Record Sales Achieved in Q1 2021

9 April 2021

Tirupati Graphite plc ('Tirupati' or the 'Company')

Record Sales Achieved Q1 2021 at Primary Graphite Operations in Madagascar

Tirupati Graphite plc, the fully integrated, revenue generative, specialist graphite producer and graphene developer with operations in Madagascar and India, is pleased to announce that it achieved record production and sales in Q1 2021 from its Sahamamy 3,000tpa primary graphite mining and processing operations in Madagascar.  Additionally, it continues to advance the development of the first 9,000tpa module of its second project, Vatomina, to support the strong demand for its products and expansion of further capacities.

Overview

·    Rapidly expanding primary graphite output from Vatomina and Sahamamy to support strong market demand driven by the Company's green credentials and increasing requirements from EVs expandable graphite and other consuming markets.

·    Record sales of high-quality flake graphite achieved from Sahamamy in Q1 2021, breaching 97% of nameplate capacity.

·    On track to commission updated 9,000tpa Vatomina first module in Q2 2021, lifting primary flake graphite capacity in Madagascar to 12,000tpa output with construction nearing completion, mining equipment fleet arriving and various workstreams progressing.

·    Continuing exploration activities to upgrade and expand the existing mineral resource inventory across both projects.

Shishir Poddar, CEO of Tirupati Graphite, said, "We are very pleased with the continued efforts of our team resulting in our achieving near nameplate capacity at Sahamamy and remaining on track to commission Vatomina's first module this quarter, while we still face logistical and other challenges caused by the pandemic. The increase in capacity in Madagascar to 12,000tpa is an important near-term milestone, being the current key revenue source for the Company, and positive step in our existing plan to increase capacity to 84,000tpa by 2024.

"We are growing at a particularly opportunistic time.  In particular, the key role of flake graphite graphene in the green economy is being recognised across the globe with the likes of UBS, The World Bank and many others releasing reports suggesting increasing demand for this critical material could cause the market to grow in double digit CAGR. We are therefore excited for the future and look forward to updating the market on further developments in due course."

Details

Tirupati continues to advance its operations across its portfolio including its two primary mining and processing projects in Madagascar, Vatomina and Sahamamy, and its speciality graphite and graphene processing businesses in India.

Demand for Tirupati's graphite products across these divisions has been strong, with the Company experiencing increased engagement with end users across various areas of application including energy storage and e-mobility, flame retardant and other expandable graphite applications, thermal management, and conventional applications.  Accordingly, the Company continues to advance its medium-term development plan ('MTDP') to support this demand. 

At its Sahamamy project in Madagascar the Company achieved record sales of 97% nameplate capacity of high-quality flake graphite concentrate with up to 96% purity during Q1 2021, which was shipped to customers globally.

Work is ongoing to increase production capacity to 84,000 tonnes per annum ('tpa') by 2024 in several phases, 28-fold from current.  In line with this, the first module of the second project, Vatomina, remains on track to be commissioned in Q2 2021, with first shipments of finished products expected to commence during the quarter; this will take total capacity in Madagascar to 12,000tpa.  Fleet mining equipment and processing plant equipment continue to arrive in Madagascar, while the construction of the 12km, six-meter-wide road connecting Sahamamy and Vatomina is also rapidly advancing and is expected to be completed within weeks. 

Additionally, the Company is continuing the next phase of exploration activities to upgrade and expand the existing mineral resource inventory across both projects.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

ENDS

For further information, please visit https://www.tirupatigraphite.co.uk/ or contact:

Notes

Tirupati Graphite Plc is a revenue-generative, multi-asset, multi-jurisdictional, fully integrated producer and developer of high-grade natural flake graphite, speciality graphite and graphene, which captures the entire value chain.  With a unique set of properties, graphite has diverse applications with multiple growth streams and graphene forms the new generation of 2D materials. In support of this, the Company places a special emphasis on "green" applications, including renewable energy generation, energy storage and composites, and is committed to ensuring its operations are sustainable as well.

The Company's operations include primary mining and processing in Madagascar, where the Company operates two key projects, Sahamamy and Vatomina; 3,000 tpa of high-quality flake graphite concentrate with up to 96% purity is currently being produced and sold to customers globally, and this is planned to increase to 84,000 tpa by 2024 as per the Company's modular medium-term development plan.

In India, through Tirupati Speciality Graphite Private Limited ('TSG'), with whom the Company has a binding acquisition agreement subject to regulatory approvals, Tirupati processes and produces speciality graphite for use in hi-tech applications like lithium-ion batteries, fire retardants and composites. Its specialty graphite processing operations include the 1,200 tpa Patalganga Project, which was commissioned in July 2019 to manufacture and sell CARBOFLAMEX®, a trademarked fire-retardant expandable graphite product.  At the next stage of development, Patalganga shall further be expanded to 4,800 tpa capacity with capabilities to also produce high purity and micronised graphite, so increasing market and product reach by 2021. TSG has developed unique green processing technologies for manufacturing these advanced materials.

After establishing itself in the specialty graphite markets through the Patalganga Project, an additional 24,000 tpa specialty graphite processing facility is to be established in two 12,000 tpa phases.  The plant will produce expandable, high purity, micronised and spherical graphite.  The west coast of India has been chosen as the location and a detailed feasibility study has been completed.  TSG is also in the process of establishing the Tirupati Graphene and Mintech Research Centre, a state-of-the-art R&D centre focussed on manufacturing graphene, developing its applications, and further providing environmentally friendly technologies consultancy for mineral processing.