Castle Minerals has revealed that Ghana’s Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) has pledged a $2 million investment to back the company’s gold exploration and the development of the Kambale Graphite Project in northern Ghana.
The investment, as stated in a non-binding term sheet, consists of a $500,000 equity investment in Castle Minerals and a $1.5 million stake in Kambale Graphite Limited, its Ghanaian subsidiary responsible for managing the graphite project.
The funding aims to push the project to the pre-feasibility study stage, with the goal of producing specialized graphite concentrates for lithium-ion battery anodes.
The 149 km² Kambale Graphite Project is fully owned by Kambale Graphite Limited (KGL), a Ghanaian subsidiary. It is located just 6 km west of Wa, the capital of the Upper West Region of Ghana, which is 640 km north of Accra, Ghana’s capital, via well-maintained roads that connect to the Port of Tema, offering direct access to global export markets.
The area of Wa boasts excellent infrastructure, including a commercial airport just a few kilometers from the project, a network of paved and unpaved roads, abundant potable water, and a reliable electricity supply, much of it sourced from the 400MWh Bui hydroelectric dam. These factors are expected to significantly reduce the project’s setup capital costs.
In October 2023, the mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the Kambale Graphite Project was revised to 22.4 million tons, with a grade of 8.6% total graphitic carbon (TGC), totaling 1.94 million tons of graphite. Notably, 43% of this estimate falls within the higher-confidence Indicated Mineral Resource category.
Castle Executive Chairman Stephen Stone said: “The proposed transformational funding arrangement with Ghana’s sovereign wealth fund, the Mineral Income Investment Fund, will not only see the Project accelerated through to pre-feasibility but also establishes a de-risking platform for the offtake of a major proportion of graphite production and the provision of development capital.”
He added: “With MIIF having already formed an alliance with Atlantic Lithium and its Ewoyaa lithium project, its Castle investment fully aligns with the country’s aspiration to build Sub-Sahara’s first lithium-ion battery manufacturing hub and to be a leader in the global energy transition.”
He noted: “An undertaking to list on the fast-growing Ghana Stock Exchange will open up access to additional in-country investment and capital. Kambale’s fine flake graphite is the form required for lithium-ion battery anode manufacture and extensive test work has demonstrated that it can be processed to achieve the stringent specifications required for use in anode manufacture. The high-grade 22.4 million-tonne Mineral Resource will comfortably support a long-term production facility. We are looking forward to a very productive partnership with MIIF and the Ghana government.”
MIIF Chief Executive Officer, Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, added: “The Minerals Income Investment Fund of Ghana is a minerals sovereign wealth fund whose underlying objective is to support the growth of mining in Ghana and provide a de-risking option for investors in the mining space.”
He said: “We are excited about the proposed USD2.0 million investment in Castle Minerals Limited and its subsidiary, Kambale Graphite Limited, which meets this objective. It also fully aligns with the Government of Ghana’s critical minerals policy and its aspiration to establish sub-Sahara’s first lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility. Combined with our investment in Atlantic Lithium Limited, Ghana is moving closer to firmly positioning itself in the global EV supply chain and playing its part in reducing harmful global emissions. Ghana’s status as one of the best mining investment destinations in Africa is considerably reinforced.”