Last checked at 11 Mar 2024 07:00
11 March 2024
Tirupati Graphite plc
('Tirupati', 'TG' or the 'Company')
Madagascar Exploration Update
Tirupati Graphite plc (TGR.L, TGRHF.OTCQX), the specialist flake graphite company and supplier of the critical mineral for the global energy transition, is pleased to announce the completion of its exploration and resource drilling programme at its two Madagascan flake graphite projects. An updated Competent Persons Report ("CPR") is now being prepared by SRK Consulting and is expected to be published in the near term.
Exploration Programme Overview
· Completed c.5,000 metres of diamond core drilling, 26,000 metres of auger drilling and 360 running metres of six to eight metres depth trenching across the two projects as detailed in the table below:
Exploration activities executed after 2020 CPR
| |||||
Activity | Location | Number | Meterage | Assays | |
Meters | Graphite Intercepts | ||||
Diamond Core Drilling | Vatomina | 85 | 4018.26 | 889,35 | 1307 |
Diamond Core Drilling | Sahamamy | 28 | 803.1 | 191.39 | 52 |
Manual Auger Drill | Vatomina | 1677 | 15093 | 4131 | 788 |
Manual Auger Drill | Sahamamy | 1543 | 11066 | 626 | 452 |
Trenching | Vatomina | 42 | 167.76 | 84.59 | 26 |
Trenching | Sahamamy | 62 | 192 | Data under compilation | |
· Drilling was undertaken using the Company's fully owned equipment - two diamond core drilling rigs, auger facilities and earthmoving machinery, used for developing access to exploration locations and trench cutting.
SRK Consulting is now working to produce an updated CPR under JORC Code 2012 to update their existing 2020 report. SRK's leadership team is currently on the ground for their customary project visit and work continues towards completion of the updated CPR with the SRK Consulting team targeting release in due course.
For reference, the JORC Code 2012 resources published under the 2020 CPR across the Company's Vatomina and Sahamamy Projects are as below:
SRK Mineral Resource Statement Vatomina Graphite Project, Madagascar, in accordance with the JORC Code (2012) as of 31 December 2019
Resource Category | Quantity | Grade |
| (Mt) | (GC%) |
Measured | - | - |
Indicated | 3.2 | 4.3 |
Inferred | 15.2 | 4.7 |
Total Mineral Resource | 18.4 | 4.6 |
SRK Mineral Resource Statement Sahamamy Graphite Project, Madagascar, in accordance with the JORC Code (2012) as of 31 December 2019
Resource Category | Quantity | Grade |
| (Mt) | (GC%) |
Measured | - | - |
Indicated | 1.4 | 4.1 |
Inferred | 5.7 | 4.2 |
Total Mineral Resource | 7.1 | 4.2 |
Shishir Poddar, Executive Chairman, said:
"We are extremely pleased with the extensive exploration activities conducted by our team alongside development and operations. We expect the updated CPR to show a material increase in our resource numbers underlining the long-term potential of our currently operating and expanded projects in Madagascar. We look forward to releasing the updated CPR as soon as it is available, another activity which aligns with our goal to become the leading ex-China source of natural flake graphite contributing to the energy transition economy."
"It is significant to note that the completion of current exploration phase reduces our cash use towards exploration and the team and our resources will be further focussed on achieving our goal of achieving EBDITA positive results at the corporate level in the immediate term.
ENDS
For further information, please visit https://www.tirupatigraphite.co.uk/ or contact:
Tirupati Graphite Plc Puruvi Poddar - Joint Managing Director
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admin@tirupatigraphite.co.uk +44 (0) 20 39849894 |
Optiva Securities Limited (Broker) Ben Maitland - Corporate Finance
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+44 (0) 20 3034 2707
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FTI Consulting (Financial PR) Ben Brewerton / Nick Hennis / Lucy Wigney
| +44 (0) 20 3727 1000 tirupati@fticonsulting.com
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About Tirupati Graphite
Tirupati Graphite Plc is a specialist Graphite producer and a supplier of the critical mineral for a decarbonised economy and the energy transition. The Company places a special emphasis on green applications including renewable energy, e-mobility, energy storage and thermal management, and is committed to ensuring its operations are sustainable.
The Company's operations include primary mining and processing in Madagascar where the Company operates two key projects, Sahamamy and Vatomina with a combined 30,000 tpa of currently installed capacity, producing high-quality flake graphite concentrate with up to 97% purity and selling to customers globally.
The Company also holds two advanced stage, world class, natural graphite projects in Mozambique. Work has already commenced to optimise the economics for development of the Montepuez graphite project, which is permitted for 100,000tpa production and where substantial construction work has already been undertaken by the predecessor.