MRL Corporation (ASX:MRF) has received a major vote of confidence in its graphite projects in Sri Lanka, by attracting investment out of Asia.
A placement to sophisticated investors will raise $1.1 million from the issue of 16.4 million shares at $0.07.
Funds will be allocated to a pivotal bulk sampling program at its high-grade Warakapola graphite project in Sri Lanka.
The company's aim is to accelerate the start of commercial production of extremely high-grade graphite following the award of an Industrial Mining Licence.
Sampling is planned to commence in the December quarter 2014.
Warakapola has a history of production
Warakapola has a long history of high-grade commercial graphite production.
MRL Corporation has already identified about 40 historical workings, including two previously used mine shafts which extend to between 10 metres and 25 metres deep.
The company is mid-way through a drilling program which has already returned a host of extremely high-grade results of up to 99.2 per cent Total Carbon (TC).
This drilling program is ongoing and is aimed at establishing the presence of deep vein graphite mineralisation.
MRL Corporation said that each vein typically has the potential to generate substantial revenue and may support a mine life of 10-20 years or even more.
The company will use some of the proceeds of the raising to rehabilitate two of the shafts at Warakapola, which will in turn enable the bulk sampling program to begin.
The Warakapola / Bopitiya / Pandeniya project exploration license areas EL228 are 100% owned by MRL Graphite (Pvt) Ltd.
The exploration Licenses when granted have a two year term which can be renewed prior to the 2 year anniversary.
Use of ore
Some of the ore extracted in this program will be used to conduct metallurgical tests and provide samples to potential off-take parties.
These tests are aimed at determining whether the material is suitable for producing spherical graphite, which is the premium-priced graphite product used in lithium batteries.
Geology: Warakapola / Bopitiya / Pandeniya
Geologically, the area covered by the selected grid units belong to the Wanni Complex of Sri Lanka.
The Wanni Complex is mainly characterised by thick sequences of orthogneisses, comprising amphibolite, migmatitic, granitic and granodioritic gneisses.
These rocks represent a series of antiformal and synformal structures. A characteristic feature of the exploration area is the alignment of identified abandoned graphite mines / pits within a NNW-SSE trending corridor.
Near-term cash flow targeted
MRL now has an extensive portfolio of high-grade vein graphite licences in Sri Lanka and aims to develop multiple small-scale production hubs.
The company said a combination of historical production and drilling results showed there was an abundance of high-grade graphite across its concessions.
"Our activity is now focused on establishing the most economical locations for mining this mineralisation," the company said.
"This will be determined by the extent of the veins and the metallurgical qualities of the mineralisation.
"But rather than amassing vast quantities of JORC resources, our strategy is aimed at initiating production and generation cashflow as quickly as possible.
"Evidence to date suggested the cost of getting into production would be extremely low."
Analysis
Attracting sophisticated investors out of Asia provides a vote of confidence in MRL Corporation's strategy.
MRL Corporation shares are expected to gain on today's news.
The company is focused on cash flow generation, and develop multiple small-scale production hubs
A surging global demand for lithium ion batteries, and therefore spherical graphite, has underpinned investors’ appetites for graphite projects in recent months.
MRL Corporation has positioned itself to potentially take advantage of this demand.
MRL now has an extensive portfolio of high-grade vein graphite licenses in Sri Lanka and aims to develop multiple small-scale production hubs.
The company said a combination of historical production and drilling results showed there was an abundance of high-grade graphite across its concessions.
"Our activity is now focused on establishing the most economical locations for mining this mineralisation," the company said.
"This will be determined by the extent of the veins and the metallurgical qualities of the mineralisation.
"But rather than amassing vast quantities of JORC resources, our strategy is aimed at initiating production and generation cashflow as quickly as possible.
"Evidence to date suggested the cost of getting into production would be extremely low."