Morning Spid,
Thought it's tie for a new thread as a lot of new investors might start to have a look.
Eventually more investors will understand the significant work that has been completed to date by EGR and the underlying 'significant' value, IMO which is also a reason why the shorters have been so persistent, even though it's clear that the SP is not dropping under the CR by any meaningful volume and the time is clearly running out for them but they hare happy to keep SP as low as they can for as long as possible.
We have to understand that EGR has been working with Western OEM's and Governments to build and prove a case that a whole new Anode supply chain can be established outside of China which can supply better performing Anode material with much better environmental credentials at a better price point and close to manufacturing centers, the balancing act for our potential partners is their current dependence on China Supply and the ever increasing supply pressure..ie..if they announce heir intentions too early without having a high level of confidence that new Co's such as EGR can actually deliver they will not come out and advertise their plans.
Why do I think it's all interconnected and that end users want to know that EGR can be their supplier and has the ability to be a major new supplier and importantly all the way the supply chain, from mine to delivering a high performing anode material, and what improved EGR's value proposition by a strong margin again is the addition of offering the ability to now also recycle the Anodes in used LiBatteries and also the ability for Battery Manufactures the re feed their production scrap ( ~10-30%) which is created o the production floor directly back into their production feed after running it through an EcoGraf Recycling Plant.
Why do I think it's worth holding on to my shares even though I am sitting on a very significant profit, I know (believe) potential partners are working closely together to secure the complete supply chain, mine to end product, and it can be seen in the way everything has played out to date:
EPANKO
* You would not have a bank like KFW lend a multi year support to a little ASX co if there is no support/demand from some significant national industrial Co's, finance must be in it's final stage as per the latest update in the qrtly:
Tanz Investment arms clearly want to provide part of the loan as there would not be many low risk opportunities where a German Gov Bank provides
~60% of the whole project finance...if this is successful this will be significant for holders as this will keep the SOI at an unbelievably low number for a company that will have two fully funded projects in a sector which is at the beginning of an unprecedented demand boom cycle.
* If the below comes back successful (which I believe it will from what I have heard from various sources) the NPV figures for Epanko will improve significantly and even more so if you are in the group that believes that Epankos output will be doubled to 120ktpa by the time it's in full production
which I estimate to be ~2023...NPV will be SIGNIFICANT:
EcoGraf Plant # 1 - Kwinana
The engineering works and associated project improvements and enhancements achieved to date are world class.
To go one step back so new investors get a better understanding as EGR is not really spending much time promoting their achievements
but prefer to spend all energy on getting on with the job, as you know there are multiple Co's now jumping on the "purification and value add' wagon with all sorts of claims, most of which are not independently tested, it's important to understand that EGR some years back employed the services of he CSIRO which is one of the leading global authorities on mineral processing together with C Frey and Graphite Expert and they created the frame work for EcoGraf's Purification processes which has been contumely fine tuned during years of collaboration with potential end users, every other new entrant that has come on the scene is using the next best process as the best process to date is taken by EGR and
that's why getting the International Patent acknowledgment was such as Significant Step:
All 25 of the patent claims are novel and inventive!!!!
Significant improvements made since the initial BFS for EcoGraf Plant # 1 was released and on which Gov Funding was based on, do date most purification plants have a 50% recovery rate ie out of 40kt flake Graphite feed stock only 20kt comes out as anode material, the other 20kt are low value by products, part reason for the high by product ratio is the use of highly toxic and aggressive hydrofluoric acid (HF) during the purification processes currently in use, EGR's Patented Process is HF Free and this major improvements have been made since BFS release:
* close to zero waste and turn the low value fines into high value products
* Significant Product Yield improvements due to Engineering work:
* ESG improvements and paving the way for easier multi site expansion by ensuring Environmental approval processes
will be secured in ever tightening approval processes for industrial applications by working on water and energy consumption
for Plant # 1 which can be replicated in subsequent plants:
EcoGraf Plant # 2 - Sweden
It could be a coincidence...but how likely would it be that 65h prime industrial site is being offered to a little AUS Co, within meters from one of Europe's major new Battery Manufacturing Plants and a brand new large scale Recycling Plant close by, being constructed by that same Company?
That same LiB manufacture has recently released an announcement that they have successfully recycled most minerals from used LiB's but the Anode Material (Graphite), EGR seems to be in a position to help with the Anode Recycling...
Recycling
Recycling will be a very large business and it would be worth everyone's time to spend a bit of time trying to understand
how much potential EGR has just with the recycling part of the company, especially now that the recycling process is also patented.
Please make sure you understand that the recycling business has TWO separate income opportunities:
1 Recycle Black Mass
2 Recycle Floor Scrap
US Listing
This could commence any day now and IMO will be another significant SP driver going forward, especially once (if) news comes out that the US is
a likely option for a EcoGraf Purification Plant/s and also for EcoGraf Recycling Plant/s, the groundwork for this is currently underway and testing for various product lines is underway in all major markets, which if successful, will mean Customers will be committing to offtakes and construction can commence in a timely manner.
To
@spid81 original question:
I believe production of 100% natural graphite anodes with ~10% silicone content will be the preferred way forward for Western OEM's.
Background for new Investors:
To date most Anodes are produced with a ~50/50 mix of Natural G and Synthetic G, reason being (basic explanation) China (main Anode producer currently) use HF in their production and low quality Natural Flake Graphite (NFG), which is very aggressive and further reduces the quality of the NFG, using aggressive HF is necessary so they can remove enough impurities from their NFG so that it can be used in Anodes, however the capacity of the NFG is further reduced by this harsh treatment method and therefore it has the be mixed with very high purity Spherical G which is very expensive and environmentally taxing.
Due to significant work by Western parties it is proven that NFG deposit vary greatly in quality which in turn will effect the Anode performance.
One of the reasons on why KWF is still supporting EGR in bringing Epanko online is the exceptional quality of that deposit and it has No Chinese offtakes in place, crystallinity as a major part to play in how good the Anodes will perform:
Of special interest should be the charging times achieved!!!
Spid,
Back to your question, I believe Yes, we will see premium on both fronts, ie Eanko BFS sale price and EcoGraf BFS sale price
If we manage to ship 99% purity flake from Tanz instead of the quoted 96% used in the BFS with minimum additional Capex
this will make a significant difference.
From the above Anode test the Natural Flake Anodes produced from Epanko appear to be superior to the market average both in performance and in production cost's...No expensive Synthetic G and no HF used for production = Significant Better ESG credentials at a Significantly cheaper price
So I would expect we will be able to sell somewhere in the middle between current coated Anodes using both NFG and Spherical and the sale price quoted in our BFS
Once we will see finance for Epanko released, that will confirm EGR's ability for providing a fully integrated supplier for our potential partners...another holder mentioned similarities he could see with NVX and EGR and I can see the same:
* US listing will make a big difference
* EGR's board is being reshuffled, making room for additional appointments
* Additional appointments will accompany taking a stake in EGR
* Will be fully funded for 2 projects and very low number of Shares on issue
* Current MC A$300mil, NVX MC AU$4.7B
Check the similarities between both Co's ie new board members, stake in Co, impact of US listing, once EGR starts the run, let's see where it will go.
All IMO
(20min delay)