TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Vancouver-based Flinders Resources has signed a letter of intent under which ThyssenKrupp Metallurgical Products will sell graphite from the Woxna project, in central Sweden, for ten years.

In a statement on Tuesday, Flinders noted that the agreement gave the ThyssenKrupp subsidiary the exclusive right to market and sell up to between 20 000 t and 50 000 t of Woxna flake graphite, in a defined exclusive territory over the period, and included options to increase this as required in the future.

The flake graphite specification was in line with Woxna graphite products and would allow the operation to lift production rates to meet this and future demand.

Under the agreement, Woxna would supply 2 000 t/y to 5 000 t/y of flake graphite concentrate. Flinders said the products would comprise fine-, medium- and large-flake graphite concentrate.

Owing to the confidential nature of the agreement, specifics such as price, transport and product parameters were not disclosed.

“I am very pleased to announce this first significant agreement as it is the result of our marketing efforts over the past year and is a major step in growing our business. As a prominent producer in Europe, Flinders is well positioned in the graphite sector, with the ability to fill consumer needs and provide a sustainable European alternative to Chinese supply,” Flinders president and CEO Blair Way said.

The company recently officially opened the Woxna operation and the plant was now ramping up to produce according to a number of graphite specifications tailored to customer requirements.

The company had managed to get Woxna back up and running for the first time in 13 years by spending less than $3.5-million on the plant and mine; however, it would take the company some time yet to tweak and improve its refining process and it was expecting to produce up to 4 000 t in the next 12 months.

Flinders’ TSX-V-listed stock closed up 10% on Tuesday at C$0.55 apiece.