WMN to acquire GFN with 8m ton of JORC graphite resource

By Romel S. Gurky

ASX-listed Western Mining Network Ltd (WMN) announced on Monday that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed to acquire PT Graphindo Nusantara (GFN) which owns two graphite tenements in Jangkang district West Kalimantan.

Of the two tenements, one is held by PT Trans Sulawesi Tenggara (TST), which consists of 80.5 hectares of land for mining and the second by PT Trans Sulawesi Sejahtera (TSS), consisting of 10,000 hectares of exploration ground. An additional 25 hectares of land has been acquired at the TSS property to accommodate a camp site, processing plant, road and tailings facility.

This opportunity adds to the portfolio of graphite mining assets the company is acquiring to build an integrated carbon business with its South Korean partners. In combination with the Tamboli asset in Central Sulawesi, it strengthens the company?s long term plan to use Indonesian graphite to feed into a larger downstream business in Asia. WMN directors believe that now is the time to lay the foundations for the upcoming boom in carbon products, especially those associated with the battery market and the new wonder product, graphene.

Several years of extensive research has been done on the TST project, leading to a high level of confidence in the quality of product that can be produced. GFN has developed a strategic alliance with several leading universities in Indonesia and has funded several research projects on graphite based technologies and graphene applications. The company also has an experienced mining and geological team in place, with the capability of moving the project into the development phase and beyond.

The projects? sites can be reached from the provincial capital. Pontianak, along a mostly asphalt road over a distance of 215 kilometers.

The firm also announced the appointment of Gordon Lewis, ex-Rio Tinto appointed as Executive Board Member, David Putnam of Arung Capital as Interim CEO and Azura Mangunhardjono of APAC Advisory Group to lead funding initiative

APAC Advisory Groups is an Indonesian firm with a global network of individual and institutional investors. Magunhardjono specializes in connecting sophisticated global capital with non-traditional, developmental or environmentally linked investment opportunities. A specific focus for APAC's efforts will be to connect the company with individual investors and family offices wishing to participate in investments which in addition to generating strong financial returns also promote sustainable global development through the use of resource efficient or environmentally friendly new technologies and materials.

Executive Chairman of WMN Christopher Clower stated that ?This is an exciting day for the company. The acquisition of GFN dramatically expands our resource base with the additional of eight million tonnes of JORC certified graphite ore. It also adds a second location as well as significant management and operations capacity and expertise positioning us superbly for the next phase of development. Having Gordon and David then similarly strengthens our corporate team. These changes and the recent acquisition of CarbonNano fundamentally remake the Company by building capacity at all levels and across all parts of the value chain. We are confident that the resulting investment thesis and our alliance with Ms Mangunhardjono and APAC Advisory Group better positions us to attract greater participation by long-term institutional and family office investors which is the next phase in our capital markets strategy. Today marks a major milestone for WMN in its development as a vertically integrated Carbon Company.?

David Putnam, incoming Interim CEO commented ?I am very pleased to have the opportunity to work with the management and shareholders of WMN. Graphite is only just beginning to get the recognition it deserves as an important contributor to emerging technologies across a wide range of sectors and exciting new applications for natural carbon are emerging all the time. WMN?s unique position as the pioneer of the Indonesian graphite industry represents a key strategic advantage as some of the world's largest users of graphite concentrate are nearby and are seeking to diversify suppliers to ensure access to sufficient volume of concentrate. As demand for natural graphite grows, WMN is perfectly positioned to become one of the world's largest carbon companies.?

Gordon Lewis, incoming Executive Director added ?Developing a new graphite industry in Indonesia is an exciting prospect. I am grateful for the opportunity offered by WMN to fast-track the mining and beneficiation side of the business. As an early reliable supplier of graphite into the Asian market, the company will then be well positioned to move forward into carbon manufacturing in the region?.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon