**Summary**
Blencowe Resources Plc has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Alkeemia S.P.A., a European graphite processing specialist, to provide toll beneficiation and purification services for graphite from its Orom-Cross project in Uganda. The graphite will be processed at Alkeemias facility in Italy, offering a cleaner, non-China processing route that achieves 99.99% purity, suitable for high-value niche markets. This partnership
1. **Strengthens European Strategy**Provides Blencowe with a non-China downstream pathway, aligning with EU and US efforts to secure critical mineral supply chains.
2. **Enhances Market Access**Enables access to premium, high-purity graphite markets without significant capital expenditure.
3. **Supports Sustainability**Utilizes a simpler, faster, and lower-toxicity purification process, meeting European and US offtakers demands for cleaner technology.
4. **Expands Opportunities**Positions Blencowe to engage with European stakeholders, including funding bodies, and strengthens its role in the EUs energy transition initiatives like SAFELOOP.
5. **Long-Term Growth**Establishes a foundation for a longer-term commercial relationship with Alkeemia, with potential to increase processing volumes as both companies expand.
Additionally, Blencowe issued 500,000 ordinary shares to Minex for consulting services and granted 1,000,000 options, with plans to admit the new shares to trading on the London Stock Exchange. This move increases the total voting rights to 477,795,645 shares.
The partnership with Alkeemia is seen as a strategic step to de-risk Blencowes downstream strategy and capitalize on the growing demand for purified graphite outside China, particularly in battery and energy transition markets.