Optimises Kaolin Beneficiation Plant Location
Perth, Nov 26, 2015 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Altech Chemicals Limited (Altech/the Company) (
ASX:ATC) is pleased to provide an update on the detailed design work that is currently underway for its proposed high purity alumina (HPA) project. Detailed design commenced in September 2015, following the appointment of General Manager Operations Dr Jingyuan Liu and is being undertaken with the assistance of Simulus Engineering, a Perth based multidiscipline engineering consultancy and M+W Group, the EPCM contractor for the project. The detailed design work also includes consideration of optimisation opportunities for process flow design, plant layout, capital equipment and operating costs.
Kaolin beneficiation
On 29 June 2015, the Company announced the positive results of its Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) for the development of a 4,000tpa HPA processing plant at Johor, Malaysia and an associated aluminous clay (kaolin) beneficiation plant at Meckering, Western Australia to provide feedstock for the HPA plant.
The BFS contemplated the on-site beneficiation of mined kaolin material at Meckering, Western Australia. A fourstage wet screening circuit to remove oversized silica was designed, consisting of a drum scrubber, screening, pressure filter and dryer, bagging unit and supporting infrastructure. The plant was designed to produce an upgraded dry kaolin product of ~30% Al2O3. The dry kaolin was to be delivered to Malaysia in containerised shipments of two-tonne bulk bags, initially transported by road from Meckering to the port of Fremantle, Western Australia, then by sea to the Company's proposed HPA plant in Johor, Malaysia.
However, as a result of the current detailed design and optimisation work, the kaolin beneficiation plant will now be located at the Company's proposed HPA plant site in Johor, Malaysia.
Locating the kaolin beneficiation plant in Malaysia will reduce the capital cost of the plant because it results in the proposed dryer, bagging unit and supporting infrastructure not being required. The removal of these items will also simplify the beneficiation process. A beneficiation plant located in Malaysian will also be smaller in size as it will operate 24hrs/day (as opposed to 12 hrs/day in Australia) and construction costs in Malaysia will be significantly lower. Operating costs for the Malaysian beneficiation plant will also be lower because of much lower power and natural gas charges, lower labour costs and various maintenance and operating synergies.
The estimated lower operating costs for the Malaysian beneficiation plant will more than offset the additional freight associated with transporting un-beneficiated kaolin from Meckering to Malaysia (approximately 40,000tpa of un-beneficiated kaolin, compared to the previously estimated 18,500tpa of beneficiated kaolin).
The revised Meckering operations (post mining) will now consist of the simple loading of raw kaolin material directly into sea containers for shipment to Malaysia.
The Malaysian kaolin beneficiation plant has been designed to accept raw kaolin from sea containers, which will be tipped directly into a hopper (see Figure 1, below), the requirement for handling of bulk bags at both ends of the beneficiation flow sheet has been removed. There will be an additional oversize quartz stream as a consequence of the beneficiation of kaolin in Malaysia, but the quartz will be sold as an aggregate by-product.
Commenting on the change of location of the kaolin beneficiation plant from Meckering to Malaysia, Altech's managing director Mr Iggy Tan said "identifying the benefits of locating the kaolin beneficiation plant in Malaysia is a credit to the detailed design and optimisation team. The impacts on project NPV will be minimal, however the simplification of the beneficiation flow sheet and the synergies of having all of the major project infrastructure at one site and within one jurisdiction, Malaysia, will deliver both operating and project financing advantages.
Detailed design and optimisation work is ongoing and will continue into the first quarter of 2016, in parallel with our project financing and associated activities".
To view figures, please visit:
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-ATC-743915.pdf
About Altech Batteries Ltd
Altech Batteries Limited (ASX:ATC) (FRA:A3Y) is a specialty battery technology company that has a joint venture agreement with world leading German battery institute Fraunhofer IKTS ("Fraunhofer") to commercialise the revolutionary CERENERGY(R) Sodium Alumina Solid State (SAS) Battery. CERENERGY(R) batteries are the game-changing alternative to lithium-ion batteries. CERENERGY(R) batteries are fire and explosion-proof; have a life span of more than 15 years and operate in extreme cold and desert climates. The battery technology uses table salt and is lithium-free; cobalt-free; graphite-free; and copper-free, eliminating exposure to critical metal price rises and supply chain concerns.
The joint venture is commercialising its CERENERGY(R) battery, with plans to construct a 100MWh production facility on Altech's land in Saxony, Germany. The facility intends to produce CERENERGY(R) battery modules to provide grid storage solutions to the market.
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