Blencowe completes key infrastructure work at Orom-Cross project
Blencowe Resources PLC has completed all key infrastructure work for its Orom-Cross project in Uganda, describing the development as a “major de-risking milestone” that clears the way for a final feasibility study and future production.
The London-listed company said the package includes power, water, roads and communications, all crucial elements for getting a mine into production.
It comes just as Blencowe wraps up its largest ever drilling programme at the site, which is expected to boost the size and quality of the known graphite resource.
Cameron Pearce, the company’s executive chairman, said: “Having hydro-grid power, water, communications and upgraded road access effectively in place translates into lower capex, shorter development timelines and a sustainable, ESG-compliant operation.”
Orom-Cross is powered by Uganda’s national hydroelectric grid via two nearby substations, offering cheap and renewable electricity with built-in redundancy, meaning a backup supply in case of outages.
On the transport side, a UK-funded project is upgrading the Kitgum to Kidepo road that runs close to Orom-Cross. A new junction will link the mine directly to the sealed highway, which leads on to Kenyan port access.
Once finished, Blencowe will have tarmacked routes from mine to port, giving it a significant logistics advantage over rivals.
Elsewhere, work is underway on permanent site accommodation, water infrastructure and telecoms. Rail access is also being considered from the regional centre of Gulu, which could reduce future transport costs further.
Blencowe’s ongoing Definitive Feasibility Study, the final stage of technical work before securing funding and construction, builds on a pre-feasibility study that already indicated one of the lowest upfront capital costs for any graphite project globally.
This is largely thanks to Orom-Cross’s location near existing infrastructure, which reduces how much the company needs to spend building roads, power lines or water systems.
Lower capital costs also mean less debt, making it easier to finance construction and speeding up the timeline to first production.
In parallel, Blencowe is awaiting first assay results from a 6,750 metre drilling programme, which explored both extensions to existing ore zones and a newly identified area known as Beehive. These results are expected to lead to an upgrade in the official mineral resource estimate.
The project has already attracted US government support via the US International Development Finance Corporation, which has committed US$5 million in grant funding. Of that, US$4.75 million has been paid, with the final instalment due on completion of the DFS.
Pearce said: “With DFS, assays, JORC and further offtake developments all ahead, we believe Orom-Cross is on the cusp of a major value inflexion.”
Orom-Cross holds an initial resource of 24.5 million tonnes grading 6% total graphite content, with potential for expansion as that figure is based on just 2% of the total project area. The mine is also shallow and open-pittable, making extraction cheaper and simpler.
Blencowe was granted a 21-year mining licence for Orom-Cross by the Ugandan government in 2019.
Graphite is a key raw material in the production of lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electric vehicles and other renewable technologies.
With growing pressure from manufacturers to clean up their supply chains, projects like Orom-Cross that offer low-cost, renewable energy inputs are increasingly sought after.
