SNC-Lavalin Group says it will undertake a definitive feasibility study for Verdant Minerals’ Ammaroo phosphate project in the Northern Territory of Australia.

The group is providing engineering and procurement services to assess the feasibility of a 4,500 t/d sulphuric acid plant, which will be part of a fully-integrated mine and downstream processing facility to produce ammonium phosphate fertilisers.

This sulphuric acid plant will use DuPont Clean Technologies’ MECS® technologies to minimise SO2 emissions, rendering the plant more sustainable in the long term, SNC-Lavalin said. MECS Heat Recovery System (HRS) technology will also be used to recover medium pressure steam from the sulphuric acid plant, an energy now captured instead of being wasted, providing the majority of energy requirements for the site and removing the need to have additional sources of energy.

This will maximise energy efficiency while reducing the overall facility’s reliance on energy supply from external sources and overall lessen its carbon footprint, SNC-Lavalin added.

Initial development of Ammaroo could produce in the order of 2 Mt/y of phosphate concentrate, with further downstream processing resulting in 500,000 t/y of merchant-grade phosphoric acid (100% P2O5) for domestic and global markets, Verdant says.

Patrick Sikka, Vice-President, North America, Mining & Metallurgy at SNC-Lavalin, said: “We are proud to be working with Verdant Minerals on this project to develop a world-class sulphuric acid plant as part of its major new mine and processing development, ensuring the long-term sustainability of its operations.”