Tag Archives: Element 25

IOCA names REGROUP Australia as preferred primary contractor for Hancock iron ore project

Alien Metals Ltd’s wholly-owned subsidiary Iron Ore Company of Australia Pty Ltd (IOCA) has named REGROUP Australia as its preferred primary contractor to undertake the construction works, mining operations and haulage services for its flagship Hancock iron ore project in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

IOCA has conducted a competitive market engagement over the previous six months to identify commercially and technically adept contractors to undertake works as part of the Hancock development and operations. This process has involved pre-qualified and targeted proponents submitting bids for specific scopes of works and agreeing to key commercial terms.

REGROUP is, Alien Metals says, a highly renowned and experienced civil construction, mining operator and haulier, having executed projects that exceed A$100 million ($64 million) on multiple occasions. It operates one of the largest privately and independently owned fleets in Western Australia, with clients that include Newcrest Mining, Roy Hill and Element 25.

The selection of REGROUP allows the company to update its financial model as part of the definitive feasibility study (DFS) work streams, Alien Metals says.

As part of the preferred construction contractor award, REGROUP would be in charge of construction of an intersection of the project area at the Great Northern Highway and construction of an access track from the Great Northern Highway to the mine site.

REGROUP has also been selected as the preferred operations contractor for:

  • Mining services (that is inclusive of any drilling and blasting activities); and
  • Haulage services for the haulage of ore from the mine site to Port Hedland.

The award of this contract remains subject to the completion of a positive DFS, approvals, funding and the Board making a final investment decision.

The 2021 scoping study on Hancock showcased a 1.25 Mt/y production profile that would sustain an eight-year life of mine with current resources. The company has said it plans to make its first shipments in 2023, leveraging its direct shipping ore options.

Troy Whittaker, Chief Executive Officer of Alien, said: “Securing REGROUP as a key contractor for the Hancock project is a significant milestone for the company…This is the first step in locking in relationships with contractors on the back of the IOCA sourcing process, securing competitive pricing from contractors, which moves planning for the project forward.

“We are excited to partner with REGROUP, a company that shares our values. REGROUP has set the goal of becoming carbon neutral via the use of a fully battery-powered fleet and the utilisation of solar and wind to help power their sites. That combined with their commitment to advancing indigenous businesses, notably through the championing of Maramara in Western Australia, a majority Indigenous-owned Pty Ltd company, is one of the reasons why we teamed up with REGROUP.”

Michael Still, Managing Director of REGROUP, said: “REGROUP is looking forward to working with IOCA, firstly in the establishment of their mine, as well as the long-term success of the operations from pit to port. We also see a great opportunity to support First Nations business, Maramara, in delivering the civil scope of this exciting project. We would utilise our expertise as a Pilbara-based business and being a partner of a values-based miner such as IOCA, we are eager to see the impact we know this project will have on the Pilbara communities.

“In being a greenfields site, the Hancock project lends itself well to autonomous and electrified solutions for both the mining and bulk haulage fleet. We will continue to work with our partners in Scania and Janus to integrate new and emerging technologies where practical, both on-site and in Port Hedland. The consolidation of the construction and operational activities under one group will facilitate speed to market for IOCA and provides us with the opportunity to embed our expertise early in the project.”

Element 25 progresses Zero Carbon Manganese vision with AK Evans pact

A day after securing the sale of the first parcel of material from its Butcherbird manganese project in Western Australia, Element 25 Ltd has signed a letter of intent with AK Evans Group Australia for transportation of manganese concentrate from the project to Utah Point in Port Hedland.

AK Evans is a privately owned construction, civils, heavy and bulk haulage company, founded in Port Hedland, with locations across Western Australia. AK Evans also has a strategic partnership with Kurtarra Pty Ltd, an 100% indigenous-owned earthmoving and services company.

The letter of intent will cover the initial transport arrangements – with haulage for the maiden cargo undertaken using agreed terms and rates – and the parties are in the process of finalising a long-term commercial arrangement, which will see the introduction of new quad road trains during the remainder of 2021, Element 25 said.

Element 25 Managing Director, Justin Brown, said: “We are excited to be partnering with AK Evans with a view to having new dedicated road trains to transport our manganese to Port Hedland. We are also excited to know we can work with our commercial partners in delivering solutions to fulfil our vision of delivering Zero Carbon Manganese™ for the electric vehicle (EV) battery revolution. This is another important milestone for the project and company, and we are excited to be heading for our first shipment of Butcherbird’s material to our offtake partners.”

On May 26, Element 25 announced the sale of the first parcel of material from Butcherbird to OMH under offtake agreement terms. The material in the contract specification is 30-35% Mn concentrate, with the first shipment planned for June 2021.

Last year, Element 25 completed a prefeasibility study on Butcherbird that outlined a start-up manganese concentrate export scenario as part of a staged development strategy. It outlined a maiden proven and probable reserve of 50.55 Mt at 10.3% Mn containing 5.22 Mt of manganese, with a base case assuming annual production and sales of 312,000 t/y of medium-grade lump manganese concentrate grading 30-35% Mn.

“The project team will now turn its focus to the next stages of the multi-stage development strategy of the project including a Stage 2 expansion of the concentrate business followed by a Stage 3 development to convert the concentrate material into high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate for electric vehicle (EV) batteries to power the global transition away from fossil fuel powered mobility,” the company said.

Element 25 says Butcherbird is ideally placed to feed potential demand, with advanced flowsheet development work undertaken in 2019 and 2020 confirming a simple, unique, ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure leach process for Element 25 ores which, when combined with offsets, will target the world’s first Zero Carbon Manganese for EV cathode manufacture.