Blencowe losses widen as firm continues work towards commercial production

(Sharecast News) - Graphite miner Blencowe Resources reported a first-half loss of over £1m on Tuesday as it continues to make progress at its Orom-Cross flagship project in Uganda. The company, which completed a Definitive Feasibility Study at Orom-Cross in December indicating a net present value of $1.09bn and an internal rate of return of 96%, said it spent £107,005 on exploration costs during the six months to 31 March, which it said was "considered low by peer comparison".

That compares with no exploration costs in the first half the year before and £67,444 in the whole of FY25.

In an addition to £0.91m of admin fees, other expenses and finance costs, the first-half loss before tax totalled £1.04m, compared with £0.18m in H125 and £1.58m for the whole of FY25.

The DFS remains a work in progress, though the stage 7 drill campaign was completed in the fourth quarter of FY25, with two new deposits delivering "significant results".

"All in all, this was a very successful drill programme and with nearly 40Mt added as JORC Resources at higher grades for under US$10/tonne this is an excellent result that sets up Blencowe for the future," said chief executive Mike Ralston

The company said it has continued its search for offtake partners and it prioritising selling graphite into western markets, which typically pay higher prices than Asian markets.

Meanwhile, it is looking to close project financing funding of $45m to kickstart production in 2027, with "several interested parties considering investment" and currently going through due diligence.

The stock was 1.4% higher at 8.5p by 1414 BST.