Ceylon Graphite Corp. (“Ceylon” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: CYL) (OTC: CYLYF) (FSE: CCY) is pleased to announce that its IML C license at its M1 mine has been renewed. The delay in license renewal was due to a series of changes in the licensing process, requirements and personnel. The Company does not anticipate any further delays in licensing and intends to apply for the IML A license shortly which will allow high volume production and sales.
Graphite mining and removal of material via the mine shaft will re-commence immediately, with separation of high-grade graphite taking place on site. Construction of an incline tunnel will begin shortly which will allow for rail access via a 200m tunnel, significantly increasing the volume of material which can be moved daily.
“The site is highly prolific with many large graphite veins”, said Head of Mining, Klaus Leiders. “We are targeting a minimum of 200 tonnes per month from M1 once we have scaled and implemented efficiencies.” The Company intends to complete two exploration chambers underground to allow for horizontal drilling to further optimize production.
M1 graphite is consistently above 90% carbon allowing for direct sales without further processing. The Company anticipates building a graphite processing plant at the M1site to process the graphite to 99%+. The in-country team has built such a plant previously in Sri Lanka and expects increased revenue potential from the 99%+ material, once processed.
“After many delays, we are pleased to receive the license renewal and return to our mining plan”, said Sasha Jacob, CEO of Ceylon Graphite. “We now have a very experienced graphite mining and management team in place and many incoming demand inquiries. We therefore expect to generate revenue in the near term, while continuing to advance additional sites into production quickly. We see today as a new dawn for the company and are excited to advance our development plans.”