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Financing Letter of Interest

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GreenRoc Mining plc (AIM: GROC), a company focused on the development of critical mineral projects in Greenland, is pleased to announce the receipt of a Letter of Interest ("LOI") from the Export-Import Bank of the United States ("US EXIM Bank"). US EXIM Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States, an independent Executive Branch agency with a mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating the export of US goods and services.

In the LOI, US EXIM Bank indicates its willingness to consider financing GreenRoc for up to US$3.5M of US export contracts relating to goods and services ordered by the Company. Such contracts could relate to the conduct of Pre- or Definitive Feasibility Studies ("PFS" and "DFS" respectively) for GreenRoc's Amitsoq Graphite Mine in South Greenland and/or a DFS of the Graphite Active Anode Processing Plant, which funding would fall within US EXIM Bank's Engineering Multiplier Program. Another contract which could be eligible for US EXIM Bank financing relates to the processing of large graphite bulk samples by US-based contractors.

Any US EXIM Bank finance transaction will require a specific application to be made, which would be subject to US EXIM Bank's standard due diligence process prior to the issuing of a final financing commitment (which would be subject to a maximum five-year repayment term). The LOI is valid until 14 April 2025.

GreenRoc's CEO, Stefan Bernstein, commented:

"This LOI from US EXIM Bank represents a strong show of support for our Amitsoq project from one of the key financing bodies of the US Government involved in the roll-out of loans and other funding support under the US Inflation Reduction Act to entities, like Greenroc, which are developing projects which will deliver critical raw materials to Western economies. A successful application for up to US$3.5m of funding would allow us to undertake extensive and costly parts of our work programme over the coming couple of years and to achieve important milestones such as the PFS and DFS and the processing of large bulk samples of graphite ore, all of which are critical paths to production. As such, we expect to proceed with an application to US EXIM Bank in the near future.

"With the US Inflation Reduction Act's rules of origin in relation to graphite set to be implemented in the near future, we expect to see increased interest from US industries in securing friendly sources of graphite, and so this LOI from US EXIM Bank is timely."

About US EXIM Bank

US EXIM Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States. It is an independent Executive Branch agency with a mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating the export of U.S. goods and services.

US EXIM Bank has special initiatives in place to increase financing for US exports of goods and services that are environmentally beneficial, particularly related to renewable energy.

By complementing EXIM Bank's foreign buyer financing programs, US EXIM Bank can spur growth and security of critical supply chains while continuing to meet its core mission of supporting US jobs.

US EXIM Bank's Engineering Multiplier Program ("EMP") is designed to generate additional exports of US goods and services overall (the "multiplier effect"), since the foreign buyer is more likely to procure US equipment and construction services for a project for which US engineers, designers, architects and environmental analysts undertook the feasibility study, design and other pre-project work.

The EMP will finance feasibility studies, pre-construction design, engineering, architectural and environmental services undertaken prior to commencement of the implementation phase of a physical project, supporting the award of major equipment supply and construction contracts.

About the US Inflation Reduction Act and graphite

An important component of the 2022 US Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA", which is a United States federal law aimed to curb inflation by investing into, amongst others, domestic energy production while promoting clean energy) is the introduction of a US$7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicles introduced in 2023, with certain requirements to be fulfilled for a specific car to be eligible for the credit: From 2025 no 'anode on foil' (battery anodes produced with graphite) product can come from a 'Foreign entity of concern' which includes China, and from 2026 no graphite in any form can come from a 'Foreign entity of concern'.

Key Points about Amitsoq, GreenRoc's Flagship Asset

  • The Amitsoq Island Deposit has a total inferred, indicated and measured JORC Resource of 23.05 million tonnes (Mt) at an average grade of 20.41% Graphitic Carbon ("C(g)"), giving a total graphite content of 4.71 Mt. This makes Amitsoq one of the highest-grade graphite projects in the world.
  • In GreenRoc's test work programmes:
  • Amitsoq spheronised graphite has achieved higher than 99.95% purity with relatively little energy input and processing and using a milder alkaline purification method compared to the industry standard hydrofluoric acid, boding well for future production costs and sustainability commitments.
  • The results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (or PEA) for Amitsoq released on 31 October 2023 give a post-tax NPV8 for the Project of US$179M, an IRR of 26.7% and capex estimated at US$131M (including a 25% contingency). These figures solely relate to the economics of a mining and primary processing operation in South Greenland and do not take into account any potential upside from a downstream processing operation which GreenRoc intends to establish in Europe or the USA.
  • In relation to that downstream business, GreenRoc is currently undertaking a Feasibility Study into the establishment of a graphite spheronisation processing plant to produce cSPG from graphite concentrate delivered from Amitsoq. This Feasibility Study, which is expected to be completed in H1, 2024, has been part-financed by a grant of approximately £250,000 from the UK's Automotive Transformation Fund.

Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.

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