TNG hooks up with McMahon and Clough to progress Mount Peake
TNG Limited (ASX: TNG) has combined forces with McMahon Services and Clough Project to evaluate working together on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of TNG’S Mount Peake vanadium, titanium and iron project in the Northern Territory.
The agreement allows for the three companies to look at ways of jointly progressing Mount Peake to a stage where TNG can make a final construction decision.
McMahon and Clough would also provide support to TNG in its attempt to gain development financing for the project.
As part of the initial agreement, McMahon and Clough will review TNG’s updated definitive feasibility study for Mount Peake which was completed late last year.
According to TNG managing director Paul Burton, the agreement lays the foundation for an “expansive” EPC approach to funding and developing Mount Peake – with the view to McMahon and Clough being part of the TNG’s final EPC team.
Meanwhile, Clough chief executive officer and managing director Peter Bennet said the company was looking forward to working with TNG on construction and installation of the process plant as well as the other EPC requirements on other project infrastructure.
McMahon Services’ directors David and Andrew McMahon both stated the company was also looking forward to working with TNG and would be pursuing its “closing the gap” strategy by using its partner Indigenous Contracting Business to provide “considerable indigenous employment, training and long-term career paths throughout the life of the project”.
Mount Peake updated definitive feasibility study
In the updated definitive feasibility study that was published in November last year, Mount Peake had an estimated A$11.7 billion life-of-mine net cash flow after a capital expenditure of A$853 million.
Mount Peake has an existing resource of 160 million tonnes grading 0.28% vanadium, 5.3% titanium and 23% iron.
The company developed its proprietary TIVAN technology in 2009 for processing the ore combination. It has been refining the method since.
Under the feasibility study, it has been proposed to construct a beneficiation plant based on the TIVAN technology about 10km from the Darwin Port.
The plant would have initial capacity to produce 900,000 tonnes of magnetite concentrate per annum, but the study allows for this to be boosted to 1.8mtpa in its fifth year of operation.
Late last month, TNG reported a technological breakthrough that enabled it to produce a titanium dioxide pigment from its TIVAN-processed Mount Peake ore without the need for further beneficiation.
The breakthrough was a result of collaborative research with major scientific and research bodies and was based on the conventional sulphate pigment processing route.
TNG’s share price shot up almost 10% in early morning trade to A$0.175.