TIDMSTGR
RNS Number : 9017U
Stratmin Global Resources PLC
03 August 2015
3 August 2015
StratMin Global Resources Plc
("StratMin" or the "Company")
Optimisation and Increased Production at Loharano
StratMin Global Resources Plc (AIM: STGR), London's only listed
graphite production and exploration company, announces that it has
successfully completed the second stage of the Loharano plant
optimisation.
Highlights:
-- Hourly production rates have been significantly increased and
graphite purity levels maintained.
-- The plant and processing modifications are now stabilised,
therefore the Loharano operation will move to twenty four hour
production six days a week during August.
-- The upgraded plant has now been running with increased feed,
delivering up to 900kg per hour of refined graphite.
-- Exploration programme currently underway at Loharano and
Mahefadok to deliver the required JORC categorisation for the final
feasibility study and enable improved mine planning for existing
operations.
-- In conjunction with studies for the proposed Mahefadok flake
graphite plant, a review is being conducted into hi-tech value
added products.
-- The benefits of the strategic partnership with Tirupati
Carbons & Chemicals Pvt. Ltd ('Tirupati') are positively
impacting all levels of the business.
-- Issue of shares to Tirupati as compensation for technical services.
Loharano Plant Optimisation
Following conclusion of the joint venture agreement with
Tirupati and the appointment of Mr Shishir Poddar as an executive
Director of the Company, a staged optimisation programme was
devised to increase the productivity of the Loharano operation. The
goal was to leverage the success of the pilot phase in producing
>94% purity flake graphite and deliver a stable operating plant
capable of producing 6,000 tpa processed flake graphite.
Utilising the technical expertise of Mr Poddar in flake graphite
operations, initial process modifications were immediately
implemented to enable the plant to run at a steady rate and provide
a benchmark for further analysis. A review of the operation at this
point identified certain bottlenecks in the process and a programme
was developed to address these in sequence. The second phase of
this programme included modifications to the floatation cells and
the process flow.
The fabrication and installation of these modifications were
handled by the Company's own in-country technical team. This was an
important step in demonstrating the Company's ability to operate
independently in remote locations, as well as providing the
technical team with important information regarding graphite
floatation at the site. This collaborative approach with Tirupati
is having a positive impact at all levels of the business.
The upgraded plant has now been running with increased feed,
delivering up to 900kg per hour of refined graphite. This process
is being stabilised and the operating hours will be extended to a
twenty-four hour operation six days a week during August. Further
efficiencies are expected once the plant is in continuous
production.
The final stage in the Loharano optimisation programme is to add
production flexibility into the process, which will enable on
demand product variation to serve niche flake graphite applications
with stringent qualitative requirements. Upon completion of this
stage the present facilities shall become capable to produce tailor
made flake graphite with grades of up to 96% purity.
Exploration Activities
The exploration activities at Loharano and Mahefadok are
currently focused on detailed topographical and ground geophysical
surveys. This will be followed by further geological mapping and
drilling in order to establish a JORC compliant resource
definition. A programme of bulk sampling, by trenching and pitting,
will be run in parallel to provide bulk samples for in house
metallurgical test runs and production testing at the existing
plant. This will clearly establish all commercial parameters of the
deposit. This programme will deliver the required JORC
categorisation for the final feasibility study and enable improved
mine planning for existing operations.
In conjunction with studies for the proposed 12,000 tpa
Mahefadok flake graphite plant, a review is being conducted into
forward integration by Stratmin into hi-tech value added products
for lubrication, friction materials, exfoliation, energy storage
and non conventional energy applications. Further announcements in
this respect shall be made forthwith.
Issue of shares to Tirupati
In accordance with the terms of the binding strategic
partnership and joint venture agreement between the Company and
Tirupati, more details of which are given in the announcement dated
18 June 2015, 1,972,387 new ordinary shares of 4 pence each in the
Company ("Ordinary Shares") (the "Fee Shares") have been issued to
Tirupati, at a price of 5.07 pence per new Ordinary Share, as
consideration for the first GBP100,000 instalment due pursuant to
technical services provided by Tirupati to the Company. The Fee
Shares will represent approximately 1.3 per cent of the enlarged
share capital.
Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for
admission of the Fee Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission") and it
is expected that Admission will take place and that trading will
commence on AIM on or around Monday 10 August 2015. Following
Admission, the Company will have a total of 150,839,391 Ordinary
Shares in issue with each share carrying the right to one vote.
The Company has no Ordinary Shares held in treasury. The total
number of voting rights in the Company following Admission will
therefore be 150,839,391. This figure may be used by shareholders
as the denominator for the calculations by which they will
determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a
change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under
the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
Brett Boynton, CEO, commented:
"I was on site with the technical team during the plant
modification and witnessed the long hard hours put in to deliver
this excellent result. We are now moving out of the pilot phase and
into long-term commercial operations that will take the company
into sustainable profitability. Our ongoing optimisation will
deliver further yield improvements and enhance the bottom line.
"Completion of this pilot phase is a key differentiator between
Stratmin and our listed peers. We have a seasoned and successful
team that has built and operated a plant that produces high-grade,
large flake graphite. We take all of this expertise into the design
and delivery of the next mine and plant at Mahefadok and our joint
venture project with Tirupati.
"Our strategy has been a considered and staged evolution and we
couldn't be more pleased with the results over the last couple of
months. Despite the promise of more hard work, I know the team is
confidently looking forward to the next stage of optimisation and
exploration at Loharano and Mahefadok."
For further information please visit www.stratminglobal.com or
contact:
StratMin Global Resources Plc +44 (0) 20 3691
Brett Boynton, CEO 6160
Strand Hanson (Nominated & Financial Adviser) +44 (0) 20 7409
Rory Murphy / James Spinney / Ritchie Balmer 3494
Beaufort Securities (Broker) +44 (0) 20 7382
Jon Belliss 8300
Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 (0) 20 7138
Halimah Hussain / Megan Ray 3204
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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