- TNG (TNG) ticks of a key assessment for the development of the Tivan processing facility for its Mount Peak project in the Northern Territory
- The company outlined pros and cons of locating a facility at the project’s mine site compared to a separate plant in Darwin
- It follows a request from the Environment Protection Authority that TNG’s draft Environmental Impact Statement considers all alternative locations
- A steering committee will now conduct a strategic assessment of the two sites, which is expected over the coming weeks
- Shares are trading in the grey at 7.8 cents at 3:36pm AEST
Australian resource and mineral processing technology company, TNG has ticked off a key assessment for the development of the Tivan processing facility for its Mount Peake project in the Northern Territory.
The company is focusing on building a strategic metals business out of its flagship project, which is expected to be a long-life project producing products for global markets.
In March, TNG was awarded major project status for Mount Peake, which recognised the projects significance.
The Tivan facility in particular uses the company’s wholly owned process, which use a combination of existing hydrometallurgical and pyro processes to enable maximum extraction.
While it was tipped to sit at the Middle Arm Precinct in Darwin, in May the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority requested additional information on the company’s draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the facility.
The request includes 23 matters for TNG to address. In particular the company was required to demonstrate that alternative locations had been considered and evaluated.
Originally the Middle Arm industrial precinct in Darwin was selected due to its proximity to utilities and transport infrastructure, availability of gas and water, as well the Northern Territory Government offering and reserving a site in the precinct for TNG.
The draft EIS also included a number of potential alternatives including the Mount Peake Mine Site and sites near Alice Springs, within South Australia, an offshore site and other vacant land within Darwin.
TNG said all the alternatives provided more risks than benefits and its project engineering team decided not to progress further evaluation of the sites.
Now the company has reportedly completed the required assessment. This highlighted both the opportunities and challenges of having a single integrated processing operation at the mine site, compared to the current proposal of a seperate plant in Darwin.
From the assessment, there appears to be more benefits for the plant at the mine site than at a separate facility.
Moving forward, TNG has established a steering committee to conduct a strategic assessment and quantification of the operational, regulatory and commercial feasibility of the two options.
This final report is expected to be delivered to TNG’s board in the coming weeks.
Shares were trading in the grey at 7.8 cents at 3:36pm AEST.