Sharing todays interview from AS with a German Shareholder - promising future:
Ecograf: The conversation with Andrew was very pleasant and he talks for a really long time and likes to ramble. He makes a very good impression, knows what he's talking about, is fully behind the company and works hard in the background, at least that's my impression and the entire team has been through tough times, he says, which is true and you can also tell that they are Now you really want success and will give everything for it. Attached is the summary of the conversation:
- The SML is expected in the next few months, he has no further information about this because from now on the bureaucracy in Tanzania regulates it and Ecograf has submitted everything necessary - We are talking about financing the mine with KfW Ipex continue to be in intensive exchange and, strangely enough, this is not dependent on the SML. He is expecting an update from the KfW soon and it is also dependent on the German government, as documents from 2017 had to be completely renewed again, the German bureaucracy plays a role here and we have to wait for that, but he is still expecting a conclusion End of the year, beginning of next year.
- The RAP should be completed at the end of the year and the resettlement is also dependent on financing, because of course that has to be supported. - The first BAM plants are to be built next to battery factories or gigafactories, which means mining in Tanzania and then exporting to the BAM plants. The BAM investments will be made through joint ventures and partner agreements. We are in close contact with Swedish battery producers and German car manufacturers in particular. Further great interest in this process comes from France. The decisive factor for this is the EU Green Deal.
- Recycling plants will also be carried out through joint ventures or licensing. There is huge interest in the recycling process in the EU. Unfortunately, this is not the case in the USA at the moment and market entry there will take a long time.
- The USA patent is a huge milestone and is almost an approval for Europe and Asia. Patent approvals are also ongoing there, but since the EU is working closely with the USA and some countries in Asia also want to emancipate themselves, the USA patent was the most important approval, especially when it comes to imports there.
- He sees no danger in the patent dispute with Renascor. The hearing in Australia should take place soon and it has already been leaked there that Eco has nothing to worry about as their process has everything to be patented and if Renascor uses it outside Australia you will have problems in the US, EU and parts of Asia receive approval from other countries based on the USA patent and subsequent approvals.
- Basically, Ecograf will not be able to serve the entire supply chain itself. It will come down to joint ventures, licensing and big deals and it all depends on Epanko. Eco's goal is to expand Epanko into one of the largest graphite mines in the world and thus also become one of the largest producers, on which all further projects depend, as partners around the world see the mine as an essential point for supply chains outside of China, plus Eco offers other products in the graphite life cycle. Furthermore, ThyssenKrupp and Posco are said to be very close to EcoGraf.
- Kwinana is completely dead and would have been very difficult to implement because demand was very low at the time and even the support of the government would not have changed that, so the change of strategy was inevitable, plus the IRA, Corona and the new government in Tanzania Then the tide suddenly turned and you had to react quickly and decisively.
- Communication: The company is simply not allowed to say anything about many topics and does not want to publish air news that has no impact afterwards. You ask yourself why the share price is so bad even though you have announced some milestones, but you are sure that with graphite demand and e-mobility coming soon, the upswing will definitely come, plus the other prerequisites with SML and financing etc. Des Furthermore, decisions in the EU are largely at a standstill from June to September. In the last quarter he expects significantly more movement on the stock market and in achieving the business plan with milestones.
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(20min delay)