REG - Alkemy Capital Invs. - Site secured for Port Hedland Lithium plant

Alkemy Capital InvestmentsAnnouncement

09/01/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 0182M  Alkemy Capital Investments PLC  09 January 2023

 

9 January 2023

 

Alkemy Capital Investments Plc

 

Alkemy secures allocation of land for its Port Hedland Lithium Sulphate
Refinery

 

 

Alkemy Capital Investments plc ("Alkemy") (ALK:LSE) (JV2:FRA) is pleased to
advise that the Minister for State Development has announced that the Western
Australian Government's Industrial Lands Panel ("ILP") has allocated an area
of approximately 43.7 hectares within the Boodarie Strategic Industrial Area
to Alkemy's wholly-owned subsidiary Tees Valley Lithium Ltd ("TVL") for the
construction of its Port Hedland Lithium Sulphate refinery.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

·    Tees Valley Lithium has been allocated land to build a Lithium
Sulphate (LSM) refinery at Boodarie at Port Hedland, Western Australia the
largest bulk export port in the world and the largest container port in
Australia.

·    Tees Valley Lithium has been allocated land along with BP, POSCO,
Fortescue Metals and Alinta Energy with the aim of making Boodarie part of an
A$70 billion globally competitive Pilbara green industrial precinct.

·    The Port Hedland LSM refinery will offer Australian spodumene
producers a significant mid-stream processing option with direct access to the
premium European battery market.

 

 

Alkemy and TVL Director Sam Quinn commented:

 

"We are delighted to announce that TVL has secured an allocation of land at
the new Boodarie Strategic Industrial Area, alongside other global leaders in
the green industrial sector, to facilitate the development of the Port Hedland
LSM refinery.

 

Building the Port Hedland LSM refinery will provide Australian spodumene
producers with a complete mid-stream lithium refining solution with direct
access to the European market through TVL's Lithium Hydroxide refinery at the
Wilton International Chemicals Park in Teesside, UK.

 

This new Pilbara to Teesside supply chain will embody the new critical
minerals supply chains possible under the recently signed free trade agreement
between Australia and the UK and leverage the competitive strengths of
Australia in mining and critical minerals processing and the UK in chemical
refining.

 

Importantly, the Port Hedland LSM refinery will bring major value-adding to
the Pilbara region, with significant multiplier benefits for the local
community and the State of Western Australia, whilst reducing the carbon
footprint of the end-to-end lithium battery cell supply chain to meet new
European emissions standards."

 

 

TVL announced a plan to build an LSM refinery at Port Hedland in the Pilbara
region of Western Australia in August 2022 after initial discussions with the
relevant Western Australian Government agencies.

 

Those discussions led to a formal application to the Department of Jobs,
Tourism, Science and Innovation ("JTSI") and DevelopmentWA for an allocation
of land at the Boodarie Strategic Industrial Area ("SIA"), located
approximately 12 kilometres south-west of Port Hedland.

 

Following the formal application, JTSI and DevelopmentWA reviewed the Port
Hedland LSM refinery project proposal and prepared a recommendation for
consideration by the ILP, which is made up of the Minister for State
Development, Jobs and Trade and the Minister for Lands.

 

Following that review process, the ILP has now agreed to allocate an area of
approximately 43.7 hectares within the Boodarie SIA to TVL to progress the
Port Hedland LSM refinery project towards a final investment decision.

 

TVL has been incuded as part of a select group of five companies allocated
land at the Boodarie SIA, including BP, POSCO, Fortescue Metals and Alinta
Energy, with the aim of making Boodarie SIA part of an A$70 billion globally
competitive Pilbara green industrial precinct.

 

The land allocated by the ILP is the location applied for by TVL for the Port
Hedland LSM refinery.

 

The Boodarie SIA is an optimal site for an LSM refinery for a number of
reasons:

 

·    Proximity to existing and planned spodumene producers in the Pilbara;

·    Well located for the import of spodumene production from other parts
of Australia for conversion to primary LSM prior to export to the UK;

·    Access to critical infrastructure, including skilled labour, the
Great Northern Highway, the 210MW Alinta gas fired power station operating in
the Boodarie SIA, existing gas pipeline infrastructure, existing water
pipeline infrastructure and telecommunications (refer Figure 1 below);

·    Adjacent to the world's largest bulk export port and Australia's
largest container port at Port Hedland; and

·    Ability to source renewable energy and energy storage from new
developments planned in the region, delivering low carbon energy sources for
the new LSM plant.

 

 

 

Figure 1 - Boodarie Strategic Industrial Area Overview To view the image,
click on the following link:
https://www.alkemycapital.co.uk/images/2023/Boodarie_Strategic_Industrial_Area_Overview.jpg
(https://www.alkemycapital.co.uk/images/2023/Boodarie_Strategic_Industrial_Area_Overview.jpg)

TVL will now commence discussions with DevelopmentWA regarding the terms of an
option to lease the site at Boodarie as well as the precise footprint within
the land allocated by the ILP.  This option to lease is expected to be signed
in the first half of 2023.

 

Downstream processing of Australian critical mineral production is a key focus
of the Australian Federal Government and the Western Australian State
Government and TVL is extremely appreciative of the support shown by the
Western Australian Government Ministers and their agencies for the Port
Hedland LSM refinery project.

 

Train 1 of the Port Hedland LSM refinery is set to process spodumene from
Australian lithium miners to produce 40,000 tpa of primary LSM, with Trains
2-4 adding a further 120,000 tpa primary LSM production in future expansions.

 

Construction of Train 1 of TVL's LHM processing facility at the Wilton
International Chemicals Park in Teesside, UK, the first of 4 trains planned
for the site, is due to commence in 2023.

 

Initial production of 24,000 tpa of battery-grade LHM is planned for 2025.
 Once completed, all 4 trains will produce a total of 96,000 tpa LHM,
representing around 15% of Europe's projected demand by 2030.

 

The Port Hedland LSM plant, together with TVL's planned LHM processing
facility at the Wilton International Chemicals Park in Teesside, UK, will
deliver a low carbon, de-risked lithium supply chain between Australian
spodumene producers and the burgeoning European lithium battery cell market.

 

 

Further information

 

For further information, please visit Alkemy's website:
www.alkemycapital.co.uk (http://www.alkemycapital.co.uk) or TVL's website
www.teesvalleylithium.co.uk (http://www.teesvalleylithium.co.uk) .

-Ends-

 

 Alkemy Capital Investments Plc    Tel: 0207 317 0636

 Sam Quinn                         info@alkemycapital.co.uk (mailto:info@alkemycapital.co.uk)

 VSA Capital Limited               Tel: 0203 005 5000

 Andrew Monk (Corporate Broking)

 Andrew Raca (Corporate Finance)

 Shard Capital Partners LLP        Tel: 0207 186 9952

 Damon Heath                       damon.heath@shardcapital.com (mailto:damon.heath@shardcapital.com)

                                   Tel: 0207 186 9927

 Isabella Pierre                   isabella.pierre@shardcapital.com (mailto:isabella.pierre@shardcapital.com)

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

 

Alkemy is seeking to establish the world's leading independent and sustainable
lithium hydroxide production by developing state-of-the-art Lithium Sulphate
and Lithium Hydroxide facilities in Australia and the UK.

 

Alkemy, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Tees Valley Lithium, has secured a
9.6 ha brownfields site with full planning permission at the Wilton
International Chemicals Park located in Teesside, a major UK Freeport to build
Europe's first and largest Lithium Hydroxide processing facility.

 

Alkemy has completed a Class 4 Feasibility Study for its proposed lithium
hydroxide facility which will process feedstock imported from various
sources to produce 96,000 tonnes of premium, low-carbon lithium hydroxide
annually, representing around 15% of Europe's projected demand.

 

The company has also secured a site near Port Hedland, Western Australia to
build a world-class sustainable Lithium Sulphate refinery that will provide
reliable feedstock for Tees Valley Lithium.

 

 

Forward Looking Statements

 

This news release contains forward‐looking information. The statements are
based on reasonable assumptions and expectations of management and Alkemy
provides no assurance that actual events will meet management's expectations.
In certain cases, forward‐looking information may be identified by such
terms as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may",
"shall", "will", or "would". Although Alkemy believes the expectations
expressed in such forward‐looking statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and
actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected.
Mining exploration and development is an inherently risky business. In
addition, factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from the
forward-looking information stated herein include any factors which affect
decisions to pursue mineral exploration on the relevant property and the
ultimate exercise of option rights, which may include changes in market
conditions, changes in metal prices, general economic and political
conditions, environmental risks, and community and non-governmental actions.
Such factors will also affect whether Alkemy will ultimately receive the
benefits anticipated pursuant to relevant agreements. This list is not
exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the forward‐looking
statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

 

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