitive Feasibility Study stage with first production in 2025. 

Mike is a chartered accountant with 25 years of experience successfully developing businesses worldwide, including several in Africa where he has considerable expertise. He has been a senior executive and board member for several junior listed resource companies over the past 17 years and has raised over A$300m in debt and equity over that period. He discusses the history of Blencowe, educates us on the graphite market, how the Orom-Cross will move into production in the near term, and explains Uganda as a mining jurisdiction

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Blencowe Resources, established in 2019, owns the Orom-Cross Graphite Project in Uganda, which is estimated to contain 2-3 billion tons of high-grade graphite. The project is currently in the definitive feasibility study stage, with first production expected in 2025.
• The demand for graphite, particularly small flake graphite used in lithium-ion batteries, is anticipated to grow significantly, potentially reaching 3-4 million tons per annum by 2030. This growth is driven by the increasing production of electric vehicles and renewable energy storage solutions.
• Many graphite projects struggle to move from the definitive feasibility stage to production due to high operating costs, capital requirements, and the need for high-purity end products. The lack of new graphite mines entering production exacerbates supply constraints in the market.
• Uganda is recognised for its mineral wealth, including graphite, and the government is actively working to develop the mining sector. The stability of the government and recent changes in mining laws have created a more favourable environment for investment in mining projects.

BEST MOMENTS

"You need three things to make a project work: low cost to operate, low capital cost to build it, and high purity of end product."

"The anticipated growth in the market is around the small flake product because that's what gets further purified and ultimately put into lithium-ion batteries."

"There's not many, if any, graphite new graphite companies, mines going into production. While we're seeing this demand growth, we're not seeing a corresponding growth in supply."

"Uganda is a great jurisdiction. It's stable, and the government's been running under the same government since 1986, so it's definitely got the stability factor."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Mail:        rob@mining-international.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/

X:              https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast 

Web:        http://www.mining-international.org

https://blencoweresourcesplc.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/blencowe-resources/    

https://x.com/BlencoweRes

ABOUT THE HOST

Rob Tyson is the Founder and Director of Mining International Ltd, a leading global recruitment and headhunting consultancy based in the UK specialising in all areas of mining across the globe from first-world to third-world countries from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. We source, headhunt, and discover new and top talent through a targeted approach and search methodology and have a proven track record in sourcing and positioning exceptional candidates into our clients' organisations in any mining discipline or level. Mining International provides a transparent, informative, and trusted consultancy service to our candidates and clients to help them develop their careers and business goals and objectives in this ever-changing marketplace.

CONTACT METHOD

rob@mining-international.org

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/

Podcast Description

Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.