Blackstone refinery trial backs green Vietnam nickel plan
Blackstone Minerals has hailed the success of its Ta Khoa nickel refinery pilot in Western Australia upon completion of a one-year test to underscore the company’s vertically integrated Vietnamese green nickel ambition.
Testing at the scaled down version of Blackstone’s concentrate to sulphate process wrapped up on December 16 having churned out 2.2t of mixed hydroxide precipitate, the major feedstock for nickel sulphate used in batteries.
Nickel and cobalt sulphates from the plant achieved battery-grade specification and copper cathodes were of a quality capable of being sold as an A grade product on the London Metal Exchange.
The plant was put through its paces for some seven tonnes of feed and 15,000 labour hours without injury.
Nickel Institute-audited tests confirm the project will be the lowest emitting plant in the industry at a meagre 9.8kg Co2 per kilogram of precursor, a number the company says could drop even further.
Blackstone Minerals Managing Director Scott Williamson said “outputs of the pilot plant have confirmed that our project’s flowsheet will be one of the lowest cost and lowest emissions globally, and an essential source of precursor supply for the accelerating electric vehicle market.”
“Results of piloting are being incorporated into partnership discussions that will inform DFS outcomes.”
Blackstone says outcomes from the pilot have met or exceeded expectations set out in the pre-feasibility study and will be reflected as the company draws up its definitive feasibility study for the Ta Khoa project in northern Vietnam.
The bulk of the product will come from Blackstone’s 90 per cent-owned Ta Khoa nickel mine 160km west of Hanoi where a 50 per cent concentrate feed sourced from Ta Khoa and two nearby massive sulphide deposits will underpin the refinery.
The cobwebs are expected to be blown off Ta Khoa in 2025 with nameplate 8Mtpa production mooted for 2027 when up to 225ktpa of concentrate will be churned out.
Blackstone’s refinery is pencilled in to roar to life in early 2025 and pump out 400ktpa for 10 years with the opportunity for extension.
Five potential partners and stakeholders have cast their eye over the pilot plant at ALS Metallurgy in the past year and product has been provided to pique the interest of possible bedfellows.
The Ta Khoa project will seek to tap into Asia’s lithium-ion battery industry through provision of precursor products mined and refined with a strong clean and green story to tell.
That market in southeast Asia alone was valued at US$540m in 2019 and is expected to more than double to US$1.15bn by 2026 according to industry analysts Mordor Intelligence.
Such growth will be supported by EV policies in the likes of Singapore where 60,000 charging points will be rolled out by 2030 and plans to can diesel car registrations progress.
Blackstone finds itself in a strong position to press ahead with a forecast $18m cash position at a burn rate of $2m per month.
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