Black Rock Mining signs second graphite offtake agreement

2018-10-29

Oct. 29, 2018 - Black Rock Mining Ltd has signed its second offtake agreement for natural flake graphite from its proposed Mahenge Graphite Mine in Tanzania.

The agreement is with China-based Qingdao Fujin Graphite Company Limited to supply 15,000 tonnes per year for up to three years at pricing to be determined.

Notably, Qingdao Fujin focuses heavily on the small to mid-size battery market and produces anode product for customers across Asia and China.

Black Rock’s CEO John de Vries said: “The signing of this offtake agreement with a key producer of anode precursor in China, reflects strong demand for our premium quality graphite flake and demonstrates the ongoing success of our product marketing strategy.

“The agreement with an established user of natural flake graphite resulted from our strategy of operating a large 90-tonne pilot plant to support engineering design and provide credible volume for market participants identified through a thorough and detailed segmentation and channel strategy.

“We are of the view that this agreement continues to add momentum to our mine development and financing activities."

This offtake agreement complements the first agreement executed with Heilongjiang Bohao.

Combined, the two offtake agreements could represent about 44% of proposed steady-state annual production from Mahenge.

de Vries  added: “This agreement is significant as the offtake is intended to supply Qingdao Fujin’s needs across a range of batteries, for automotive applications, consumer electronics, and energy storage.

“Success in this market segment builds confidence in Mahenge’s ability to supply premium quality anode precursors to the emerging EV market.”