Tag Archives: NAIF

Fortescue’s Chichester Hub iron ore operations hit solar power milestone

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Fortescue Metals Group’s Chichester Hub operations are now being powered by solar energy following the completion of the 60 MW Alinta Energy Chichester Solar Gas Hybrid Project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, the miner confirmed.

Completion of the project with Alinta Energy marks a major milestone in the delivery of Fortescue’s decarbonisation strategy, as the company works towards its ambitious target of being carbon neutral by 2030 for Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

The solar farm will power up to 100% of daytime operations at Fortescue’s Christmas Creek and Cloudbreak iron ore sites, displacing around 100 million litres of diesel every year. The remaining power requirements will be met through battery storage and gas generation at Alinta Energy’s Newman Power Station, FMG said.

Fortescue Chief Executive Officer, Elizabeth Gaines said: “The completion of this project is a practical example of Fortescue delivering on its ambitious carbon neutrality target and demonstrates that renewables can power the energy needs of Australia’s mining and resources sector.

“As Fortescue transitions from a pure-play iron ore producer to a green energy and resources company, this milestone is a critical part of our Pilbara Energy Connect project which, together with the Chichester solar farm, will see 25% of Fortescue’s stationary energy powered by solar.”

Alinta Energy’s MD & CEO, Jeff Dimery, said: “Together, we’ve built a benchmark renewable project with an ambitious partner and, given the abundance of high quality renewables resources in the Pilbara, we look forward to supporting others to do the same.

“I’m very proud of the team and thank Fortescue, our partners, contractors and suppliers, NAIF, ARENA, and, in particular the Nyiyaparli People, on whose country the solar farm sits.”

The project also includes the construction of approximately 60 km of new transmission lines, linking Fortescue’s Christmas Creek and Cloudbreak mines to the solar farm and Alinta Energy’s existing energy generation infrastructure in Newman.

Sheffield Resources’ Thunderbird mineral sands project to use LNG

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Sheffield Resources has secured a 15-year agreement with Woodside Energy and Energy Developments Pty Ltd (EDL) for the supply and delivery of 1,950 TJ/y of liquified natural gas (LNG) to its Thunderbird mineral sands project in northern Western Australia.

LNG will be supplied from Woodside’s Pluto LNG truck loading facility, near Karratha in Western Australia (pictured), and transported to Thunderbird’s LNG storage facility by a newly formed joint venture between Woodside and Energy Developments. The JV will own and operate a purpose-built road tanker fleet to safely and reliably deliver the LNG to Thunderbird. This is customary with other gas logistic arrangements in place for the towns of Broome, Derby and other communities in the Kimberley region, according to Sheffield.

“The advantage of using LNG at Thunderbird is three-fold, providing Sheffield with a low-cost, low-emission fuel source that is ideally suited to the ilmenite low temperature roast (LTR) process proposed for the Thunderbird processing plant,” Sheffield said.

As previously announced, Sheffield has secured infrastructure funding support from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF).

“Part of the A$95 million ($68 million) financing package will be allocated to the proposed Thunderbird LNG storage and power station facilities, which will be constructed and operated under separate agreement with third parties,” the company said.

“This arrangement will enable Sheffield to capture long-term gas supply cost savings relative to the bankable feasibility study (BFS) published in March 2017. The BFS assumed an outsourced LNG storage and power station facility model on a build own and operate basis.”

The NAIF funding arrangements enable in-sourcing of LNG storage and power station facilities to take place, providing significant reduction in operating costs compared with the BFS assumptions, according to the company.

The agreement is subject to several customary conditions precedent, including the company making a final investment decision toward the development of Thunderbird.

Sheffield Resources Managing Director, Bruce McFadzean, said: “The project is now fully permitted and construction ready, with offtake and financing agreements in place. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Woodside and EDL as we move toward development during 2019.”

Back in November, Sheffield signed up GR Engineering Services to build a 7.5 Mt/y mineral processing plant and associated facilities at Thunderbird.

Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund boosting mine development

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A new investment mandate for the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund (NAIF) is helping more projects get off the ground sooner, NAIF Executive Director Peter Ross told delegates at the International Mining and Resources Conference 2018 (IMARC) in Melbourne.

Ross said the fund’s investment mandate, introduced in April, was proving significantly more flexible.

“We are now able to provide up to 100% of the debt finance for a project – up from 50% previously, and we can now also consider smaller projects below A$50 million ($35 million) in value, where they meet other criteria,” Ross said.

Since its establishment in 2016, the NAIF has grown its portfolio. It has moved from having five projects in due diligence in 2017 to making investment decisions on six projects in the last financial year.

“Our loan portfolio now stands at A$264 million, on Northern Australian projects valued at A$969 million,” Ross said.

“In addition, we have another A$750 million of loans that are conditionally approved. In total, the NAIF expects to soon be supporting projects valued at A$2.3 billion, which will provide thousands of jobs in Northern Australia and deliver long-term benefits for the region.”

As might be expected in Northern Australia, resource projects feature prominently in the NAIF portfolio. Since June 2017 a third of the projects considered for due diligence by the fund have been resources-related.

Of the six projects sanctioned, three are resource related.

Sheffield Resources’ Thunderbird mineral sands project (pictured) secured A$95 million in finance to develop its LNG power station and reticulation, and upgrade road and port infrastructure to support the project in WA’s West Kimberley Region.

The NAIF has also signed off on a A$95 million facility for the Onslow Marine Supply Base, and A$15 million for the upgrade of the Pippingarra Road, a 70 km public road to access the Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum mine being developed by Pilbara Minerals, near Port Hedland.

Ross said as word spread of the NAIF’s capacity, project enquiries were increasing. The NAIF has experienced a 320% increase in projects undergoing due diligence since September 2017.

Apart from being an infrastructure project in Australia’s north, to secure NAIF support a project must also have the capacity to repay or re-finance on commercial terms, be of public benefit, and demonstrate it has an effective indigenous engagement strategy.