A Junior Mining Company To Keep Your Eye On?
Interview with Kurt Budge 20.11.2020
Beowulf Mining, with a presence in Sweden, Finland and Kosovo, is running their Rights Issue on Spotlight market in Sweden and London AIM. Their CEO Kurt Budge dedicated some of his busy time to have a chat with us so we could better understand their intentions and goals.
For those who havent heard of you, what does Beowulf Mining plc do?
Beowulf Mining is an exploration and development company, listed on the AIM in London and Spotlight in Sweden. The Company is ~ 68 per cent owned by Swedish shareholders.
Beowulf's vision is to build a sustainable and innovative mining company, which creates value by developing mining assets in partnership with communities, delivering production and generating cash flow, and meets society's ongoing needs for metals.
The Company’s portfolio is diversified by commodity, geography and the development stage of its projects, and includes iron ore, graphite, gold and base metal projects, in Sweden, Finland and Kosovo.
Lets talk about Beowulf Mining plc’s biggest strength
Diversification, which gives the Company exposure to metals essential to a green economic transition, iron ore which can be used for fossil-free steel making and natural flake graphite used in the manufacturing of anodes for lithium-ion batteries, as well as an exciting exploration programme in Kosovo and the highly prospective Tethyan Belt, a potential source of metals supply in the future.
Since you’ve been CEO, what are the Company’s biggest achievements so far?
Diversification and creating standalone business areas which each present growth opportunities for Beowulf. At the same time, the Company’s ownership in Sweden has increased from less than 14 per cent in late 2014 to almost 68 per cent, we have continued to raise capital with a measured approach, to get to the position now, where we are making progress in each business area.
Challenges
Permitting mining projects is often a challenge and being able to access capital at the right cost.
Looking ahead, where will Beowulf Mining plc be in three years?
Making a positive difference.
We’ve always said that Kallak is 4-5 years from production, so we could be three years into that timeframe, and it will be interesting to see the progress with fossil-free steel making in Sweden and the demand for high quality feedstock.
We could also be moving towards a production start with the Aitolampi graphite asset in Finland. The rapid growth in demand for anode material will require more flake graphite to be mined and processed, and if end-users are honest about supply chain transparency and security of supply, then that should be advantageous for our graphite business.
Finally, in Kosovo, we are planning drill programmes for 2021, focused on discovering new deposits. Depending on scale, we may well be developing mining projects in Kosovo as well.
You are currently running a Rights Issue to raise capital, what will it be used for?
The Capital Raising proceeds will support investment plans across our three business areas, exploration in Kosovo, we have targets for drilling in 2021, including gold and lead-zinc, the continued development of our Aitolampi graphite project in Finland with plans for test mining and the development of a pilot plant, and resource and project development studies for our Kallak iron ore project in Sweden.
Lastly, anything you would like to tell investors that are having a look at Beowulf Mining plc?
We are making progress in all areas of our business. We have satisfied the requirements for being granted the next permit for the Kallak iron ore project and the Government has talked of a ‘forthcoming decision’, our graphite business in Finland is on the doorstep of the rapidly developing battery sector in the Nordics and Europe, and in Kosovo we have investment exposure to the highly prospective Tethyan Belt.
Rights issue details