Blencowe Resources (LSE:BRES), the AIM-listed graphite developer focused on its 100%-owned Orom-Cross project in Uganda, has appointed Iain Wearing as Interim Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.
Wearing, previously Chief Operating Officer, led the technical work behind the project's Definitive Feasibility Study and will run funding, technical and operational workstreams while the board searches for a permanent CEO.
He has invested approximately £500,000 in cash through previous company capital raisings and does not join the board in his interim executive role.
The updated feasibility model puts Phase 1 capital expenditure at $45 million, with the company weighing strategic, institutional and development-finance funding options.
The US International Development Finance Corporation has supported the feasibility study through a technical assistance grant, and discussions with development finance institutions continue alongside commercial talks.
Blencowe raised £3 million in December and says warrant and option exercises have since strengthened its cash position, which it considers sufficient to cover overheads and the Phase 1 financing process, excluding construction capital.
The company's Ore Reserve stands at 23.08 million tonnes at 5.18% total graphitic carbon, with a wider Mineral Resource of 64.3 million tonnes following May's Beehive estimate update.
Cameron Pearce, Executive Chairman, said the company's priority is "to convert that progress into Phase 1 funding and binding commercial agreements", with multiple due diligence processes currently active.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Blencowe has promoted its Chief Operating Officer Iain Wearing to interim CEO while pursuing project-level funding for the $45 million Phase 1 graphite development at Orom-Cross. The company says its cash position—bolstered by a £3 million December raise and subsequent warrant exercises—is sufficient to cover overheads and the financing process itself, though not construction capital; it is now running multiple due diligence processes with strategic, institutional, and development-finance partners.
The interim CEO appointment signals continuity in technical execution (Wearing led the feasibility study) but leaves permanent leadership unresolved during a critical funding phase. The company's assertion that cash covers "overheads and the Phase 1 financing process" is material only if it can close one of the active funding discussions; without binding commitments, the runway remains dependent on deal closure rather than balance-sheet strength alone.
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