- Ceylon Graphite (CYL) has signed an MOU for a joint venture to develop and operate new graphite mines
- The company is partnering with subsidiaries of LOLC, the largest corporate conglomerate in Sri Lanka
- The partners will develop and operate a minimum of three mines near the government-owned Kahatagha Mine
- Ceylon and LOLC will also construct a facility to upgrade the mined product to 99.99 per cent purity for spheronization
- Ceylon Graphite mines for graphite and develops and commercializes associated products and applications
- Ceylon Graphite (CYL) is trading flat at $0.20 per share
Ceylon Graphite (CYL) has signed an MOU for a joint venture to develop and operate new graphite mines.
Ceylon, through its subsidiary, Plumbago Refining, and LOLC, through its subsidiaries LOLC GEO Technologies and LOLC Advanced Technologies, will develop the mines and a graphite processing facility in Sri Lanka.
LOLC is the largest corporate conglomerate in Sri Lanka.
LOLC GEO is the mining arm of LOLC and holds several exploration licenses from Sri Lanka’s Government Survey and Mining Bureau.
LOLC Advanced Technologies is LOLC’s research arm and a joint owner of Sri Lanka’s first graphene and advanced material company, which is currently producing graphene from Sri Lankan graphite.
The companies will develop and operate a minimum of three mines on grids located near the government-owned Kahatagha Mine, an area known to be rich in high-grade vein graphite.
Under the MOU, Ceylon intends to purchase 10 per cent of LOLC Geo with an option to buy up to 40 per cent of the company. Ceylon will also offtake all mine production for further processing.
In turn, LOLC intends to purchase up to 15 per cent of Ceylon shares.
Further, Ceylon and LOLC will construct an in-country facility to upgrade the mined product to 99.99 per cent purity for spheronization.
The companies have also agreed to cross-appointments of designates to their respective corporate boards.
Don Baxter, CEO of Ceylon Graphite, commented,
“We are excited to embark on this joint venture together with LOLC Group, the most profitable company in Sri Lanka, led by Mr. Ishara Nanayakkara, one of the most respected business leaders in Asia, whose extraordinary vision aligns with Ceylon’s goals in graphite and graphene applications.
We’re delighted LOLC is eager to support the joint venture’s technical strategy to produce a minimum of 50,000 to 100,000 tonnes per year of unparalleled quality spheronized graphite for the rapidly growing anode applications market as well as to collaborate with us and share successes in the graphene production technology.”
Danesh Abeyrathne, CEO of LOLC Advanced Technologies, added,
“LOLC is pleased to partner with a well-established graphite production company like Ceylon. Together we can work to capture a greater share of the world’s battery anode and graphene applications markets than we can working separately. This will benefit both our companies as well as the people of Sri Lanka in a significant way.”
Ceylon Graphite mines for graphite and develops and commercializes associated products and applications.
Ceylon Graphite (CYL) is trading flat at $0.20 per share as of 9:34 am ET.
