As expected RNU has received PEPR approval. This is a major milestone that's taken longer than expected but finally received.

28 November

2022 PEPR Approval for Siviour Graphite Mine and Concentrator

Receipt of key approval paves the way for development of the Siviour Battery Anode Material Project Upstream operation Highlights:

• Renascor is pleased to announce that it has received approval from the South Australian Department of Energy and Mining (DEM) for the Program for Environment Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR) for its proposed Siviour Mine and Concentrator in South Australia1.

• The PEPR approval permits Renascor to process up to 1.65 million tonnes per annum, which would allow Renascor to produce up to 150,000 tonnes of Graphite Concentrates per year2.

• Approval of the PEPR, which is the second step (following the previous grant of the Siviour Mineral Lease3) in South Australia’s two-stage assessment process, permits Renascor to move forward with the development of the upstream Graphite Mine and Concentrator portion of the Siviour Battery Anode Material Project – a vertically integrated battery anode material manufacturing operation located wholly within South Australia.

• PEPR approval follows a process of extensive stakeholder engagement, independent expert audits and comprehensive studies undertaken to incorporate designs and management plans to comply with conditions outlined in the Siviour Mineral Lease granted in 20194.

• The conditions of the approved PEPR are in line with Renascor’s expectations after a period of consultation with DEM since submission of the PEPR in September 20215. • PEPR approval satisfies a fundamental condition of the Australian Government’s A$185 million loan facility to fund Renascor’s integrated Siviour Battery Anode Material Project6.

https://renascor.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/20221128-PEPR-Approval-for-Siviour-Graphite-Mine-Concentrator-2479243.pdf

Further milestones expected in 2023 include

-Resource expansion

-Advance to binding offtakes, potential partnerships

-FID

-Construction and Production expected 2024

DISC Is my largest holding in RL and hold in SM

RNU currently in trading halt until Tuesday, advising of an update regarding a Regulatory Approval.

Envisage this to be the overdue PEPR approval.

What is PEPR

A program for environment protection and rehabilitation (PEPR) is an operational document which describes how a miner will undertake mining operations in a practical and specific way. A PEPR approval is supported by a detailed, science-based assessment of its technical contents by South Australian government agencies including the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) and the Department for Energy and Mining (DEM).

The management strategies, monitoring systems and compliance criteria outlined in the Hillside PEPR will enable the achievement of the projects’ environmental outcomes.

20 September 2022 Renascor Secures Site for Battery Anode Material Manufacturing Facility from South Australian

Government-owned utility SA Water Lease options for 40 years over 20 hectare site

• Renascor has executed an option-to-lease for the site of its proposed state-of-the-art Battery Anode Material facility to produce purified spherical graphite (PSG) – a key material in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.

• The option agreement with South Australian Government-owned utility SA Water provides Renascor with initial lease options for 40 years over the site north of Adelaide in Bolivar, South Australia.

• The site is ~20km from South Australia’s main shipping port at Port Adelaide and is close to SA Water’s Bolivar water treatment and industrial facilities.

• The site is 20 hectares, providing sufficient scale to permit both an increase to the originally planned Stage 1 PSG production capacity of 28,000tpa1, as well as additional Stage 2 PSG production capacity.

• Renascor is currently undertaking an optimised Battery Anode Material Study for its vertically integrated operation that will combine the planned Siviour graphite mine and concentrator in South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula with the Bolivar PSG production facility.

• Renascor aims to become a world leader in the sustainable production of 100% Australian made PSG for use in the lithium-ion batteries for use in electric vehicles. 

RNU slowly chipping away at what's on the list.

PEPR approval required next

Then firm off take agreements, potentially prepayment or partnership deals in processing.

Graphite pricing starting to see some small upward movement lately also.

disc held IRL and SM

Many explorers don't go to mine due to many factors. Product Grade, Resource Depth, Geographic Location, License issues, Environmental Issues, Foreign Government Concerns, Cost to Mine etc etc Although RNU is still years away from mining product, its gaining momentum and many of the associated risks with general "investing in explorers" are being ticked off.

This summary on RNU i thought was well put together and worth the share.

Geology- Without doubt the #1 factor that separates Renascor from its peers is the the flat horizontal in-situ deposit that is located near surface between 5-15m below surface (you can dig it with your shovel), it is a consistent thick band without variability within veins. This is a truly unique resource in the graphite space and resource space in general.

Located in Australia- You cannot in todays modern society undervalue the importance of being situated in a safe, secure and mining friendly jurisdiction such as Australia. Being in Australia provides investors certainty and confidence in the long term for any Company operating here.

Major Project Status- Renascor is 1 of 29 Projects in Australia that have been granted Recognition from the Australian Federal Government as being economically important to Australia's future. The granting of Major Project Status is that the Federal Government works hand in hand with the 29 companies in securing all necessary state and federal approvals.

Australian Critical Mineral Listing- The Australian Critical Mineral Listing is vitally important for Renascor, it results in us being 1 of only 15 selected projects that are given access to the Department of Industry's AUD$1.3 Billion dollar slush fund to provide low interest finance opportunities for projects that provide critical minerals for Australias economic prosperity. The arrangement also ensures that the Australian Government can assist with various support to any of the 15 projects in terms of further finance, overseas trade negotiations, offtake discussions etc with the full backing of the Australian Government.

Being a Critical Mineral Project also opens avenues for Renascor to secure Finance through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Export Finance Australia funding arms (Of which the company already has in-principle support).

Downstream Purified Spherical Graphite -The company is entering the higher margin downstream processing industry by converting there already high 97.5% Purity Graphite Flake Product, into a world class leading 99.99% Purified Spherical Graphite. The company is unique from other ASX Players who are mining in Africa, then shipping concentrate to Australia or Europe or The USA and then processing, Renascor is on track to become the world’s first integrated, in-country mine and Purified Spherical Graphite operation outside of China i.e. The Mine and Processing Plant are an Hours drive away, not a week by boat.

5 Year Royalty Relief from the South Australian Government- In a positive sign and show of support from the South Australian, they have agreed to provide a reduced 2% Royalty rate for a period of 5 years of the Siviour Project.

The Revised DFS- is due this Qtr and it shapes to be a real company maker. With PSG Recoveries increasing by a whooping 20%, and the currently planned Stage 1 of 825ktpa and Stage 2 1.65Mtpa throughputs likely to get a significant uplift given the increasing interest in PSG from outside China. The Currently planned annual production of 28ktpa of PSG is likely to fall in the range of 85-90ktpa PSG (2/3rds of which is already under non-binding offtake), with strategic interest leaving Rensacor in a positive position.

The company also has significant ability to complete further In-Fill drilling at a later stage to turn the below "Blue Inferred" resources into Indicated or Measured with an 8-9 hole shallow drilling campaign. The shallow ore body near surface is a real winner and what makes RNU my #1 Graphite pick.

Renascor’s Siviour deposit in South Australia contains the largest reported Ore Reserve of Graphite outside of Africa, and the second largest Proven Reserve in the world. When you stack it up against its ASX peers, Renascor is usually in the Top 2 or 3 for each category, it results in an extremely LOW Risk, Potentially high Margin Opportunity.

The Biggest Hurdle to overcome is gaining approval to operate, the company already has its ML locked away in 2019 and is on the verge of obtaining its PEPR for the Mine in the next month or two, it is open waters after that !

Mou's with POSCO and Hanwa who mention RNU on their webpage

https://www.hanwa.co.jp/en/csr/business/ev.html

Some costings from Bombers Maid on HC,

I would highlight numerous Assumptions have been made in these workings and the below should be considered general in nature and not financial advice, please always take what you read on HC with a grain of salt and complete your own research !!!

Assumptions

- Stage 1 Throughput of 1.65Mtpa vs Stage 2 of 2.25Mtpa

- 23 Year Mine Life on Current Measured + Indicated Resources (No Inferred Tonnage Utilised in Model)

- No Changes to Benchmark Graphite Pricing from Previous Studies (If Graphite Prices Increase, Strap Yourself In )Lithium pricing has increased 5 fold in 6 months with Graphite shortage in a similar position over a similar expected timeframe.

- Initial CAPEX Increased from US$142m to US$215m (Allowance made for larger initial production + increase in equipment ie. inflation)

- Recovery Grades for Concentrate and PSG as per recent announcements

- AUD:USD= 0.72

Outputs Post Tax

- NPV10 of US$1.48B (AUD$2.1B)

- Payback Period of 1.4 Years

- IRR of 57%

- EBITDA LOM US$5.52B (AUD$7.75B)

Potential Share Value / EPS Ratio (2.25 Billion SOI Assumed Considering Majority of Capex from Export Finance Australia + Clean Energy Finance Corporation)

PE 10 - $0.92

PE 15 - $1.39

PE 20 - $1.85

PEPR is the next milestone and due shortly.

I will be closely watching the Graphite pricing and demand requirements throughout 2022-23 as i'm expecting a steady rerate to occur over the next 12-18 months.

If its anything like the Lithium pricing rerate of late, projects like RNU would be even more enticing.

Lithium prices have grown x5 in the past 6 months as supply shortages over the next few years become a reality.

Graphite forecasts are very similar both in demand and supply constraints yet the price of Graphite has remand rather stable.

RNU is the second largest deposit in the world, near surface, in Aus, with the governments backing and now with governments "conditional" financial "loan" backing also. There's been a lot of articles written lately around graphite and graphite demand for 2022 and beyond not to mention the many battery mega-factories to be built across Europe and the US. According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, there will be a global graphite deficit starting in 2022, and demand from the battery sector is expected to rise 30% annually until 2030

A highly volatile speccie ...as they all are but heading in the right direction and has a lot going for it.

RNU has always been a long term investment for myself and another positive step froward in todays announcement.

2 February 2022 Australian Government Conditionally Approves A$185 million Loan Facility to Fund the Development of the Siviour Graphite Project Highlights:

• Renascor is pleased to announce that the Australian Government, through Export Finance Australia (EFA), has conditionally approved an A$185 million loan facility to support the development of the Siviour Graphite Project in South Australia.

• This loan is approved under the Australian Government’s $2 billion Critical Minerals Facility, which was established in September 2021 to assist the development of Australian critical minerals projects and to secure the vital supplies of resources needed to drive the new energy economy and support the resources jobs of the future.

• The Siviour Graphite Project has previously been granted Major Project status by the Australian Government, in recognition of its potential to contribute to Australia’s Critical Mineral Strategy and Resource Technology and Critical Mineral Processing National Manufacturing Priority Roadmap1 .

• With the support of the Australian Government’s loan facility, Renascor aims to become a world leader in the sustainable production of 100% Australian-made advanced graphite product for use in the lithium-ion batteries fueling the electric vehicle revolution.

Disc held IRL, PERS and SMSF

More positive news today

10 January 2022

Commercial-Scale Milling Trials Deliver Increased Yields Highlights:

• Recently completed commercial-scale downstream milling trials have achieved spherical graphite yields from Renascor’s Siviour Graphite Deposit in South Australia in excess of 65% (versus the 50% yield adopted in Renascor’s Battery Anode Material Study1).

• These higher yields from the milling process offer the potential for Renascor to produce more Purified Spherical Graphite (PSG) and improve profit margins as a result of this increased proportion of PSG material being produced per unit of Graphite Concentrate feed.

• The higher yields, achieved with an industry leading equipment manufacturer, confirm the ability to process Siviour Graphite Concentrates into spherical graphite products consisting of a primary spherical product for use in high-volume lithium-ion battery anode applications, as well as finer spherical products for use in high performance and other speciality applications.

• Spherical graphite produced from the milling trials met or exceeded physical customer specifications for both Renascor’s existing offtake partners and anode industry requirements generally.

• Data generated from the equipment trials will be used for engineering design works and final equipment selection for Renascor’s planned manufacturing facility in South Australia.

Other news due

PEPR was lodged in the September qrt requesting approval to process up to 1.65 million tones P/A.

It was mentioned a minimum 4 months would be required for review.

Envisage more good news cant be too far away.

Disc hold IRL, SMSF and Personal accounts

Regarding today's announcement, Renascor Managing Director David Christensen stated:

“The award of Major Project Status is an important recognition of the strategic importance of Siviour as both a world-class mineral resource and its potential to add further value through a downstream operation in Australia to produce a globally competitive, 100% Australian-made refined graphite product on globally competitive terms for direct sale to the lithium-ion battery supply chain. The Major Project Status designation will assist us as we progress Siviour through the final development phases and will offer an important endorsement of the Project as we enter binding offtake negotiations and embark on project financing.”

This is another milestone ticked off the list and a step further down the road of derisking the project for serious investment attention.

RNU is one of my largest holdings IRL starting way back with 1.2c oppies and 2.4c heads. I've jumped in and out along the way and transferring funds between the two and currently sit with a sizable amount in Oppies alone.

I love the RNU story as i have the rare opportuinity to invest in a company at the core of the EV transition here on home soil. 

DISC HELD and a LTH for me with much more upside to follow over the comming 2-3 years.