TIDMTGR
RNS Number : 2669N
Tirupati Graphite PLC
29 January 2021
29 January 2021
Tirupati Graphite plc ('Tirupati' or the 'Company')
First Revenues from Tirupati Graphene and Mintech Research
Centre
Tirupati Graphite plc, the fully integrated, revenue generative,
specialist graphite producer and graphene developer with operations
in Madagascar and India, is pleased to announce that its Tirupati
Graphene and Mintech Research Centre ('TGMRC'), which is focused on
graphene manufacturing, graphene applications development and
minerals processing technology development, has secured its first
commercial contract. This is to provide mineral processing
technology development services with Optiva Resources Limited
('ORL'), a UK registered mining company, to develop mineral
processing technology solutions for the Vanadium, Titanium,
Magnetite ('VTM') deposits on its Marela Project ('Marela') in
Guinea, West Africa.
Overview
-- TGMRC shall conduct a technical feasibility study for
developing a process to extract sellable concentrate from VTM
deposits for an upfront fee.
-- Successful development of a process shall entitle the Company
to a 5% equity in ORL with an additional right to subscribe for an
amount equal to 5% warrants.
-- Post success of lab scale process development, the parties
intend to further the cooperation to pilot scale studies and
engineering and design of a commercial operation.
-- This represents the first of the many mineral processing
technology development contracts the Company expects to engage in
with ongoing discussions with various prospective clients.
Shishir Poddar, CEO of Tirupati Graphite, said, "This engagement
with ORL represents another start of first revenues from the third
business unit of the Company; the other two are already revenue
generating. While we continue to progress on the graphene
developments, the start of revenue generation from our MINTECH
centre of excellence at TGMRC aligns with our strategy of obtaining
early-stage diversified and independent revenue streams across our
three business units. We are confident that with our mineral
processing expertise and innovative approach, we will reach a
solution for ORL to unlock the full potential of the VTM deposits
in Marela."
Mr. Charles Douglas Hamilton, Executive Director ORL, said "We
are pleased to have partnered with Tirupati to find technical
solutions for commercialising Marela. We have been impressed by the
depth of experience and knowledge the TGMRC team has in complex
mineral processing and extractive metallurgy and we are looking
forward to working closely with their team of specialists."
FURTHER INFORMATION
Tirupati continues to advance its operations across its
portfolio including TGMRC in India, which is composed of GRACE, a
graphite & graphene centre of excellence; and MINTECH, a
mineral processing & extractive metallurgy centre of
excellence.
At MINTECH, t he Company has entered into an agreement with ORL
to develop a process to utilise the VTM material from Marela.
TGMRC has been engaged to undertake a technical feasibility
study ('TFS') to develop a physical beneficiation process for
achieving a commercial and scalable process and produce marketable
grades of ilmenite and magnetite. The test works includes lab scale
testing of a bulk sample from Marela and will deliver a TFS report
for an upfront fee, which shall include physical and chemical
characterisation, physical beneficiation studies including
grinding, crushing, scrubbing, gravity separation, magnetic
separation, value addition characterisation, process flow sheet
development and an indicative cost structure.
Phase 1 of testing will focus on achieving commercially
acceptable separate concentrates of ilmenite and magnetite. Phase 2
will be triggered for pyrometallurgical tests to obtain titanium
slag and pig iron as end products using optimised mix of ilmenite
and magnetite from Phase 1, if Phase 1 does not deliver separate
concentrates. Successful development of a process at the end of
Phase 1 or Phase 2, shall entitle the Company to a 5% equity in ORL
with an additional right to subscribe for 5% warrants. Post the
success of lab scale process development, the parties intend to
further the cooperation to pilot scale studies and engineering and
design of a commercial operation.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014. Upon the publication of
this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be
in the public domain.
** ENDS **
For further information, please visit
https://www.tirupatigraphite.co.uk/ or contact:
Tirupati Graphite Plc
Puruvi Poddar +44 (0) 20 3984 9894
Optiva Securities Limited (Broker)
Daniel Ingram +44 (0) 20 3137 1902
---------------------
St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR)
Isabel de Salis / Cosima Akerman +44 (0) 20 236 1177
---------------------
Notes
Tirupati Graphite Plc is a revenue-generative, multi-asset,
multi-jurisdictional, fully integrated producer and developer of
high-grade natural flake graphite, speciality graphite and
graphene, which captures the entire value chain. With a unique set
of properties, graphite has diverse applications with multiple
growth streams and graphene forms the new generation of 2D
materials. In support of this, the Company places a special
emphasis on "green" applications, including renewable energy
generation, energy storage and composites, and is committed to
ensuring its operations are sustainable as well.
The Company's operations include primary mining and processing
in Madagascar, where the Company operates two key projects,
Sahamamy and Vatomina; 3,000 tpa of high-quality flake graphite
concentrate with up to 96% purity is currently being produced and
sold to customers globally, and this is planned to increase to
81,000 tpa by 2024 as per the Company's modular medium-term
development plan.
In India, through Tirupati Speciality Graphite Private Limited
('TSG'), with whom the Company has a binding acquisition agreement
subject to regulatory approvals, Tirupati processes and produces
speciality graphite for use in hi-tech applications like
lithium-ion batteries, fire retardants and composites. Its
specialty graphite processing operations include the 1,200 tpa
Patalganga Project, which was commissioned in July 2019 to
manufacture and sell CARBOFLAMEX(R), a trademarked fire-retardant
expandable graphite product. At the next stage of development,
Patalganga shall further be expanded to 4,800 tpa capacity with
capabilities to also produce high purity and micronised graphite,
so increasing market and product reach by 2021. TSG has developed
unique green processing technologies for manufacturing these
advanced materials.
After establishing itself in the specialty graphite markets
through the Patalganga Project, an additional 24,000 tpa specialty
graphite processing facility is to be established in two 12,000 tpa
phases. The plant will produce expandable, high purity, micronised
and spherical graphite. The west coast of India has been chosen as
the location and a detailed feasibility study has been completed.
TSG is also in the process of establishing the Tirupati Graphene
and Mintech Research Centre, a state-of-the-art R&D centre
focussed on manufacturing graphene, developing its applications,
and further providing environmentally friendly technologies
consultancy for mineral processing.
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