ASX ANNOUNCEMENT 1 APRIL 2015
Triton Minerals Ltd
ASX: TON
ABN: 99 126 042 215
Street address:
278 Barker Road
Subiaco
Western Australia 6008
Postal address:
PO Box 1518
West Perth
Western Australia 6872
YXGC
Tel: +61 8 6489 2555
Fax: +61 8 9388 1252
Email: [email protected] Web:
www.tritonmineralsltd.com.au
Projects: Mozambique Balama North Graphite-Vanadiu Ancuabe Graphite
Balama South Graphite
Holder of the world's largest known
combined graphite-vanadium resource.
TRITON SECURES
TWO BILLION DOLLAR (USD)
20 YEAR
BINDING OFF-TAKE CONTRACT
Triton Minerals Ltd (ASX: TON, Triton or Company) is pleased to announce the implementation of a binding off-take agreement with Chinese graphite products specialist Yichang Xincheng Graphite Co., Ltd (YXGC) for Triton's Mozambique Graphite (TMG). Further, Triton has exclusive rights to supply graphite to YXGC from Mozambique, Madagascar, Malawi and Tanzania.
Minimumtotal contract revenue of US$2,000,000,000 (two billion dollars US) is assured by a floor price of US$1,000/tonne, with the fullcontract value determined by the future sale price as set by the applicable market price.
Triton Minerals' Managing Director & CEO Brad Boyle said:
"Yichang Xincheng Graphite Co., Ltd is globally renowned as a supplier of a diverse range of high quality, high-tech expanded graphite products. This is a very special day for Triton as this binding commercial agreement is with a graphite specialist organisation that has mined, manufactured and sold expanded graphite products for nearly 20 years.
We are both proud and fortunate to be associated with a world-recognised and large-capacity graphite Company that supplies materials for some of the world's most distinguished electronics and technology Companies."
Chairman of Yichang Xincheng Graphite Co. Ltd. Mr Yue Bin said:
"Our Company, which is the largest private producer of high-value expanded graphite products in China and which supplies products to some of the world's most celebrated technology companies, is extremely pleased to enter into a binding long-term commercial agreement with Triton. Tests in our laboratory on the TMG material performed well beyond our highest expectations and we feel TMG is ideally suited to support and build our diverse range of expandable graphite products. The long term supply of high quality TMG will not only allow our Company to develop competitively priced products for the global markets but will also contribute, indirectly, to the long term economic growth of Mozambique."
Figure 1. Mr Brad Boyle, CEO & MD Triton and Mr Yue Bin, Chairman YXGC at contract signing ceremony,
30 March 2015, Yichang, China
ABOUT YICHANG XINCHENG GRAPHITE CO., LTD
YXGC is located in Yichang, China. This region of China is famous for being the hydroelectric capital of the world and is one of the biggest enterprises area from the whole of China for mineral processing and products.
YXGC operates some of the most advanced graphite processing equipment in the world with professional management and superior production systems including graphite air-flow classification equipment, super-minute crushing equipment and flexible graphite sheets and rolls production line.
The main graphite products produced by YXGC included: micro-powder graphite, high-purity graphite, natural flake graphite, expandable graphite, amorphous graphite, flexible graphite sheet and roll, flexible graphite tape, flexible graphite ribbon tape, reinforced expanded graphite sheet, flexible graphite yarn, flexible graphite braided packing, die-formed graphite ring, graphite gasket, spiral wound gasket, exhaust manifold gasket, expandable graphite fireproofing strips, expanded graphite knitted tape, expanded graphite cloth, graphite crucible and high purified graphite products.
YXGC products are widely used in the fields of petroleum and chemical industry, steel refining, electric power, metallurgy, machinery, automobile, shipping building, pharmacy, aerospace industry, nuclear industry and, most significantly, a number of distinguished global electronic and technology companies.
YXGC products are distributed throughout China and exported to more than 20 countries around the world.
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Figure 2. Graphite paper presses in the YXGC factory.
Figure 3. Graphite paper sheets made from expanded graphite in the YXGC factory
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Figure 4. Examples of 1.5m wide graphite paper rolls in the YXGC factory
Figure 5. Examples of 1km roll of graphite paper in the YXGC factory
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With the adoption of the binding long term off-take agreement with YXGC, Triton is now positioned to continue with the rapid development towards large scale production of TMG.
KEY TERMS OF BINDING OFF-TAKE
Term
|
20 years
|
Amount
|
100,000 tonnes of graphite concentrate per year, annualised over term, scaling up from initial production
|
Sale Price
|
Graphite Market Price
|
Minimum Sale Price
|
US$1,000 per tonne of graphite concentrate
|
Minimum Contract Revenue
|
US$2,000,000,000 (2 Billion Dollars)
|
Minimum Flake Size
|
150µm
|
Graphite Purity
|
90% Total Graphitic Carbon
|
Moisture Content
|
Less than 1%
|
No Restriction
|
Triton is not restricted in selling TMG to other parties
|
Exclusivity of Supply
|
YXGC will only source graphite concentrate from
Mozambique, Madagascar, Malawi and Tanzania exclusively from Triton
|
Condition Precedents
|
Within 36 months of signing Agreement the follow
conditions apply:
Triton receiving all relevant government approvals
Triton commissioning a processing plant or plants
Triton achieving commercial production of
Material to the satisfaction of Triton
Triton providing YXGC notice of its intention to commence deliveries of Material
|
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TRITON ACHIEVEMENTS
At this time last year Triton had yet to commence the exploration drilling program at Nicanda Hill. Within an eleven month period Triton has not only achieved its initial objective of a proof of concept exploration program, but has reported the world's largest known flake graphite and vanadium JORC
2012 resource. In addition, Triton has completed a scoping study, commenced environmental and permitting activities and commenced a definitive feasibility study.
Recently, Triton has secured a premier exploration and development strategic partnership with AMG Mining and, most significantly, secured an initial binding off-take agreement that will underpin the development of the TMG projects (Figure 6). With an Australian dollar equivalent value of at least
$2.6Billion, the Company's intent is to rapidly develop the TMG projects into production and maintain a secure revenue stream to create genuine long term value for Triton's shareholders.
Figure 6: TMG Conceptual Integrated Development Business Model
CONCLUSIONS
Triton is working towards establishing TMG as the global graphite-industry benchmark by aiming to offer the world's lowest cost and most diversified graphite product range, together with the longevity of a reliable supply of high quality flake graphite.
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Triton considers the initial binding off-take agreement with Yichang Xincheng Graphite Co., Ltd, which is possibly one of the largest and longest materials supply contracts made in the graphite market and is very significant with respect to any mineral commodity, to be an encouraging major milestone in the development of the TMG projects.
The implementation of this agreement demonstrates the strategic importance and growth potential of graphite-based technologies.
Triton is continuing to pursue further off take opportunities around the world.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT EFFECTIVELY CEASES THE TRADING HALT REQUESTED BY THE COMPANY ON 30
MARCH 2015. THE COMPANY IS NOT AWARE OF ANY REASON WHY THE ASX WOULD NOT ALLOW
TRADING TO RECOMMENCE IMMEDIATELY.
Regards
Brad Boyle
CEO & Managing Director
Triton Minerals Ltd
For further information, please contact:
Brad Boyle Michael Brady
CEO & Managing Director General Counsel & Company Secretary
Tel: + 61 8 6489 2555 Tel: + 61 8 6489 2555
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
Forward-Looking Statements
This document may include forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not necessarily limited to, statements concerning Triton Minerals Limited's planned exploration program and other statements that are not historic facts. When used in this document, the words such as "could", "plan", "estimate" "expect", "intend", "may", "potential", "should" and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Although Triton Minerals Limited believes that its expectations reflected in these are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements.
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