Blencowe Resources Plc (LSE:BRES) has appointed Chief Operating Officer Iain Wearing as interim chief executive officer as the company progresses financing and commercial arrangements for its Orom-Cross graphite project in Uganda.
Wearing has more than 40 years of experience in mining operations and project development and has made a personal investment in Blencowe. The board is continuing its search for a permanent chief executive.
The company is prioritising approximately US$45 million in project-level financing for the first phase of Orom-Cross, alongside efforts to convert non-binding offtake arrangements and ongoing product qualification activities into binding commercial agreements.
Blencowe is also working through the remaining implementation requirements ahead of potential construction.
The company said its cash position was supported by a £3 million fundraising completed in late 2025. Management considers existing funds sufficient to cover corporate overheads, product qualification programmes and financing activities.
An updated definitive feasibility study for Orom-Cross estimated a post-tax net present value, discounted at 10%, of US$1.254 billion and an internal rate of return of 51%, based on an initial mine life of 15 years.
The project has a mineral resource of 64.3 million tonnes and an ore reserve of 23.08 million tonnes.
According to Blencowe, independent engineering and geological consultants have validated the project’s technical foundations. The company is using the feasibility study and supporting technical work in discussions with potential strategic, institutional and development-finance investors.
Alongside financing activities, Blencowe is progressing product qualification programmes covering several potential markets for Orom-Cross graphite.
These include high-purity graphite processing in Europe and the United States, participation in EU-funded battery initiatives, and testing for supercapacitors, defence batteries, anti-radar applications, electromagnetic interference shielding and hypersonic aerospace uses.
The company said the programmes are providing technical information on the performance of its graphite products and supporting discussions with prospective customers. However, the qualification activities have not yet resulted in binding orders.
Blencowe is also continuing discussions with the Ugandan government regarding project development and potential support arrangements.
A recent meeting with President Yoweri Museveni covered the development of Orom-Cross, opportunities for local processing and value addition, and possible financing or government support mechanisms.
Blencowe owns 100% of the Orom-Cross project and intends to develop graphite production and processing capabilities in Uganda, targeting battery materials and specialist industrial applications.
The company’s immediate priorities remain securing Phase 1 financing, completing commercial offtake agreements and advancing the implementation work required before construction can begin.
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