TIDMTGR
RNS Number : 2098G
Tirupati Graphite PLC
23 July 2021
The information communicated within this announcement is deemed
to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market
Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this
announcement, this information is considered to be in the public
domain.
23 July 2021
Tirupati Graphite plc ('Tirupati' or the 'Company')
Operations Commence at New Graphene & Technology Centre
Tirupati Graphite plc, the fully integrated, revenue generating,
specialist graphite producer and graphene and advanced materials
developer, is pleased to announce that it has commissioned Stage 1
of its Tirupati Graphene and Mintech Research Centre ('TGMRC'),
which is focused on graphene manufacturing and applications
development, advanced materials development and mineral processing
technology development.
Overview
-- Commissioning of Stage 1 marks the start of revenue
generating activities from TGMRC and enables the Company to advance
current and prospective commercialisation engagements.
-- Current facilities are capable of manufacturing up to a
kilogram per day of Graphene Oxide ('GO'), reduced Graphene Oxide
('rGO') and Aluminium Graphene Composite ('Al-Gr Composite')
materials using the zero chemical process developed by the
Company.
-- Ongoing development to expand the manufacturing capacities up
to 10 kilograms per day (10x uplift).
-- Facilities will also manufacture one ton per day of high
purity graphite ('HPG') manufactured by the zero HF process
developed by the Company - HPG is a precursor for all specialty
graphite products which the Company will leverage to supply trial
lots to prospective industrial end users for its speciality
graphite products.
-- Various facilities have been installed for the mineral
processing technology division, which has secured four additional
commercial contracts since the first was announced in January.
Shishir Poddar, CEO of Tirupati Graphite, said, "We believe that
material innovation and technology development will be one of the
biggest drivers for economic growth given their potential to
contribute extensively to the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions. We are therefore delighted to be at the forefront of
this exciting space having commenced commercial production at our
new high-tech graphene and technology R&D centre in India.
"While we expect our graphene and composite materials to provide
many benefits to advanced 2D materials applications being developed
around the world, the MINTECH activities are set up to target
developing innovative technologies for lean and low-grade resource
utilisation, minimising energy consumption and waste generation in
mineral processing technologies. Tirupati itself is already a
beneficiary of MINTECH's achievements at our own primary graphite
operations in Madagascar where the process yields circa 50% of
tailings waste as a by-product in the form of construction sand,
which can be monetised.
"Both the primary and speciality graphite divisions of the
Company have been generating revenues since the start of their
commercial operations and are being expanded in line with our
medium-term development plans. Having now commenced our commercial
scale facilities at TGMRC, we expect the centre to be able to
generate sufficient revenues to support its ongoing operational
costs as well. This means that all three operating divisions of the
Company shall be contributing to our top line, further reducing
risks, and validating our integrated business model. I am thrilled
that our vision has taken shape so quickly and look forward to
providing further updates as we advance each integral part of the
business to keep up with the high demand for our products."
Details
Tirupati continues to advance its integrated operations across
its portfolio including primary mining and processing projects in
Madagascar and speciality graphite and graphene processing
businesses in India. In line with its phased development strategy
that minimises pre-revenue investment, the Company has commissioned
Stage 1 of TGMRC, which is composed of GRACE, a graphite &
graphene centre of excellence, and MINTECH, a mineral processing
& extractive metallurgy centre of excellence. With a number of
contracts already in place, this marks the start of core revenue
generation activities from this division.
Having been awarded a two-acre plot in January 2021 (see
announcement dated 20 January 2021), the Company is delighted that
Stage 1 of the new TGMRC facility has already been established,
which enables the capabilities to manufacture up to a kilogram per
day of GO, rGO and its novel Al-Gr Composite. Additionally, one ton
per day of high purity graphite ('HPG') can be manufactured, which
is a precursor for all specialty graphite products including
spherical, expandable, and micronized graphite, using the
environmentally friendly processes developed by TGMRC.
Accordingly, the manufacturing of these advanced materials can
be used for tests and qualifications for various current and
prospective commercialisation engagements, which the Company is
progressing, while the HPG facilities provide leverage to supply
bulk scale trial consignments to prospective buyers and end users
for its speciality graphite products.
TGMRC will continue to build additional capacities to reach an
intermediate manufacturing scale of up to 10 kilograms per day of
the Company's GO and rGO, tracking the market development of
graphene, and the manufacture of sufficient sample quantities to
industrial users of its Al-GR Composite to target material
qualification for weight sensitive applications and paving the way
for the commercialisation of this exciting novel composite material
developed by the Company (see RNS dated 4 May 2021).
Additionally, various facilities have been installed for the
mineral processing technology division, MINTECH, including high
tech metallurgical testing and mineral processing equipment and
technology development. Notably, since the first commercial
contract announcement earlier in the year (see RNS 29 January
2021), MINTECH has won four additional commercial contracts with
mining and mineral processing companies and several others are in
the pipeline. These projects span across beneficiation studies and
flow sheet development for different ores, rheological studies and
design of pipeline transportation and plant optimisation for
existing mineral processing projects.
Established to leverage the Company's extensive expertise,
intellectual property, and human capital, TGMRC is part of Tirupati
Speciality Graphite Private Limited ('TSG'), with whom Tirupati has
a binding acquisition agreement subject to regulatory approvals and
which is focused on completing a 15,000 tpa speciality graphite
project in H1 2022.
**S **
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) info@stbridespartners.co.uk
Isabel de Salis / Catherine Leftley
----------------------------
Notes
Tirupati Graphite Plc is a revenue-generating, multi-asset,
multi-jurisdictional, fully integrated producer and developer of
high-grade natural flake graphite, speciality graphite and graphene
and graphene enhanced advanced materials. With a unique set of
properties, graphite has diverse applications with multiple growth
streams and graphene forms the new generation of 2D and advanced
materials. The Company places a special emphasis on "green"
applications, including renewable energy and energy efficiency,
energy storage, thermal management, and advanced materials
development, 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, with an additional 9,000 tpa capacity
expected to be commissioned soon, planned to increase to 84,000 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 is developing a suite of
speciality graphite for use in hi-tech applications like
lithium-ion batteries, fire retardants, thermal management, and
composites. Its current operations include the 1,200 tpa Patalganga
Project, focused on manufacturing the Company's trademarked
expandable graphite products CARBOFLAMEX(R) and GrafEN 45545(TM).
TSG is further developing 30,000 tpa specialty graphite project in
two equal size modules and has developed unique green processing
technologies for manufacturing these advanced materials.
TSG is also developing the Tirupati Graphene and Mintech
Research Centre ('TGMRC'), a state-of-the-art R&D centre
focussed on manufacturing graphene, developing its applications and
advanced materials using graphene, and further providing
environmentally friendly technologies consultancy for mineral
processing. Commercial operations commenced in July 2021 having
completed Stage 1 of the centre's development plan.
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