Volt Resources Ltd (ASX:VRC) has found a taker for 10,000 tonnes of fine flake graphite product per year from the Bunyu Graphite Project for an initial term of five years with the option to extend for a further five years by mutual agreement.
Binding five-year agreement
The company has inked a binding offtake agreement with listed battery anode material producer Graphex Group Ltd's subsidiary, Graphex Michigan 1 LLC.
Graphex Group is a volume producer of spherical graphite for Li-Ion Battery anodes and is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
Graphex is currently among the top suppliers of specialised spherical graphite to the EV and renewable energy industries and holds patents in areas including products, production methods, machinery design, and environmental protection.
Graphex’s stated strategy is to expand its operations globally to support energy transition and electrification efforts worldwide.
Projected strong demand
Volt chief executive officer Prashant Chintawar said: “With projected strong demand in the graphite market, we are continuing to progress discussions with additional parties in respect to further graphite offtake opportunities.
“Looking ahead, Volt remains firmly focused on obtaining the development funding for the Bunyu Project and moving towards construction and first production. We look forward to providing shareholders with further updates on progress.”
Graphex Group president John DeMaio said: “Graphex is extremely pleased to enter into this binding offtake agreement for the supply of fine graphite from the Bunyu Graphite project.
“This is an important step forward in our global strategy to diversify the upstream supply of raw materials as we localise our mid-stream processing footprint in order to provide the flexibility, resiliency, and scale of graphite supply that the EV and Energy Storage sectors will require in the years and decades ahead.
“We look forward to working with Volt as we both progress our graphite development plans and the possibility of expanding our relationship.”
Progressive company
Volt chairman Asimwe Kabunga said: “We are very pleased to secure this offtake agreement for our Bunyu graphite product, and Volt is delighted to be partnering with a progressive company such as Graphex.
“Congratulations to both management teams who have worked diligently to complete this agreement and Volt looks forwards to a long and successful relationship with the Graphex Group.”
The company is confident that all stage one Bunyu fine graphite product will be sold, and it continues to negotiate with other parties for coarse graphite offtakes produced at the project.