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- Second heavy-duty drill rig mobilised to Trappelberg, its fourth well site
- Vulcan has invested in two drill rigs to maintain control over field development timelines
- Two in-house drill rigs allow sub-surface project execution efforts to significantly ramp up
Vulcan Energy’s (ASX: VUL) in-house drilling company, Vercana, has commenced mobilisation of its second land drill rig, designated V10, to the fourth Lionheart well site in Germany.
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With seven production/ re-injection wells already in place at Lionheart, Vulcan’s integrated commercial lithium and renewable energy development, V10 will join the existing rig, V20, to significantly ramp up project execution speed, in line with Vulcan’s field development plan.
V10 is a heavy- duty rig designed for deep wells and boasts 2,000 horsepower, 500 tonnes of hook load capacity, and is equipped with 7500 psi fluid pressure systems.
As Vulcan’s first phase of production, Lionheart is a lighthouse project for Europe’s energy and critical raw material resilience.
Lionheart is targeting production capacity of 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM), enough for around 500,000 electric vehicle batteries per annum, with a co-product of 275 GWh of renewable power and 560 GWh of heat per annum for local consumers, over an estimated 30-year project life.
Lionheart is under construction with take-or-pay lithium offtake contracts and targets first production in H2 2028.
MD and CEO, Cris Moreno, said the addition of a second dedicated drill rig to Lionheart’s targeted 28-well program aims to accelerate well delivery and support achievement of geothermal lithium brine production targets.
“It is exciting to see drilling and subsurface activity at Lionheart accelerating, with the capability to operate across multiple sites in parallel representing an important step-up in execution,” Mr Moreno said.
“Our two newly refurbished drilling rigs are both heavy duty and state-of-the-art giving us ability to drill safely, fast and with precision. Ownership and access to such critical equipment gives Vulcan greater control over the drilling program, scheduling and execution, and strengthens our ability to deliver efficiently as activity ramps up.
“Lionheart is positioned to become a major new source of low-cost lithium for Europe’s battery and electric vehicle industries. With execution progressing on time and on budget, we are continuing to systematically deliver Lionheart and build momentum towards commercial production.”
VUL was steady at $1.16 with a Mkt cap of $548.0M prior to markets opening.
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