GreenRoc Strategic Materials Plc / EPIC: GROC / Market: AIM / Sector: Mining

24 April 2025

GreenRoc Strategic Materials Plc

("GreenRoc" or the "Company")

2024 Final Results and Notice of AGM

GreenRoc Strategic Materials plc (AIM: GROC), a company focused on the development of critical mineral projects in Greenland, today announces its results for the year ended 30 November 2024.

The Consolidated Financial Statements (including notes) and the statements of the Chairman and CEO, set out below, have been extracted from GreenRoc's Annual Report, which was approved by the Board on 23 April 2025 and will be sent to shareholders and made available on the Company's website (www.greenrocplc.com).

Highlights During the Year

January 2024

·     A series of charging and discharging cycles were carried out on a test battery cell using an Amitsoq graphite anode, with good performance against all studied parameters.

·     GreenRoc representatives visited several of China's leading manufacturers of spheronisation equipment and graphite processing plants.

April 2024:

·     Approval of GreenRoc's application for the enlargement of its mineral exploration licence 2022-03 to incorporate the remaining ground within the Nanortalik Graphite District known to host high-grade graphite mineralisation.

·     Receipt of a Letter of Interest ("LOI") from the Export-Import Bank of the United States ("US EXIM Bank") for the financing of up to US$3.5M of US export contracts relating to goods and services ordered by the Company.

May/June 2024:

·     Compelling results announced from the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") for the planned active anode material ("AAM") plant, indicating a pre-tax Net Present Value (NPV8) of US$837 million with an IRR of 33.8%, total gross revenue of US$6.5 billion over a 22-year period, with a four-year payback period.

·     Fundraisings completed for a total of approximately £448k (before costs) at a price of either 1.8 or 1.9 pence per share, including participation by GreenRoc directors and by the Company's largest shareholder, Alba Mineral Resources plc ("Alba").

July 2024:

·     The Company changed its name to GreenRoc Strategic Materials Plc.

·     GreenRoc announced significant improvements to its previously published PFS for the establishment of a downstream AAM plant, indicating a pre-tax Net Present Value (NPV8) of US$942 million with an IRR of 35.4%, total gross revenue of US$6.5 billion over a 22-year period, with a four-year payback period

August 2024:

·     The Company applied for "Strategic Project" designation under the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act for both the extraction of graphite at Amitsoq and for the processing of graphite concentrate into AAM. The announcement of Strategic Projects located in non-EU Member States is expected in the coming weeks.

·     Letter of Interest signed with Otra Holding a/s to reserve a 100,000m² area in Southern Norway's Eyde Materials Park for the Company's AAM plant.

September 2024:

·     Application submitted for an Exploitation Licence for the Amitsoq graphite mine.  Statutory public consultation anticipated to commence in the second half of 2025.

·     Amitsoq given "Project" status by the international Mineral Security Partnership ("MSP"), a collaboration of several countries including the US, UK, South Korea and Japan, plus the European Union.  GreenRoc has presented the Amitsoq project at four MSP meetings during 2024.

November 2024:

·     GreenRoc was invited by General Motors to present at a UK Business Mission to General Motors in Detroit, USA.

Post Year-End Highlights

December 2024:

·     The Company announced the execution of a memorandum of understanding with Morrow Batteries ASA in respect of the Company's supply of AAM to Morrow's lithium-ion gigafactory, once fully operational.

January 2025:

·     GreenRoc received a Letter of Interest from the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark ("EIFO") for the provision of funding to the Amitsoq graphite project.

February 2025:

·     The Company completed a share placing and subscription to raise £735k (before costs) at a price of 1.3 pence per share and including a 1 for 2 warrant exercisable at 2 pence per share.  The placing included £500k from a new institutional investor, £165k from existing investors, £50k from Alba and £20k from GreenRoc directors and management. 

·     Digbee, a specialist in ESG disclosure and assessment for the mining industry, reported on the Company's ESG performance at Amitsoq, with the initial BB rating considered a creditable result for a first assessment.

·     GreenRoc contracted ProGraphite in Germany to conduct a series of extended tests to optimise purification techniques for Amitsoq graphite.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK Market Abuse Regulation and the Directors of the Company are responsible for the release of this announcement.

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market and business conditions, competition for qualified staff, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, uncertainties resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction, uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of prospecting rights, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of regulatory and other third party consents and approvals, uncertainties regarding the Company's or any third party's ability to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected events. Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors

*ENDS** 

For further information, please contact:  

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Dear Shareholders,

Our focus this past year has remained on our flagship Amitsoq graphite project in South Greenland, where we have made substantial advancements:

·      Exploitation Licence Application: In September 2024, we submitted our application for an Exploitation Licence for the Amitsoq graphite mine. We anticipate that the statutory public consultation will commence in the second half of 2025, following the formation of Greenland's new government, post the General Election on 11 March 2025.

·      EU Strategic Project Status: In August 2024, we applied for "Strategic Project" designation under the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act for both the extraction of graphite at Amitsoq and the processing of graphite concentrate into Active Anode Material (AAM) at a planned facility in Southern Norway. This status could provide benefits such as priority in permitting processes and potential financial support. The first batch of Strategic Projects were announced in March 2025 for those in EU member countries, and projects located in EU-partner countries are expected in the coming weeks (at the time of writing).

·      Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) for AAM Plant: In May 2024, we announced compelling results from the PFS for our planned AAM production plant, indicating a pre-tax Net Present Value (NPV8) of US$837 million with an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 33.8%. The study projects total gross revenue of US$6.5 billion over a 22-year period, with a four-year payback period from the start of production.

·      Site Selection for AAM Plant: We have signed a Letter of Interest with Otra Holding a/s to reserve a 100,000m² area in Southern Norway's Eyde Materials Park for our AAM plant. This location offers sustainable industrial infrastructure and access to renewable energy sources, aligning with our commitment to environmental responsibility.

·      Strategic Engagements: Our efforts to foster potential partnerships with key industry participants, strategic investors and government agencies have led to several strategic engagements. In November 2024, for instance, we participated in a trade mission to General Motors Company in Detroit, USA, as part of a delegation organised by the UK's Department for Business and Trade. Additionally, we presented at the Mineral Security Partnership meeting in Nuuk, Greenland, highlighting investment opportunities in Greenland's critical minerals sector.

·      Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Initiatives: We have engaged Digbee Limited, a specialist in ESG disclosure and assessment for the mining industry, to evaluate our ESG performance at the Amitsoq project. This initiative underscores our commitment to sustainability and aligns with the expectations of potential offtake partners in the automotive and battery manufacturing sectors.

We have made these significant advancements despite the backdrop of softening graphite prices and poor trading conditions on AIM, the market on which our shares are quoted. Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, GreenRoc has demonstrated strong financial resilience. We have continued to raise the necessary capital to fund our projects, ensuring that we remain well-positioned to meet our strategic goals.

Our focus in the coming year will be on securing the necessary permits for Amitsoq, advancing our AAM plant development, and fostering strategic partnerships to bring our projects to fruition. We are confident that the year ahead will present exciting opportunities, and we remain committed to driving the long-term success of GreenRoc for the benefit of our shareholders, employees, and the communities in which we operate.

I extend my gratitude to our shareholders for their continued support and to our dedicated team for their unwavering commitment to achieving our strategic objectives.

George Frangeskides

Chairman

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S STATEMENT

INTRODUCTION

The past year the GreenRoc team has been very busy on the development of our ambition to become Europe's first domestic supplier of graphite active anode material for the growing battery industry, responsibly sourced at the Company's planned Amitsoq graphite mine in Greenland. With the announcement of the results of a Prefeasibility Study of the graphite anode materials processing plant in May 2024 and with the Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Amitsoq graphite mine completed in 2023, the Company's graphite project is now documented as a very strong business case and thus an attractive investment proposition.

PROJECTS OVERVIEW

The Company's flagship project is the Amitsoq graphite project in South Greenland, a historic mine which the Company is pushing towards reopening as a producing graphite mine by 2029. Two exploration licences associated with this project are: the Amitsoq licence itself, MEL 2013-06, and the adjacent licence MEL 2022-03, which contains evidence of similarly high-grade graphite mineralisation - neither of which has ever been tested by drilling. In January 2024, the Company submitted an application for an enlargement of the ground east of the MEL 2022-03 licence to include the remaining known graphite mineralisation in the Nanortalik Graphite District. The grant of this enlargement, in March 2024, cements GreenRoc's position as the sole and exclusive rights holder over the emerging world-class Nanortalik Graphite District.

An important component of the Company's business is the development of the capacity to process the graphite concentrate produced at the Amitsoq mine, into graphite active anode material ("AAM")  - the key raw material for Li-battery production. After successfully testing the amenability of Amitsoq graphite to such processing, the Company completed a Prefeasibility Study of an AAM plant in May 2024, demonstrating some very strong project economics. Later in the Autumn of 2024, a MoU was signed with the Norwegian battery producer Morrow Batteries ASA ("Morrow") which can be regarded as a first step towards more formal off-take agreements with the battery industry.

On the political front, GreenRoc continues to raise its profile amongst emerging suppliers of critical raw materials. The Company is now a recognised project under the Mineral Security Partnership and has applied to become a Strategic Project under the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act.

In North Greenland, GreenRoc holds exploration licence MEL 2017-29, encompassing the Thule Black Sands (''TBS'') Project, a heavy mineral sand deposit spanning several kilometres of coastline. At the time of writing, following its last drilling programme, the Company is awaiting an updated mineral resource estimate.

Amitsoq Graphite Project ("Amitsoq")

Application for Exploitation Licence submission: A change in Greenland's mining laws, effective from 1 January 2024, now allows an Exploitation Licence to be applied for and granted prior to the final approval of a project's Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA"), Social Impact Assessment ("SIA") and Impact Benefit Agreement ("IBA"). This change, allowing the process for the grant of an Exploitation Licence to run in parallel with the EIA and SIA processes, rather than having to wait for the latter to be completed, means that the additional time required to achieve an Exploitation Licence should be considerably reduced. Under the new law, provided the holder of an Exploration Licence has substantiated and delineated a viable mineral deposit which it intends to exploit, and has complied with its licence obligations, the licence holder will be entitled to be granted an Exploitation Licence.

Greenland Graphite a/s, the Greenland incorporated, wholly owned subsidiary of GreenRoc, applied for an Exploitation Licence on 27 September 2024. The application consists of a Project Description of the mining plans for Amitsoq, prepared in Greenlandic and in Danish, together with a Competent Person's report on the 2023 Resource Estimate and other documentation.

The application will next be considered by Naalakkersuisut, the Greenlandic Government, for formal approval of the Project Description, before the application is sent for public pre-consultation for 35 days. During the pre-consultation, Greenlandic stakeholders (e.g. the local communities) will have the opportunity to comment on the project. After the 35 days pre-consultation, all comments received will be collated by the Government and delivered to the Company, which will then prepare and file a White Paper containing the Company's response on those comments and any amendments to the Project Description. Subject to the final approval of the Government, the Exploitation Licence will then proceed to grant. The Company is hopeful that the Exploitation Licence can be granted in H2, 2025.

In April 2024, the Greenland Government granted an extension of an additional approximately 50km² of ground to GreenRoc's exclusive Mineral Exploration Licence ("MEL") 2022-03 near Nanortalik in South Greenland., . With this licence expansion, GreenRoc now holds all of the known significant showings and mineralisations of graphite within the Nanortalik Graphite District (Fig. 1)

Finally, after a submission of data and information to Digbee, which is an independent ESG assessment company providing reports on the minerals industry's ESG performance, in February 2025, GreenRoc received Digbee's report assessing ESG performance both at the corporate and the Amitsoq project levels. As a result, GreenRoc's Amitsoq project is the first mining project in Greenland to have an official and independent ESG certification.

Fig. 1. Showing the GreenRoc exclusive licence blocks around Nanortalik, including Amitsoq and Kalaaq deposits (large red symbols) and several other areas of high-grade graphite mineralisation (small red symbols).

GreenRoc's graphite active anode materials plant

The main market for graphite in the decades to come will be in the electrification of vehicles, where graphite is extensively used as anode material for Li-batteries. Another growing market is in energy storage systems, both for domestic and industrial use. The demand for graphite in the manufacturing of Li-based batteries for electric vehicles is set to rise four times over the coming decade (Fastmarkets, September 2024). Today, China covers 98% of the world's processing into and export of graphite AAM. As such, Western battery and electric car producers are wholly dependent on the import of graphite anode material from China. The production of AAM requires natural flake graphite concentrate (>94% purity) as feedstock. The processing of that concentrate into AAM involves micronisation, shaping to rounded particles (spheronisation), purification to a >99.95% pure graphite and finally coating to make a coated spherical purified graphite (cSPG) product. AAM typically sells at prices 5-10 times higher than the price of a simple graphite concentrate.

Over the past two years, GreenRoc has, through its research partner, ProGraphite GmbH conducted a series of tests to assess the amenability of and development of insight into the process of spheronisation and purification of graphite from Amitsoq, and, as stated in earlier annual reports and news releases, with very positive results. Building on this knowledge, in September 2023, GreenRoc commenced a feasibility study on establishing an AAM processing plant in Northern Europe with a ca £260k grant from the UK's Automotive Transformation Fund. The Feasibility Study, completed with a cost accuracy to AACE Class 4, was conducted by SLR Consulting Ltd ("SLR"), an independent UK consulting firm with considerable global expertise in the field of mining and mineral processing. The results of the feasibility study were announced in May 2024 supplemented by an update to the PFS in July 2024 with the following highlights:

·     Pre-Tax Net Present Value at 8% discount rate (NPV8) of US$942M with Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 35.4%.

·     After-tax NPV8 of US$621M with IRR of 26.5%.

·     Years of operation set at 22 to match that planned for the Amitsoq graphite mine.

·     4-year payback period on capital from start of production.

·     Initial capital cost (Capex) of US$340M inclusive of a 25% contingency.

·     Average operating cost (Opex) of US$1,872 per tonne of CSPG.

·     Average annual processing of 80,000t of graphite concentrate at 95% graphitic carbon (C(g))

with production of 39,700t of active anode material in the form of coated spherical purified graphite (CSPG).

The reports from SLR show the strong business upside to the Amitsoq project by establishing the capability of processing graphite concentrate produced at Amitsoq into Li-Battery active anode material. The report also contains a detailed description of what a AAM pilot processing plant looks like, complete with an inventory list and sources of the units.

For GreenRoc, the next steps will be to establish such a full-scale (but not full-capacity) pilot plant and start the qualification process as required by the market off-taker companies.

Further to the AAM plant, GreenRoc conducted a search for a suitable site for the AAM-plant, bearing in mind the substantial use of demineralised water and electric energy - preferably generated by a low-CO2 emission technology. Following a lengthy evaluation process, the Company selected Eyde Materials Park in southern Norway as the preferred location for its AAM plant and signed a Letter of Interest with the landowner in August 2024 (see Fig. 2).

Fig. 2, showing the location of Longum Nord (labelled "Longum"). Note that the buildings shown are a graphic representation of expected future development. The industrial road connecting the Port of Arendal (Arendal Havn) with the industrial sites is shown in green and will be extended into Longum Nord. Morrow's Gigafactory is also shown.  A motorway runs between Morrow's Gigafactory and Longum Nord, connecting Arendal and southern Norway with the capital city, Oslo (source: Eyde Materials Park).

Business contacts for potential off take of GreenRoc's AAM production

GreenRoc has over the past couple of years established strong network connections to most if not all of the large western OEM's and several of the leading battery manufacturers in Europe. To consider concrete off-take agreements the car producers and battery companies typically require the supplier to provide a series of large AAM samples over some length of time and this requires running a pilot AAM plant. The plans for establishing such a pilot plant thus serves several purposes and is highly prioritised by the Company. Although we at GreenRoc are still a bit early in that process, we were selected by General Motors ("GM") to participate in a trade mission to GM's headquarters in Detroit, USA from 18-20 November 2024 as part of a delegation of some 20 UK companies. The trade mission was arranged by the Department for Business and Trade ("DBT") to showcase UK automotive suppliers to GM, and the participating companies were specifically picked by GM.

Importantly, in November 2024, GreenRoc and Morrow Batteries ASA ("Morrow"), signed a memorandum of understanding ("MoU") which is a significant milestone for us to have reached. Morrow is a newly established but highly respected battery producer situated in Southern Norway and very close to the location of GreenRoc's coming AAM plant. The scope of the MoU includes:

·    Secured Supply of Proven Quality AAM: GreenRoc intends to supply graphite concentrate from its planned mine at Amitsoq in Greenland. Given the single source origin, GreenRoc intends to produce AAM of consistent quality.

·    Reduced CO2 Emissions Through Renewable Energy Use: GreenRoc's anticipated AAM production aims to be largely powered by electricity generated by hydropower, contributing to a specific CO2 emissions reduction in AAM production compared to present day AAM suppliers that rely on higher carbon-emitting sources.

·    Tailored AAM Production to Morrow's Specifications: GreenRoc will have the flexibility to adjust AAM specifications and capacity to Morrow's evolving needs, with the capability to adapt specifications on short notice, as required.

·    Mutual Engagement in Material Performance Development: The parties will engage with one another on the potential to optimise material performance to enhance battery cell capacity and durability, leveraging shared R&D efforts.

·    Continuous Reduction of CO2 Emissions: Both parties will engage in efforts to further reduce CO2 emissions from raw material sourcing and processing, aiming collectively to be industry leading.

Amitsoq - the year ahead

The next major milestone for the Amitsoq project is the Prefeasibility Study ("PFS") which will describe in further detail the mining methods, mining equipment, processing units, infrastructure requirements and design as well as water and energy supplies, tailings storage facility, transportation etc. All these points were already discussed in the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") reported by the Company in October 2023, but the PFS will provide considerably better constrained estimates, particularly on costs but also on the mining technology, and therefore the PFS often serves as a foundation for a more precise valuation of a given project. To this end, there is a need for geotechnical drilling and a small amount of resource drilling, mainly to lift the Mineral Resource categories from Indicated into Measured and a smaller amount of the planned mined part of the resource in the Inferred category into Indicated category.

Alongside, a larger bulk sample of ca 20 tonnes is planned to be collected from the underground workings, which provide easy access to the Lower Graphite Layer, which is the main orebody to be mined as disclosed in the PEA.

During the coming months, a series of tailings samples collected from the processing of a 600kg bulk sample collected in 2022 will provide the basis for leaching tests, which are important for the ongoing Environmental Impact Assessment study and will be supplemented by further baseline sampling.

Finally, it is planned to start a design-study of an on-site ore-processing plant using equipment from FLSmidth, a world leading manufacturer of mining equipment. FLSmidth is presently testing new pressurised flotation cells on Amitsoq ore, and the details of the design-study can feed directly into the planned PFS and help constraining important parameters around the beneficiation of the Amitsoq graphite ore, such as rock strength, crusher dimensions and capacity, flotation cell and flotation stages etc.

Other developments

GreenRoc's vertically integrated graphite anode materials project has now been formally granted "Project" status under the international Mineral Security Partnership ("MSP"). The MSP is an international initiative launched in 2022, led by the United States, to secure global supply chains for critical minerals. Member countries include major mineral consumers and producers such as the US, Canada, Australia, UK, Norway, Japan, and the EU countries. The critical minerals concerned - such as graphite, lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements - are essential for technologies like electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and advanced manufacturing. The MSP aims to ensure that the supply of these minerals is reliable, resilient, and environmentally and socially responsible. It seeks to diversify global sources, reducing reliance on any single country or region, particularly China, which dominates many critical mineral markets. The partnership promotes responsible mining practices, sustainability, and fair labour conditions and presently works out how to establish financial support for the MSP projects. As GreenRoc's CEO, I was invited to present on 20 November 2024 at a Mineral Security Partnership ("MSP") and MINVEST/MSP Finance Network meeting in Nuuk, Greenland, entitled "Critical Mineral Investment Opportunities in Greenland". The meeting attendance was hybrid (virtual and in-person) and was arranged by the US State Department and the Government of Greenland. The US State Department was represented by under-secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Jose Fernandez, while the Government of Greenland was represented by Minister of Statehood and Foreign Affairs, Vivian Motzfeldt and Minister of Mineral Resources, Naaja Nathanielsen.

In Early September 2024, the three leading mining and exploration companies active in South Greenland, GreenRoc (Amitsoq graphite), Amaroq (Nalunaq gold mine) and Tanbreez (Kringlerne REE-deposit) were invited to take part of information meetings held in the three South Greenland towns of Nanortalik, Qaqortoq and Narsaq (Fig. 3). The event was arranged by the Kommune Kujalleq and The Greenland Government and representatives from the three companies gave presentations and discussed with local residents and businesses. It was a very positive experience to explain our project and discuss with local people.

Fig. 3. Greenland Government and South Greenland Kommune (Kommune Kujalleq) arranged information meetings in three towns in South Greenland in September 2024. In middle front is GreenRoc's CEO Stefan Bernstein with the Kommune's Mayor Trine Egede to the left and left of her, Anneri Basson, Amaroq. Geologist and former director of NunaMinerals Ole Christiansen to the far right. Minister Naaja Nathanielsen in white jacket with Tine Pars to the right and Jaco Duvenhage, Amaroq in blue jacket. GreenRoc NED Lars Brünner to the left of the Mininster, Tanbreez's Greg Barnes (in yellow jacket) and Kuupik Kleist, former prime Minister of Greenland (in black jacket).

Following on from the EU-Greenland Partnership on Raw Materials signed in March 2024, a high-level delegation from the EU Commission visited Greenland on 30 September to 2 October 2024. The Business Mission comprised representatives from the EU Commission, led by Director of Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) Joaquim Nunes De Almeida, as well as representatives of the European Investment Bank and the Nordic Investment Bank. The event included a conference at which GreenRoc CEO Stefan Bernstein was invited to present the Company's Amitsoq project, one of only three raw materials projects to be presented to the representatives from the EU Commission. GreenRoc was further invited to speak on 10 December 2024 at the Greenland Session held in Brussels during the Raw Materials Week (9-12 December 2024) arranged by DG GROW, DG INTPA and the Greenland Government.

In May 2024, the EU Commission announced a call for applications to become designated a Strategic Project under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act. Two separate applications were submitted, one concerning the extraction of flake graphite concentrate from the planned Amitsoq Graphite Mine and the other concerning the production of AAM using Amitsoq graphite concentrate as feedstock. The applications were submitted in the first round of the application process, which ended on 22 August 2024. The European Union's Critical Raw Materials Act ("CRMA") is designed to ensure the EU's access to a secure, sustainable, and diversified supply of critical raw materials ("CRMs") that are essential for the green and digital transitions, as well as for defence and space applications. One key component of this legislation is the identification and support of "Strategic Projects" related to the extraction, processing, and recycling of CRMs. Strategic Projects under the CRMA are initiatives that are identified as critical to the EU's objectives of securing a stable supply of CRMs. These projects can be located both within the EU and in an Overseas Country and Territory ("OCT"), provided they contribute significantly to the EU's supply chain resilience.  Greenland is an OCT associated with the European Union (EU). On March 25, 2024, the EU Commission announced Strategic Projects located in EU-member countries and stated that projects located in EU-partner countries (such as Greenland and Norway) will be announced over 'the coming weeks'.

A General Election was held in Greenland on 11 March 2025. The outcome was a significant change in the parliamentary landscape as the Demokraatit (Liberals) jumped from being a relatively small party to Greenland's biggest party with nearly 30% of the votes. The former coalition parties IA and Siumut both saw a fall in their respective share of the vote while Naleraaq was another winner, securing nearly 25% of the votes. In total, there are now five parties represented in the Greenlandic Parliament (Demokraatit, Naleraq, IA, Siumut and Atassut). On Friday 28 March 2025 the new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen (Demokraatit) presented a new coalition Government including four of the five parties (with only Naleraq not represented). Important to note for the minerals industry, the former Minister for Raw Materials Naaja Nathanielsen has been reappointed to her position. This ensures policy continuity and, given that there is consensus amongst all the Greenlandic parties that the minerals industry is important for the country, we expect that the new Government will continue to work proactively in the interests of all in the sector.

Thule Black Sands Ilmenite Project ("TBS")

Exclusive exploration licence MEL 2017-29 is located in northern Greenland. The project, Thule Black Sands (TBS), covers a long stretch of coast with significant deposits of heavy mineral sands at or near surface. The mineral of interest here is ilmenite, an iron-titanium oxide mineral, which is of great economic importance because it is the main feedstock for producing titanium dioxide pigment for enamel, paints and other coatings. Titanium is defined as a critical raw material by the EU and by the USA.

A large drilling programme was conducted at TBS in 2021 using a sonic drill rig. The material from the drilling was sent to specialist mineral sands consultants IHC Mining in Australia (IHC). The completion of the analytical program has been delayed due to a series of events outside the Company's control. A final series of tests and analytical work having now been carried out, at the time of writing IHC is in the process of completing its final report and revised mineral resource evaluation, expected to be released in H1, 2025.

FINANCING

During 2024, the Company completed one raise in May 2024 of ca £348,000 at a price per share of 1.8p and supplemented by an additional raise in June 2024 of £100,000 at a price per share of 1.9p. At the first raise, the Company's board and management together with GreenRoc's largest shareholder, Alba Mineral Resources plc, took part with a purchase of a total of £110,000 worth of shares. The proceeds were directed towards the finalisation of the AAM plant Prefeasibility Study, as well as some technical work on the Amitsoq graphite and for general business development.

In January 2025 the Company received a Letter of Interest from the Export and Investment Fund of Denmark ("EIFO") for the provision of funding to the Amitsoq graphite project. The potential financial support will be directed towards the purchase of equipment as well as services from FLSmidth a/s and other Danish and Greenlandic suppliers. These could include pilot flotation plants, test work, and design and costing of a graphite ore beneficiation plant.

OUTLOOK

While the rolling out of electric vehicles has slowed its momentum over the past year or so, market analysts (e.g. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and Fastmarket) agree that the mid-term forecast for graphite remains very strong, with demand set to increase by four times in the decade leading to 2035. The global demand is driven by several factors, particularly the fast-increasing share of EV's in China and India followed by Europe, so that in 2024, EV's made up one in four of vehicles sold, globally. Additionally, there is a growing demand from Battery Electric Storage Systems which find its use not only in large-scale solar power farms but also increasingly so in household energy systems.  While scientists and research and development (R&D) departments with large Battery makers are working hard to develop next-generation battery technologies, there is still no likely replacement for the Li-battery, rightly celebrated for its dependency, high power-to-weight ratio, longevity and robustness.

Additionally, graphite has made its appearance on NATO's list of critical raw materials for the defence industries, released in December 2024, where graphite stands out as one of only two raw materials in the red 'high-risk' category. Meanwhile, GreenRoc's Amitsoq graphite project in Greenland and its plans for a graphite AAM plant in Scandinavia is arguably the most likely coming supplier of this key raw material to the European battery and car industry over a foreseeable future.

Realising the tremendous need for Europe to gain some control of its critical raw material supply chains, a series of EU-based or country-based initiatives are now emerging to establish funds supporting the development of a domestic raw materials industry. Examples include the European Battery Alliance Fund, Deutsche Rohstofffond and various calls from EU-institutions and national industry support programmes.

Against this background I am very positive about the outlook for 2025, as a year where our graphite project will be recognised for its strategic importance and will attract the capital needed to continue our push to become the first European producer of domestically and responsibly sourced graphite active anode material.

Stefan Bernstein

Chief Executive Officer