Tag Archives: Fluor Australia

Clean TeQ spells out battery raw materials potential of Sunrise project

Clean TeQ Holdings and Fluor Australia have come up with a Project Execution Plan (PEP) for the Sunrise Battery Materials project in New South Wales, Australia, that, Clean TeQ says, confirms the asset’s status as one of the world’s lowest cost, development-ready sources of critical battery raw materials.

This builds on a 2018 definitive feasibility study on Sunrise that modelled the first 25 years of production at the project.

In production, it will be a major supplier of nickel and cobalt to the lithium-ion battery market, and scandium to the aerospace, consumer electronics and automotive sectors, according to Clean TeQ.

The PEP scope of works included a range of studies which have optimised metal production rates while holding autoclave ore feed constant at the approved maximum 2.5 Mt/y, it said. This saw average annual (metal equivalent) production rates of 21,293 t of nickel and 4,366 t of cobalt in years two to 11; and 18,439 t of nickel and 3,179 t of cobalt from year two to 25.

On top of this, the PEP considered a scandium oxide refining capacity of up to 20 t/y installed from year three, which can readily be expanded to 80 t/y with around A$25 million ($18 million) capital expenditure on additional refining capacity.

“As the scandium market grows, future investment in a dedicated resin-in-pulp scandium extraction circuit and further refining capacity offers the potential to increase by-product scandium production to up to approximately 150 tonnes per annum,” Clean TeQ said.

The pre-production capital cost estimate of $1.658 billion (excluding $168 million estimated contingency) reflects a significantly de-risked capital cost, with approximately 79% of total equipment and materials costs covered by vendor quotations, Clean TeQ said. Submissions were also obtained from contractors to validate the labour costs included in the total direct cost.

On the operating expenditure side, C1 costs came in at $4.31/Ib ($9,503/t) of nickel before by-product credits in years 2-11 and $4.58/Ib before by-product credits over years 2-25.

Using weighted average forecast (metal equivalent) sulphate prices over the life of mine of $24,200/t (including sulphate premium) for nickel and $59,200/t of cobalt, the project would generate a post-tax net present value of $1.21 billion, the company said.

Future value optimisation studies to assess opportunities to reduce capital expenditure in areas of off-site pre-assembly, modularisation and low-cost offshore procurement could further improve this return, it said.

The PEP assumed the project execution on an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) basis. Prior to making a final investment decision, Clean TeQ will select an EPCM contractor for the engineering, procurement and construction phase of the project, it said.

Clean TeQ Co-Chairman, Robert Friedland, said: “Auto supply chains are coming to realise they are playing a game of nickel and cobalt musical chairs. We are half-way through the second verse and the music will eventually stop.

“We have a clear vision for how to create a sustainable auto supply chain of the future. Our team is proud to present that vision today. Sunrise is a long-life, low-cost, development-ready asset which is a template for consistent, sustainable and auditable nickel and cobalt supply. We cannot anticipate how long it will take to have the project funded and in development, but we can be patient with such a strategically important asset, and we are fully committed to ensuring it is developed with partners who understand the value that responsible supply chain integration brings.”

Although the level of activity associated with the PEP study and engineering works will now significantly reduce, Clean TeQ said a range of work-streams will continue in order to progress a number of value-adding deliverables aimed at minimising project restart time once funding is secured:

  • Work will be progressed on the long-lead electrical transmission line (ETL) work scope. The ETL application to connect to the NSW electrical grid is currently in progress and will continue through the 2021 financial year;
  • Progressing ongoing commercial discussions with landowners, local councils, the New South Wales state government and other impacted parties required for land access agreements for key infrastructure including the water pipeline and the ETL;
  • Surveying and planning for autoclave and oversize equipment transport routes to site;
  • Preliminary investigations to be undertaken on exploration licences for limestone resources, a key process reagent for which the company currently has a supply contract in place with a third party;
  • Test work and engineering assessing opportunities for potential further downstream processing of sulphates into battery precursor materials;
  • Ongoing environmental work including monitoring and compliance reporting;
  • The Sunrise Community Consultative Committee will be maintained along with several local community engagement/support programs; and
  • A range of scandium alloy development programs will continue to be progressed, consistent with Clean TeQ’s long term strategy to work with, and assist, industry players to investigate and develop new applications for scandium-aluminium alloys.

Base metal price rise sparks nickel-cobalt laterite activity

With the nickel price having recovered from the late March lows and now trading above the $15,000/t mark on the LME, those miners and developers tied to the base metal have been making moves in the last few months. Alan Taylor at ALTA 2020 Online recently highlighted some of the more significant news in the nickel-cobalt laterite sector.

It comes just two months prior to the start of the virtual conference.

Ravensthorpe restarts

Often viewed as an industry bellwether, the First Quantum-owned Ravensthorpe nickel mine (pictured) in Western Australia is continuing with a restart plan despite coronavirus challenges, the company recently reported.

The acid plant and atmospheric leaching operations restarted in March 2020, with the first high pressure acid leach (HPAL) circuit brought on stream in mid-April, followed by product drying and containerising of nickel mixed hydroxide product.

The second HPAL circuit is scheduled to come online in due course.

Director of Exploration, Mike Christie, said previously at Paydirt’s Africa Downunder conference in September 2019 that the mine plans to ramp-up production to between 20,000-30,000 t/y of nickel over the next few years.

Some 1,979 t of nickel was produced at the operation in the June quarter.

Ramu expansion engineering ready

Looking back to an ASX announcement on October 8, 2018, from Highland Pacific, a minority partner in the Ramu Nickel JV, a A$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) expansion continues to be investigated.

Ramu is currently rated at 34,000 t/y nickel and 3,300 t/y cobalt as mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), achieved in 2017.

By way of an update, Craig Lennon, Executive Director of Highlands Pacific (now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Conic Metals Corp), advised Taylor that the expansion project is engineering-ready, although the final decision to proceed is dependent on factors including global markets and final permitting decisions in Papua New Guinea.

Indonesia projects slowed

There are several HPAL projects in Indonesia aimed at producing MHP for the electric vehicle battery industry. They received environmental approvals in January 2020, allowing them to proceed with construction, according to Jack Anderson of Roskill, however, their development depends on Chinese expertise and progress is likely to be slowed due to Chinese workers involved in the construction being quarantined.

Sunrise PEP progressing towards Q3 2020 completion

Fluor Australia Pty, as Project Management Contractor, is working with the Clean TeQ-owned Sunrise nickel/cobalt/scandium project team to develop a comprehensive Project Execution Plan (PEP) for the Sunrise project in New South Wales, Australia, according to reports.

The company expects that completion and announcement of the outcomes will be late in the September quarter.

Clean TeQ advises that the PEP capital estimate will likely be higher than the 2018 definitive feasibility study figure, while the operating costs indicate the project will remain extremely competitive because of strong cobalt by-product credits.

Queensland offers funding for Sconi

The Queensland government has offered Australian Mines a conditional financial support package for the development of the Sconi cobalt-nickel-scandium project in north Queensland, the mine developer says.

The package will be subject to a number of conditions including a timetable for securing an offtake agreement for all of the nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate production (September 2020); delivery of a detailed execution plan, obtaining approved financing for construction and making a final investment decision; appointing an engineering, procurement, construction management contractor (end 2020); and completion of construction (July 2023).

It also includes conditions for employment of people and engagement of independent contractors working directly on the project.

Australian Mines, in August, became the first mineral resources company to be certified a “Carbon Neutral Organisation” under the Australian Government’s Climate Active program.

Piauí project granted preliminary environmental licence

Brazilian Nickel plc announced the granting of a Preliminary Environmental Licence by the Brazilian Piauí State Environmental Agency on October 22, 2019, for the mining and heap leaching processing plant to produce nickel and cobalt products for the battery industry at its Piauí nickel project.

The company says it is now ready to advance through a bankable feasibility study (BFS) enable financing and application for a construction permit.

An operating demonstration plant has leached 8,000 t of ore in full-height heaps and has achieved first sales of nickel and cobalt products. This will allow the company to expand the existing demonstration plant by a factor of 10 to 1,400 t/y nickel to jump-start the project to immediate producer status without the need for a BFS.

Process innovations

On the process innovation front, there have recently been two major stories from Pure Minerals and Metso Outotec.

Pure Minerals has secured a A$2.55 million grant via its wholly owned subsidiary Queensland Pacific Metals Pty Ltd (QPM) for the Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub (TECH) project. QPM and project partners Direct Nickel Projects Pty Ltd (DNi) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) successfully applied for the Federal Government grant.

The TECH project will process imported, high-grade nickel-cobalt laterite ore from New Caledonia to produce nickel sulphate, cobalt sulphate and other valuable co-products. If it proceeds it will be the first commercial application of the DNi Process™.

The next step is a pilot plant test work program on a bulk sample received from New Caledonia ore supply partners.

And, finally, Metso Outotec has introduced a new novel superheated steam sulphation process.

The process is a recent development of Metso Outotec, Finland, and has been successfully tested on a laboratory scale. It includes agglomeration of ground laterite with sulphuric acid, then superheated steam treatment at elevated temperature followed by water leaching. Nickel and cobalt are sulphated and solubilised. Iron dissolution is minimised by conversion from goethite to hematite. Sulphuric acid consumption is said to be moderate.

A paper on the process is to be presented by Metso Outotec in the ‘Nickel-Cobalt-Copper Conference’ at ALTA 2020 Online.

Pressure Acid Leaching for the production of nickel and cobalt for the battery industry is one of the key topics of the ‘Nickel-Cobalt-Copper Conference’ to be held on November 10-12 as part of ALTA 2020 Online.

This will be followed on November 13 by a short course ‘The ART of HPAL – The way of Success’. The course presenters played key roles as owner and engineering contractor in Sumitomo’s successful Coral Bay and Taganito HPAL projects in the Philippines.

International Mining is a media partner of ALTA 2020 Online