• Orom-Cross graphite reserves increase 47% to 23 million tonnes grading 5.18%.

• The project retains a planned initial capex of  $62 million from the 2022 PFS.

• Blencowe will use the upgraded reserves for the final feasibility study before financing and a 2026 production start.

Blencowe Resources said the Orom-Cross project is set to become Uganda’s first graphite mine. The company maintained an initial development cost estimate of $62 million in its 2022 prefeasibility study.

Blencowe announced on Thursday, 27 November, that mineral reserves at Orom-Cross now stand at 23 million tonnes of ore grading 5.18%. The updated figure represents a 47% increase from the reserve statement released in 2022 for the asset, already viewed as the country’s future first graphite mine.

The company said infill drilling completed this year enabled the upward revision. The new estimate incorporates the Camp Lode and Northern Syncline deposits. Blencowe plans to use the revised data as the basis for the project’s definitive feasibility study (DFS), which it expects to release soon.

Blencowe Executive Chairman Cameron Pearce said, “This JORC upgrade is transformational for Orom-Cross. The substantial increase in ore reserves […] confirms the quality, scale and longevity of the project as we enter the definitive feasibility study and financing phase.”

Blencowe said the definitive study will update the assumptions of the 2022 prefeasibility report. That study outlined a mine with a 14-year life and an average annual output of 101,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate at full capacity. It also estimated initial capital expenditure at $62 million.

The company plans to launch financing efforts in parallel with the feasibility work to support a first production phase in 2026. Blencowe previously said in April that the early phase aims to deliver 10,000 tonnes of graphite.

The company also plans another reserve update next year to include results from recent drilling.

This article was initially published in French by Aurel Sèdjro Houenou

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum