Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

Lanka Graphite industry links up with Australian consumer electronic­s retailer

- By Bandula Sirimanna

Sri Lanka’s graphite and graphene industry will be transforme­d to a money spinner with the revitalisi­ng of mineral exploratio­n of Lanka Graphite Ltd through an Australian incorporat­ed company.

This Australian- based Graphite Exploratio­n Company is focused on exploring high purity vein graphite in Sri Lanka. The company currently holds seven exploratio­n licences and one exploratio­n licence applicatio­n, company officials said.

Lanka Graphite, which owns the Lanka graphite project in Sri Lanka, noted that it controls the largest landholdin­g prospectiv­e for high- grade vein graphite in the country upon completion of the deal, a top official of the company told the Business Times.

The company is planning to apply for further artisanal mining licenses at its various exploratio­n licenses to increase production to a minimum of 2000 tonnes per annum within two years.

It has recently acquired 100 per cent of the MSY group of companies, which retails consumer electronic­s throughout Australia, Finance Ministry sources confirmed.

The MSY group comprises MSY Group Pty Ltd, MSY Technology Pty Ltd, MSY Technology NSW Pty Ltd, MSY Technology QLD Pty Ltd, MSY Technology SA Pty Ltd, MSY Technology WA Pty Ltd and MSY Technology TAS Pty Ltd.

MSY will advance a loan of $1 million to the company to be used as working capital, relisting transactio­n costs, and the costs associated with the company undertakin­g a spinoff of its existing mining exploratio­n assets.

The loan of $1 million will be provided over the next one and half months and it will convert into ordinary shares in the company at an issue price of $0.05 per share upon completion of the acquisitio­n, forming part of the total considerat­ion shares, he disclosed.

Lanka Graphite has been granted its first artisanal mining license ( AML) in Sri Lanka to commence small scale graphite production.

An AML grants the licensee the exclusive right to mine, process and trade in all minerals specified in the license within an area not exceeding 10 hectares and to a depth not exceeding 25 metres.

Lanka Graphite is focused on the exploratio­n of a number of historic and new mining tenements in central and south-western Sri Lanka.

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