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Frontier Energy Limited (ASX: FHE; OTCQB: FRHYF) (Frontier or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on the battery procurement process for the Stage One development of its Waroona Renewable Energy Project (Project), which comprises a 120MW solar facility and integrated four-hour 80MW battery.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Final battery technology selection has resulted in a 12% increase in the battery duration to approximately 4.5 hours, compared to 4 hours in the Definitive Feasibility Study1 (DFS)
- The improved battery duration will increase Project revenue compared to the DFS, as more energy can be sold during peak electricity price periods, whilst Reserve Capacity Payments (RCP) will also be higher than previously forecast
- Despite this significant improvement, the capital cost for the battery has fallen by approximately 5% compared to the DFS (DFS estimate – $118.5 million)
- Frontier has narrowed its selection of preferred battery partners to two, both Tier 1 rated manufacturers
- The Company’s funding strategy continues to progress strongly with both debt financing and strategic partnering well advanced
CEO Adam Kiley commented: “The Company is in the fortunate position that the cost of the two largest capital items, solar panels and battery, have fallen significantly since the release of the DFS in February.
Battery prices have fallen due to a combination of factors, including falling raw materials prices, improvement in supply chain, and reportedly weaker than anticipated demand, resulting in an ample supply of batteries in the current market.
This unique situation is to Frontier’s advantage, with improved battery capacity resulting in increased duration (approximately 4.5 hours compared to 4 hours in the DFS), increasing Project revenue while at the same time achieving a lower capital cost.
The Company continues to progress its funding strategy, with both debt financing and strategic partnering processes well advanced.”
Final battery selection confirms longer battery duration at a lower capital cost, enhancing Project economics
As part of the Stage One development of the Project, Frontier concluded that the optimal strategy for Project development consists of a 120MW solar facility and an 80MW/320 MWh battery, i.e. the battery is capable of storing and discharging 80MW for 4 hours.
Frontier selected a DC coupled system, the lowest capex and most efficient way of integrating battery storage into new renewable energy installations such as the Waroona solar facility. In a DC coupled system, the battery is connected directly to the DC side of the renewable energy source, the solar panels. DC coupling eliminates the need for an additional inverter to convert DC to AC since the battery system operates directly with the DC electricity generated by the renewable source. See Image 1.
Image 1: DC Coupling PV plus storage
Lithium Iron (Fe) Phosphate (LFP) batteries have been selected for the Project as they are proven technology with superior safety, longer cycle life, higher energy density, faster charging capabilities, wider operating temperature range, and more favourable to the environment than other battery technologies.
Utility-scale LFP batteries experience capacity degradation over time due to factors like calendar aging, cycle aging, temperature, state of charge management, manufacturing quality, and usage patterns. These factors contribute to a gradual reduction in the battery's capacity and performance over its lifespan. The DFS assumed a degradation curve which was based on offers received at the time, that had a degradation of ~16% over the initial 10 years and ~26% over the first 20 years of battery life. See Image 2.
The Company’s competitive tender process has delivered significant improvements compared to the DFS. Frontier has narrowed its selection of the preferred battery partners to two, both of which are rated as Tier 1 battery manufacturers.
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This article includes content from Frontier Energy, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
FHE:AU
Maiden Mukinbudin Quartz Processing Testwork Achieves Premium HPQ Product
Highlights
- Exceptional Processing Testwork results received from North Carolina State University’s Mineral Research Laboratory (NCSU-MRL), an industry leading independent High Purity Ǫuartz lab.
- Ǫuartz sample T1-C, a maiden sample from the Mukinbudin Project, achieved >99.991% SiO2 from a simple processing flow sheet that included attrition, flotation and magnetic separation treatment, opening opportunities for early stage offtake.
- All samples sent to NCSU-MRL, from both Pippingarra and Mukinbudin demonstrated outstanding purity levels, confirming the exciting potential of IND’s quartz deposits and their suitability for high-end applications.
- In parallel with the numerous ongoing offtake discussions and ongoing end customer testing, IND now plans to undertake further comprehensive independent testwork at leading industrial minerals consultancy ANZAPLAN in Germany to further assist in finalising product offtake.
IND is exploring for High Purity Ǫuartz (“HPǪ”) at several of its projects in Western Australia, and the testwork was completed on samples from IND’s Pippingarra Ǫuarry Project and Mukinbudin Ǫuartz/Feldspar Project.
Jeff Sweet, Managing Director of Industrial Minerals, commented:
“We are extremely encouraged by achieving +99.99% SiO2 purity through to the acid leaching stage of our process testwork. These results are incredibly promising for our HPǪ production. With calcination and hot chlorination stages yet to be tested, we anticipate even greater purity levels can be achieved. This progress underscores our confidence in achieving premium quality in our final product.
“The Mukinbudin quartz was purified to 99.991% SiO2 through magnetic separation and flotation process work alone. This simple flowsheet will allow IND to pursue early-stage offtake opportunities into a broader range of HPǪ applications.
“Given the large price differential at the premium end of the HPǪ market as illustrated in Figure 1, IND’s ultimate goal is to now test the maximum purity level achievable across the Company’s quartz projects with the aim to be a recognised long term supplier of quality HPǪ products.”
Figure 1: High Purity Ǫuartz raw ore pricing CIF China based on industry feedback2
Processing Testwork Results
North Carolina State University’s Minerals Research Laboratory is a world leader in research, development and implementation of mineral processing techniques. The main focus of NCSU- MRL’s research is the beneficiation of industrial minerals.
Ǫuartz Ore Samples
IND sent three 20kg quartz ore samples to NCSU-MRL for the purpose of assessing the potential to use as feedstock for the production of High Purity Ǫuartz. Test samples T1_A and T1-B were sourced from IND’s Pippingarra Ǫuarry Project (Figure 2) and test sample T1_C was sourced from the Mukinbudin Project (Figure 3).
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This article includes content from Industrial Minerals Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Jeffreys Find Gold Mine Toll Milling of 150,000 Tonnes Commenced, Second 2024 Campaign
HIGHLIGHTS
- Processing of 150,000 tonnes commenced at Greenfields Mill.
- 75,600 tonnes on ROM Pad at Greenfields as of 23 July 2024.
- Second campaign expected to finish early September 2024.
- On target to process 300,000 tonnes at Greenfields Mill in 2024/2025.
- BML expects to mine well in excess of 300,000 tonnes in 2024/2025.
- First cash distributions to Auric this quarter.
MANAGEMENT COMMENT
Managing Director, Mark English, said: “We have the good fortune of pouring gold just as the price firms. It happened last year when the price went to $3,000 an ounce, this year it’s around $3,600 an ounce.
“The ever increasing gold price will result in Auric and our joint venture partner generating cash surpluses well in excess of what we had budgeted and anticipated.
“150,000 tonnes is a sizeable parcel of ore for this campaign. While it will take six weeks or so to mill, we expect it to generate well in excess of $25 million through gold sales for the joint venture.
“The mill contract is to process 300,000 tonnes in 2024. This 150,000 tonnes parcel will be the largest for Stage 2 of mining of Jeffreys Find. That leaves an additional 120,000 tonnes for milling at Greenfields towards the end of 2024.
“Jeffreys Find will be a substantial cash producer for Auric in 2024. We are on target to receive our first distribution within about a month.” said Mr English.
The Jeffreys Find Pit as of 16 July 2024
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This article includes content from Auric Mining, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Viani - Low Sulphidation Epithermal Gold Project License Renewed
Highlights
- MRD notified Alice Queen on Friday 19 July 2024 via email that its Viani license (SPL1513) has been renewed for a further three years with effect from Wednesday 3 July 2024.
- Viani, located on the Pacific Rim of Fire on Vanua Levu in Fiji, covers an area greater than 200km2 and is largely under explored (see Figures 1 and 2).
- The Dakuniba prospect within Viani has been previously sampled where epithermal gold mineralisation has been recorded in outcrop samples over a >3km strike length.
- Multiple epithermal veins within the Dakuniba prospect area, 5km by 1.5km surface gold-in- soil geochemical anomaly - the footprint of the epithermal mineralisation is comparable to other economically productive gold epithermal deposits globally.
- Previous drilling by Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 1997 focused on a small, shallow part of the overall system and intersected high grade epithermal gold mineralisation.
- (Hole MJFV-5 (see Figure 3) over 6 vein zones at 50 to 100m below surface with best results, 0.6m @ 27.6 g/t Au & 900 g/t Ag and 0.4m @ 11.7 g/t Au1 and remains open in all directions.
- The JICA drilling was limited to only 600m of strike-length of the 5km long gold-in-soil anomaly (>10ppb Au) supported by epithermal geochemistry i.e., Ag and As.
- Based on discovery knowledge from epithermal systems worldwide, it is apparent the historical drilling was an inadequate test of the Viani gold system.
Alice Queen’s Managing Director, Andrew Buxton said,
We are delighted the SPL1513 license has been renewed for a further three years and look forward to continuing to work alongside the Fiji Mineral Resources Department as we commence our next phase of exploration activities. The Viani Gold Project is a tremendous prospect which has demonstrated it has the potential to become a significant epithermal system. With the license now renewed and the Company fully funded for its Fiji exploration plans, Alice Queen will continue the systematic exploration of the Viani Gold Project with the Company having commenced planning for its upcoming exploration programs.
Viani
Figure 1. Fiji Project locations.
Figure 2. Location of the Dakuniba Prospect in relation with SPL1513.
The Viani project (SPL1513) covers an area greater than 200km2 on the Caukadrove Peninsula on the Pacific Rim of Fire, Vanua Levu, Fiji. It is well serviced from Savu Savu on Vanua Levu and is highly prospective for a high-grade LSE gold system (see ASX releases 2 December 2022, “VIANI UPDATE” and 6 March 2023, “ALICE QUEEN UPGRADES VIANI EPITHERMAL PROJECT”.
Following a renewal process for Viani (SPL1513) which the Company commenced earlier this year (including as announced in the Quarterly Activities Report released to ASX on 23 April 2024), MRD notified Alice Queen on Friday 19 July 2024 that the license had been renewed with effect from Wednesday 3 July 2024 for a further three years. The renewed license includes typical terms for a license of this nature, including minimum work program and expenditure requirements.
Whilst the greater project area remains under explored, extensive sampling, trenching and (historic) limited drilling of the Dakuniba prospect area has been previously completed.
Previous drilling by JICA in 1997 returned multiple epithermal gold intersections in shallow drilling. Hole MJFV-5 (see Figure 2) intersected 6 vein zones at 50 to 100m below surface (best results include 0.6m @ 27.6ppm Au & 900ppm Ag, 0.4m @ 11.7ppm Au & 4.3ppm Ag)1. The JICA drilling was limited to only 600m of strike-length of the 5km long gold-in-soil anomaly (>10ppb Au) supported by epithermal geochemistry i.e., Ag and As.
Further details in relation to upcoming exploration plans at Viani will be announced in due course.
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This article includes content from Alice Queen Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.