Platina Signs Lease for the Owendale Scandium Processing Plant

Platina Resources (ASX:PGM) has signed a lease for a property in New South Wales that will house the company’s proposed Owendale scandium processing plant.

The property, which is the former Condobolin abattoir, was chosen for its proximity to the company’s flagship site. The processing site will be solely operated by Platina and will process the company’s scandium, cobalt and nickel from the nearby Owendale project in central New South Wales.

“We are pleased to be able to start the redevelopment of this disused industrial site that has been largely unused for the last 30 years,” Chris Hartley, Platina’s executive director said in a press release. “This fits with our strategy of having a minimal impact on the local environment, whilst delivering sustainable benefits for the community.”

In addition to being within 70 km of the Owendale project, the Condobolin site has an on-site power and water supply, both crucial for processing the material recovered from Owendale. Access to both sites will be made from an existing road that is suitable to carry the truck loads of potential scandium, cobalt and nickel.

“The site is the basis for our definitive feasibility study (DFS) that is scheduled to be completed at the end of the year. It reduces infrastructure costs for the provision of water, power and housing,” added Hartley.

The newly acquired land, also houses concrete pads, buildings and ponds and a house that will be used as an initial office and site accommodation.

Platina may further investigate the possibility of building a dedicated rail facility at Owendale. The potential line would be explicitly for freight and would connect with the main east-west rail line running between Perth and Sydney.

“Platina is confident that we are pursuing the right development for scandium with an initial small scale plant capable of being scaled up as the scandium market grows. Securing the Condobolin site provides the infrastructure required to support a low start-up cost and removes many of the obstacles faced by projects in regional areas,” Hartley added.

The company plans to submit a completed DFS by the end of the year.

Platina shares increased 5.06 percent on Thursday (July 12), closing at AU$0.083.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.