31 October
2024
Beowulf Mining Plc
("Beowulf" or the
"Company")
Completion of €530,000 Grant
Funded Business Finland
Project
Beowulf (AIM: BEM; Spotlight: BEO), and its
wholly owned Finnish subsidiary Grafintec Oy ("Grafintec"), are
pleased to announce the successful completion of the Business Finland funded project 'Spheronisation and
Purification of Natural Graphite for the European Lithium-Ion
Battery Market'.
The grant funding of €530,000 is equivalent to
50 per cent of the three-year €1.06 million budget for
the project, with the rest of the balance funded by Grafintec's
cash reserves.
The overall aim of the project was to develop a
'state-of-the-art' technological solution, utilising renewable
energy, to spheronise and purify graphite for use in the
manufacture of lithium-ion battery anodes within a Finnish
industrial ecosystem.
The project had three main objectives, which
were to:
· validate a
process to support progress to a Bankable Feasibility Study for
construction of a commercial scale unit within three to five
years;
· secure and
protect any arising intellectual property; and
· deliver a
detailed strategic marketing and commercialisation plan.
This work undertaken by Grafintec was part of
the BATCircle2.0 (Finland-based Circular Ecosystem of Battery
Metals) consortium, led by Aalto University, which was
granted €10.8 million by Business Finland as part of a
total funding budget of €19.3 million. Further information
about the full programme is available at
https://www.aalto.fi/en/news/success-of-batcircle20-bolsters-finnish-leadership-in-li-ion-battery-supply-chain.
The three-year project was successfully
concluded in August 2024 with the final report submitted to
Business Finland at the end of September. The project has
successfully demonstrated a 'state-of-the-art' and robust process
flowsheet for production of 'battery-grade' spheronised graphite
("SPG") with significantly lower environmental
impact compared to conventional processes used in China. This
process-flowsheet is now being evaluated and forms the foundation
of the on-going Pre-feasibility Study ("PFS") for the Graphite
Anode Materials Plant ("GAMP").
Ed
Bowie, Chief Executive Officer of Beowulf,
commented:
"The support we have received from Business Finland through
the BATCircle2.0 project has enabled us to fast-track the testwork
and development of a 'state-of-the-art' process flow sheet for the
production of anode materials for the lithium-ion battery sector.
We are extremely grateful for this support and will continue to
work closely with Business Finland on future BATCircle funding
rounds."
Rasmus Blomqvist, Managing Director of Grafintec,
commented:
"The test-work undertaken in the last three years under the
BATCircle2.0 project has demonstrated that we can produce
'battery-grade' graphite using more environmentally friendly
reagents and processes than the current industrial norms. Further,
test-work has demonstrated that we can recycle key reagents such as
NaOH and Lime, significantly reducing their overall consumption and
volumes going to waste, and therefore minimising the environmental
impact, reducing cost and improving the viability of the project.
This all bodes well for the ongoing PFS."
GAMP Update
Following on from the Spheronisation
and Purification test-work, Grafintec and its technology partner
Dorfner Anzaplan GmbH ("Anzaplan") have advanced well with the
Coating test-work to produce Coated Spherical Graphite ("CSPG").
The Coating process is the final stage in the production of
graphite anode materials and is carried out to further improve the
electro-chemical and physical performance of the anode material.
While the test-work has not been completed, initial results look
promising, indicating that the electro-chemical and physical
performance of the anode material can be significantly improved by
the Coating process. Optimisation work is ongoing and, once
complete, will feed into the PFS and Environmental Impact
Assessment ("EIA").
Due to a slight over-run in the
completion of the Coating test-work, the PFS is now expected to be
completed during Q1 2025. The results of the PFS will then feed
into the EIA, which is also expected to be completed within a few
months. Despite these minor delays in the completion of the PFS and
EIA, the overall timeline for GAMP remains unchanged, with first
anticipated production targeted for 2027.
Following completion of the PFS,
Grafintec believes that the GAMP will be very well positioned to
meet EU Strategic Project status criteria and the Company intends
to apply in the next application round which is expected in early
2025. EU Strategic Project status provides a number of benefits,
including faster permitting processes and access to additional
sources of capital.
Enquiries:
Beowulf Mining plc
Ed Bowie, Chief Executive
Officer
ed.bowie@beowulfmining.com
SP
Angel
(Nominated Adviser & Joint
Broker)
Ewan Leggat / Stuart Gledhill / Adam
Cowl
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470
Alternative Resource Capital
(Joint Broker)
Alex Wood
Tel: +44 (0) 20
7186 9004
BlytheRay
Tim Blythe / Megan Ray
Tel: +44 (0) 20
7138 3204
Cautionary Statement
Statements and assumptions made in
this document with respect to the Company's current plans,
estimates, strategies and beliefs, and other statements that are
not historical facts, are forward-looking statements about the
future performance of Beowulf. Forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to, those using words such as "may", "might",
"seeks", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "believes",
"projects", "plans", strategy", "forecast" and similar expressions.
These statements reflect management's expectations and assumptions
in light of currently available information. They are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to ,
(i) changes in the economic, regulatory and political environments
in the countries where Beowulf operates; (ii) changes relating to
the geological information available in respect of the various
projects undertaken; (iii) Beowulf's continued ability to secure
enough financing to carry on its operations as a going concern;
(iv) the success of its potential joint ventures and alliances, if
any; (v) metal prices, particularly as regards iron ore. In the
light of the many risks and uncertainties surrounding any mineral
project at an early stage of its development, the actual results
could differ materially from those presented and forecast in this
document. Beowulf assumes no unconditional obligation to
immediately update any such statements and/or forecast.