Bass signs offtake for 50% of Graphmada Stage 1

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Graphite developer Bass Metals has inked a sales agreement for 50% of the Stage 1 production from its Graphmada graphite project, in Madagascar.

The ASX-listed company on Tuesday announced that it had signed a sales agreement with Europe-based Possehl Erzkontor for the purchase of 3 000 t/y of graphite concentrate for a period of three years, starting in January 2018.

Possehl will earn a 5% commission on all sales through its European distribution network, paying Bass directly on 30-day payment terms, which Bass said would minimise the company’s sales and logistics costs into Europe, while maximising cash flow efficiency.

“Our partnering with Possehl, a group that has been in operation for more than 100 years and generates revenues greater than €350-million a year, is an important strategic relationship for Bass, now and with a view to the proposed Stage 2 expansion to 20 000 t/y,” said Bass CEO Tim McManus.

Possehl’s customer base includes major companies across industrial sectors throughout Europe, and McManus noted that to place the Graphmada concentrate into the European end-market was a beachhead moment for the company.

“It establishes the company in a significant market outside of India and the Americas, and provides the foundation on which to move forward with plans to expand its production profile.”

Bass is currently working to optimise its Graphmada project, with the company on track to recommission the mine in late 2017, and to ramp up production to 6 000 t/y by early 2018.