ASX-listed energy minerals developer Walkabout Resources has signed a new amended binding sales, purchase and marketing agreement with high-value raw materials trader Wogen Pacific for the supply of all exported graphite production from its Lindi Jumbo graphite project, in south-east Tanzania.

The new five-year agreement replaces one signed with Wogen in 2019, for the full nameplate capacity of the Lindi Jumbo mine.

The original agreement made allowances for a volume of Walkabout’s production not already committed to other customers to be sold to Wogen. Under the amended terms of the agreement, the full export production of Lindi Jumbo will be sold to Wogen for a minimum term of five years.

Wogen will distribute the product into the global market, drawing on its substantial expertise and resources in speciality commodities marketing. Existing offtake agreements with other customers will be renegotiated to reflect this new arrangement. The existing customers are supportive of this approach.

Walkabout reports that the amended agreement enables the Lindi Jumbo project to harness the skills and resources of an established international commodities marketing organisation across its full production capacity.

Walkabout CEO Andrew Cunningham says the signing of the exclusive sales agreement with Wogen is a major milestone in the development of the Lindi Jumbo project.

“Wogen brings a wealth of global sales and marketing experience into the Lindi Jumbo fold and has been working diligently for more than two years marketing the Lindi Jumbo graphite concentrate to pre-selected end-users,” he says.

“We are delighted to be enlarging the scope of our agreement with Lindi Jumbo as we continue to develop our expertise in the important area of future-focused metals and minerals,” says Wogen Pacific chairperson Alex Williams.

Wogen Pacific, part of the Wogen group, is a specialist trading company handling a wide array of speciality metals and minerals, including ores and concentrates, metals and oxides, ferro alloys, mineral sands and rare earths. Wogen brings particular strengths in Europe and China,  key locations in the graphite marketplace.

Lindi Jumbo will draw on the considerable market knowledge and relationships Wogen has established in the graphite market since partnering with Walkabout and Lindi Jumbo in 2019.

It is anticipated that Lindi Jumbo’s sales book will be more diversified and have greater exposure to shorter-term pricing than previously as a result of the new arrangement. The agreement also provides Lindi Jumbo enhanced access to supply chain financing, supporting the objective of operating a capital-efficient balance sheet.