Australian Volt Resources announced the resumption of production of graphite products in Ukraine

• August 3, 2022

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In the Zavalliv graphite quarry. Screenshot. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDEuCabRkzQ

Company news

On August 2, 2022, the Australian company Volt Resources Limited (ASX: VRC), a manufacturer of graphite and a developer of battery materials, announced the resumption of production at the Zavalliv graphite mine and concentrator in the Kirovohrad region. NADRA.info writes with reference to Volt Resources ' stock exchange announcement .

“Exports of graphite products to Central and Eastern Europe will begin later in August, and sales revenue is expected to be received shortly thereafter. Volt has been working with Zavallivsky Graphite management in recent months to finalize the operating plan and budget for the next 17 months through the end of December 2023 calendar year (Zavallivskyi Graphite reports on a calendar year basis). Based on past operating performance and improvements in operations and planning, Zavalliv Graphite forecasts production of 8,000 to 9,000 tons of graphite products for the year ending June 30, 2023. The forecast for the production of unique high-value refined graphite products will be provided after the increase and stabilization of the volume of work. The forecast takes into account the loss of production for two months in the winter due to the problem of water supply and tailings, which was reported earlier. Volt will look for solutions to reduce the loss of production during the winter months."- the announcement says.

“Sales prices are currently being negotiated but are expected to be in the range of $750 to $850 per tonne CIF for fine flakes with 94% TGC (total graphite product). A high-purity product with a TGC grade of 99% to 99.5% is expected to fetch a selling price of $1,500 to $2,000 per tonne CIF,” Volt Resources predicts.

Volt Resources Managing Director Trevor Matthews said: “I congratulate the management and staff of Zavalivsk Graphite, who have given a lot of their time to prepare for the resumption of graphite production and sales. Their commitment during a difficult period was outstanding. Volt is looking forward to ramping up production and starting sales to customers in Europe . "

As a reminder, at the end of June 2022, Volt Resources organized an IPO on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) to raise 2 million Australian dollars (equivalent to 1.36 million US dollars). Part of these funds were to be directed to the restart of the mining and processing business of Zavallivskyi graphite, which was stopped for the winter season and did not resume due to the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

In May 2022, in an interview with S&P Global Commodity Insights, Trevor Matthews said that the invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine and a full-scale war could make it difficult to attract funds for the development of the Ukrainian assets of Volt Resources Limited.

Australian Volt Resources Limited bought 70% of the Zavallivsky Graphite group in 2021. Shares were acquired in GraphiteInvest LLC (it owns 78.94% of the shares of Zavallivskyi Graphite Combine PJSC, which is the owner of a special permit for the extraction of graphite ore No. 430 until 2035 r.), "Zavallivsky Graphite" LLC and "Stone Found" LLC.

PJSC "Zavallivsky Graphite Combine" was founded in 1994. The authorized capital is UAH 285,881.50. Registration - Zavalya village, Kirovohrad Region. 78.94% of the shares are owned by "GrafitInvest" LLC. Head - Vitaly Lyashchenko .

"GrafitInvest" LLC was founded in 2001. The authorized capital is UAH 400,000. Registration - Kyiv. Owners of significant participation: Marta Yanko (Ukraine), MOGRA S.R.O. (Slovakia), Volt Resources Limited (Australia). The manager is Oleg Hayson .

LLC "Zavallivsky Graphite" was founded in 2004. The authorized capital is UAH 31,000,000. Registration - Kyiv. Owners of significant participation: Marta Yanko (Ukraine), MOGRA S.R.O. (Slovakia), Volt Resources Limited (Australia). The manager is Roman Saramaga .

"Stone Found" LLC was founded in 2007. The authorized capital is UAH 102,000. Registration of the village of Zavalya, Kirovohrad region. Owners of significant participation: Marta Yanko (Ukraine), MOGRA S.R.O. (Slovakia), Volt Resources Limited (Australia). Head - Serhii Nikiforov .

The general director (CEO) of the Zavallivsky graphite group is Dmytro Nikulin .

In addition to the Zavallivsky Graphite Group, LLC "Ukrainian Supply Group" (Odesa Region) and "Rozvitok Pobuzhzhya" LLC (Kirovohrad Region) also own mining licenses for graphite ore in Ukraine. As of December 2021, the Ukrainian supply group was controlled by Valentina Butkevich (through Cypriot BI.VI. Eternity Holdings Limited), other members of the company - Oleksandr Nastenko and Vitaly Yakymenko . Gennadiy Butkevycha (through the Cypriot BGV Group Limited) was indicated as the ultimate beneficial owner of Pobuzhya Development , the other members of the company are Oleksandr Nastenko and Vitaly Yakymenko.

Another graphite special permit - for mining in Khmelnytskyi region (on the Horodnyavsk section of the Burtynskoye deposit) was awarded by the State Geology and Subsoil Service of Ukraine in March 2021. "Spies of Ukraine" LLC, associated with the Turkish group ONUR, won the auction: at the starting price, a little more UAH 21 million, Spis of Ukraine offered almost UAH 45 million for the lot. However, the special permit has not yet been granted, as the sale of the permit was contested by the owners of land plots within the contour of the subsoil use facility - LLC "Kyslotoupor LTD" and Oleg Trityachenko . We wrote about this dispute here .

https://nadra.info/2022/08/australian-volt-resources-announced-the-resumption-of-production-of-graphite-products-in-ukraine/