LONDON (Alliance News) - Beowulf Mining PLC shares rose on Monday morning after the company acquired a privately owned graphite exploration company with projects in Finland.
Beowulf shares were trading up 8.5% to 6.40 pence per share on Monday morning.
Beowulf Mining bought Oy Fennoscandian Resources AB, which holds a portfolio of four early-stage graphite exploration projects in the country, in an all-share deal. Initially, Beowulf will issue 2.1 million shares to acquire Oy Fennoscandian and then issue a further 455,000 shares as a deferred payment.
Beowulf will issue up to a further 4.2 million deferred shares dependent on certain performance milestones being achieved, for a potential total of 6.8 million shares.
Importantly, Beowulf will have to seek shareholder approval before it can issue the deferred shares, as the board does not currently have the authority required. A general meeting will be held shortly to vote on the matter, it said.
The four projects that Beowulf will acquire through the deal are all focused on graphite in Finland and join Beowulf's existing portfolio based in Scandinavia, which is focused around its Kallak North iron ore development project in northern Sweden.
The Viistola project is a potentially high-grade deposit which is thought to contain graphitic carbon grades of 20% to 35%. The Haapamaki project is also thought to be high grade, Beowulf said, with historic drilling showing "attractive" flake sizes ranging from 0.1 to 2.0 millimetres in length.
The Piipumaki project has shown evidence of also having high-quality graphite flakes, and the physical characteristics of the flakes are reportedly comparable with synthetic graphite, it said.
Synthetic graphite is a lot more valuable than natural graphite, with both being used for different purposes. Both can be used in certain types of batteries, a growing market with electric vehicles and in other applications. Synthetic graphite also is used for sport equipment and in aircraft, sometimes referred to as carbon fiber, whilst natural graphite is used for applications such as refractory bricks and crucibles, brake pads and linings, clutches, fuel cells and lubricants.
Lastly, Beowulf will acquire the Kolari project, which has returned results of mineralisation from surface at an average grade of 8.9% graphitic carbon from the one hole that has already been drilled on the site.
"Graphite is a strategic mineral declared supply-critical by both the US and the EU, and it is an important ingredient in advanced technology manufacturing. There is potential long-term growth in demand for large flake graphite in the electric car battery, aerospace, sensor and solar industries," said Beowulf.
"Beowulf's workplan for its graphite projects in 2016 will include ranking projects in the portfolio, before prioritisation of exploration funds. An immediate priority is the selection of the most favourable project(s) for generating a maiden resource statement; based on current knowledge Viistola would be top of the list," it added.
By Joshua Warner; joshuawarner@alliancenews.com; @JoshAlliance
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Beowulf (BEM)