Start of Stage II Exploration & Drilling Programme

RNS Number : 4961P

Tirupati Graphite PLC

18 February 2021

 

18 February 2021

Tirupati Graphite plc ('Tirupati' or the 'Company')

Commencement of Second Stage Exploration and Drilling Programmes at Vatomina and Sahamamy Projects, Madagascar & Appointment of SRK Consultants

Tirupati Graphite plc, the fully integrated, revenue generating, specialist graphite producer and graphene developer with operations in Madagascar and India, is pleased to announce the commencement of its Stage II exploration and drilling programme ('Stage II Programme') across its primary flake graphite projects in Madagascar.  The Company is also pleased to announce that SRK Mining Services (India) Private Limited ('SRK') will oversee the Company's Stage II Programme and update and upgrade its current Mineral Resource Statement ('MRS') for the Vatomina and Sahamamy Projects in Madagascar under the current Competent Person's Report, which was contained in the Company's listing prospectus.  SRK is a consulting practice of international mining consultants SRK Consulting. 

Stage II Programme Highlights

· Commencement of Stage II exploration and drilling programme;

· Stage II Programme to target enhancing global resource base by:

o  increasing geological confidence in areas currently categorised as Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources, and;

o  establishing additional Mineral Resources in areas previously identified by SRK as Exploration Targets and open extensions.

· Across Vatomina and Sahamamy Projects over a period of six months, the Stage II Programme will include:

o  c.10,000 metres of auger drilling;

o  c.1,000 metres of trenching, and;

o  c.5,000 metres of diamond core drilling.

Mineral Resource Update Overview

· Tirupati and SRK to undertake a Resource Definition Exploration Programme to culminate in;

o  an updated geological model;

o  updated Mineral Resource Estimates, and;

o  an updated Mineral Resource Statement ('MRS') in accordance with JORC Code (2012)¹

· The Company is targeting an MRS update that will be followed by multi-disciplinary studies on;

o  mining, geotechnical, hydrogeological, processing and infrastructure, and;

o  economic, marketing, legal and Environmental & Social Governance ('ESG') factors.

· Tirupati aims to update the current SRK CPR, published in June 2020, later this year and which was contained in the Company's listing prospectus.

^1.  The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves, 2012 Edition

Shishir Poddar, CEO of Tirupati Graphite, said, "In line with our rigorous step by step strategy, we continue to multitask work programmes and progress the development timelines of our primary flake graphite projects in Madagascar in a cost effective and time efficient manner across our portfolio.  Through engaging SRK to oversee the implementation of our Stage II Programme, as well as aid us in carrying out a Resource Definition Exploration Programme, we have committed to enhancing our Mineral Resource base at Vatomina and Sahamamy, which will further underpin our ambitious development plans for our primary operations in Madagascar.  

"We feel confident that SRK's expertise and professionalism will allow us to take advantage of the previously identified Exploration Targets and open extensions in order to establish additional Mineral Resources at the projects.  With our in-house capabilities including a diamond core drilling rig and the expert geological team, we plan to deliver the additional exploration activities at industry-low costs, creating shareholder value on a continued basis.  I look forward to updating the market on our progress with both the Stage II Programme and with updating our global resource base."

Further Information

In line with the Company's modular development strategy across its divisions, Tirupati is commencing its Stage II exploration and drilling programme across its primary flake graphite projects in Madagascar.  The programme will include c.10,000 meters of auger drilling, pitting and c.1,000 meters of trenching alongside diamond core drilling of c.5,000 metres in each project over a 6-month period.

Working alongside the Company's geological team lead by Mr. Uday Pratap Singh who is a qualified and

experienced geologist with over 35 years of diversified experience in the mineral resource industry, SRK has been engaged to undertake specific exploration activities which include:

· Designing a comprehensive exploration programme aiming to upgrade the geological confidence in the areas currently reported as Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources;

· Designing a comprehensive exploration programme aiming to upgrade the geological confidence in the areas previously reported as Exploration Targets as the term is defined by the JORC Code (2012);

· Defining and undertaking multi-disciplinary techno-commercial level studies on mining, geotechnical, hydrogeological, processing, infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal and ESG factors;

· Overseeing and periodic monitoring of exploration and drilling activities and supporting the Company's database management, and;

· Compilation of data for future reporting of an Ore Reserve estimate in accordance with the JORC Code (2012) and updating the CPR on the Vatomina and Sahamamy Graphite Projects in Madagascar.

The Company's Stage I exploration and drilling programme represented around 25-30% of the mineralised zone across the two projects and included 8,822m of auger and diamond core drilling, pitting and trenching to a depth of 50m.  Based on the exploration data available as on 1 June 2020, SRK produced a geological model leading to the Mineral Resource statements in accordance with the JORC Code (2012) on Vatomina and Sahamamy published in SRK's June 2020 CPR as follows:

Table 1: SRK Mineral Resource Statement Vatomina Graphite Project, Madagascar, in accordance with the JORC Code 2012 as of 1^st June 2020

Resource Category	Quantity (Mt)	Grade (TGC2%)
Measured	-	-
Indicated	3.2	4.3
Inferred	15.2	4.7
Total Mineral Resource	18.4	4.6

Table 2: SRK Mineral Resource Statement Sahamamy Graphite Project, Madagascar, in accordance with the JORC Code 2012 as of 1^st June 2020

Resource Category	Quantity (Mt)	Grade (TGC%)
Measured	-	-
Indicated	1.4	4.10
Inferred	5.7	4.20
Total Mineral Resource	7.1	4.20

^2.  Total Graphitic Carbon

In addition to the Mineral Resources reported in the June 2020 CPR, SRK identified various Exploration Targets, as the term is defined in the JORC Code (2012), in Vatomina and Sahamamy, as presented below:

· Vatomina - Exploration Target estimated to be 8Mt-10Mt with an average grade of 3-4%GC.

· Sahamamy - Exploration Target estimated to be 5Mt-7Mt with an average grade of 4-5% GC.

SRK had made certain recommendations including a closer spaced drilling programme be undertaken to upgrade the geological confidence of the Mineral Resources, and that such exploration programme should be synchronised with the project development milestones. The Company is now taking forward the recommendations by SRK in their June 2020 CPR as part of its ongoing and proactive risk and cost management approach.

** ENDS **

For further information, please visit https://www.tirupatigraphite.co.uk/ or contact:

Tirupati Graphite Plc Puruvi Poddar	[phone]
Optiva Securities Limited (Broker) Daniel Ingram	[phone]
St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR) Isabel de Salis / Cosima Akerman	[phone]

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®, 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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