Hi SB.

These are my thoughts.... Apologies if they jump around a bit and you have also posted further since I started this post. Been coming back to it as time allows.

Company now attempting to move to hydraulic mining in attempt to reduce overall production costs as well as enabling operation through the monsoon season.... Smart move if it works... I don't know how much homework they have done on it but I don't believe they will have made the announcement lightly. I believe this is solely a company initiative. Urbix are not into mining but technology and downstream processing, as you will see below.

So....IMO.....BSM will do the hydraulic mining for practical reasons, regardless of whether Urbix were to come onboard or not.

Again....The question still is...Given that the more the graphite is disturbed, the smaller the flakes become, so does the new process retain the same % of large flake. I visualise more initial disturbance with this type of mining but potentially less disturbance through the plant. Perhaps things remain roughly the same?......... I will ask the company at some point.

"Consideration is also being given to recent corporate developments in the signing of a strategic MOU with leading downstream graphite processor Urbix ResourcesLLC (Urbix). This has potential to significantly improve not only the final concentrates produced from Graphmada but also improve the quality of feedstockfor the Company’s long stated aim to construct and operate an Expandable Graphite Plant in Madagascar."

My reading of your bolded statement indicates that Urbix technology will lift BSM's graphite concentrates purity ( FC) to the next level which will be good for sales generally but also then enables use at the proposed expandable graphite plant to be built in Tamatave,Madagascar.

Supported by.....

"Bass will continue to progress its Joint Venture (JV) discussions with Urbix Resource LLC (Urbix), with plans to develop advanced graphite and specialty carbon manufacturing facilities at site and at the port of Tamatave,Madagasca."

AND From URBIX......
" The MOU deals specifically with the intention of the two companies to work together to establish a Joint Venture for the purification of the high grade, large flake graphite Bass is producing at their Graphmada mine in Madagascar.
Over the next half year, Bass and Urbix will look carefully at establishing a joint venture facility in Madagascar to produce a purified high value graphite product utilizing Urbix’s propriety technology and Bass’ Graphmada large flake graphite.
The proposed Joint Venture will combine Urbix’s expertise in the development of advanced and sustainable downstream Graphite products with Bass’ large flake graphite resources, producer status, technical knowledge, government and sales relationships.
Urbix’s proprietary advanced technology includes environmentally and cost-conscious purification methods that are not reliant on environmentally unsustainable Hydrofluoric acid treatments or high temperature ovens."

My understanding is that concentrates for expandable graphite use need to be ~99% FC .BSM have not achieved that level at this stage, which is why the Urbix technology is helpful . This additional processing comes at no cost to flake size or cash margins and So its basically a value adding exercise. The possibility of processing other miners product is also an attractive extra which may bear fruit in the longer term.


Don't get me wrong, I think desperate times required desperate measures.

FWIW.. I don't think we are in desperate times. That's a bit too dramatic and emotional for me. Fact is....Things have still been improving each qtr. The shutdown of creating feedstock for the monsoon is short term and they have set a date for recommencement of these activities... its not shutting up shop due to not breaking even. Clearly its a waste of time operating in this type of country under the monsoonal conditions.

" The long-term strategy at Graphmada has been to establish a significantly derisked platform to progress the highly value accretive next stage objectives.The goals of the next stage are to capitalize on the Company’s progress to date and to significantly expand production with the aim to materially lower capital expenditure and operating costs.Bass in establishing this robust operational platform have delivered the following: •Sustainable production of premium graphite concentrates achieved
•Strong and improving large flake percentage achieved
•Strong sales capacity achieved with nearly all current inventory under contract•Successful establishment of product in market with multiple customers with no product rejected or penalized
•Resources at Graphmada have increased over 150% from 5.7mt to 14.3mt with significant upside potential remaining."

There is a massive amount of information in the 18th Dec Strategic Update. There are a lot of strong, positive statements there...I guess you either believe them or you don't.

Bass over the course of its Stage 1 operations has established a strong platform for the successful scaling of its current operations.•Bass has attained key milestones and has now significantly de-risked its overall operations.
•Bass will now commence detailed feasibility studies as part of the next phase of development to substantially increase production, via modular process increments.
•The studies will focus on hydraulic mining, proprietary modular processing systems and other key innovations proposed to reduce operating costs and incrementally grow production at declining capital intensity.

It has taken me several reads to get my head around what the company is proposing. It clearly outlines a strategy to progress the company to large scale mining including an expandable graphite plant. Utilising modular and mobile plant to provide flexibility, identifying the and therefore address both costs and easier access to the higher grades of material.


I would say that BSM are addressing the issues that Blythefan has alluded to many times....
Bass is aiming to review various operational parameters and inputs such as head grade and recovery to determine the most suitable cutoff grade for Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation. Mining planning will also ensure the most optimal resource is mined sequentially in order to maximize revenue and subsequently, returns to shareholders.

It's been quite clear for some time, that BSM have been working towards the upgrade to the next stage .....whether that is 20,000 tpa or 30,000tpa remains to be seen. Which one it is, will be driven purely by the numbers and how they are able to finance it all. I am thinking 30,000 tpa .....though it's just my hunch.

The way I see it, Stevo, the company's reliance on the Urbix JV is obvious. Whilst Urbix could be the company's "saving Grace", one needs to take into account the fact that Urbix is the one with all the money and not us!

That's not how I see it...Just some quick googling indicates that Urbix is only five years old. They are young entrepreneurs, riding the graphite wave, having a go. They have big plans and are expanding rapidly. I hope they make it. The Vietnam plant is expected to have revenue US$200mill after second stage built. First stage to be finished late 2020.
https://urbixresources.com/urbix-and-vietnam-graphite-group-to-build-green-purification-plant/

BUT....

Not sure how old this overview is.
"Urbix Resources is a developer and provider of refined graphite powders.
Urbix Resources is a Private company. Adam Small is the CEO of Urbix Resources and has an approval rating of 70 from Owler members. Urbix Resources has raised a total of $3.5M in funding. Urbix Resources has an estimated revenue of <$1M and an estimate of less <10 employees. "

THEN....

Urbix Resources announces series A funding oversubscribed at $3.5 Million

U.S-based startup Urbix Resources has announced closing its Series A round of financing with an oversubscribed commitment of $3.5 million USD. The Company states that in addition to current investors and management, this round included an international investment from a management company based in Mexico.

“It was gratifying to find ourselves in a position where our funding objectives were oversubscribed,” comments Executive Chairman Nico Cuevas. “This allows us to focus on our main initiatives including the construction of our low-cost/clean tech pilot purification facility and the construction of our proprietary pristine graphene reactor. This leads us to our goal of bringing graphene at a commercial scale to the market at about $1 per gram.”

Part of Urbix’s attraction for investors is the actual income already being generated by sales of graphite drawn by the company’s commercial milling operations outside Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico and the graphene and graphene-based products being created in the company’s state-of-the-art lab in Mesa, Arizona.

“A big part of the work we’re doing right now is drawing a map for success,” says Vice-Chairman, Anthony J. Parkinson. “These are talented young men with big vision. It’s been my pleasure to guide them and help them make their vision a reality. Closing the Series A puts us all in a position to bring it home.”

I can see a solid capital requirement coming regardless and a stagnate period ahead for shareholders whilst these things are finalised. Studies and ratification are not expected to be completed before the end of 2020. Then we have the plant expansion time frame and who knows when the expandable plant would be built, but obviously it needs to be in line with production ramp ups.

I see a possible SP consolidation coming at some stage in the next twelve months followed by an outline of how they are going to fund all this.
Given that the operations are intending to be modular and designed to ramp up as demand grows, maybe some of the capital requirements can be spread over time. On the other hand. the argument is often to take the money when you can get it, so they might just do one big CR.

I don't agree with the BSMarketing or your compaints of lack of marketing.. That sounds like Mr Graphite talking and he is trying to make a living out of marketing Graphite Companies... so vested interests at play. No offence to him.
I only see your frustrations and loss of capital talking. this is a work in progress and its going to take some time... My advice...you need to either move on or move the stock to the bottom drawer.

cheers,
Stevo.