MOUNT PEAKE VANADIUM–TITANIUM-IRON PROJECT (NT) (TNG: 100%)
* Front-End Engineering and Design (“FEED”) study continued to progress during the quarter.
* Key FEED work streams related to design and engineering experienced relatively limited disruption during the quarter due to COVID-19.
* Design and tendering for the supporting non-process infrastructure has also advanced.
* Draft Environmental Impact Statement (“Draft EIS”) for the Darwin Processing Facility (“DPF”) was available for public comment from 30 November 2019 to 21 February 2020.
* The Company is awaiting comments from the Northern Territory Government agencies on the Draft EIS in order to proceed to the next stage of the EIS process.
* Application for the direct sale of the Crown Land for the proposed TIVAN® DPF land site currently being assessed by the Northern Territory Government.
CORPORATE
* Appointment of leading global titanium industry expert Simon Morten as a non-executive Director.
* The TNG Board resolved to postpone the proposed dual listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange until the FEED study has been finalised.
* Rapid response to the escalating COVID-19 pandemic, with the Board and senior management agreeing to reduce their hours or salaries by between 20% to 40% during the crisis in order to reduce costs.
* The Company’s cash position was $12.3 million at 31 March 2020.
COVID-19
During the quarter, the Company acted quickly to ensure the safety of its staff as the COVID-19 crisis developed into the pandemic.
As a result of these swift measures, all of the Company’s personnel in Australia and overseas were able to return to home bases safely and all remain in good health.
In Australia, the Company has adhered to all of the Federal and State recommendations for the health and safety of its staff and has adopted work-from-home protocols in order to comply with social distancing guidelines, with the exception of payroll – where the software concerned cannot be operated remotely.
In addition, the Company has reduced its senior management hours and, consequently, salaries by 40% and the Board of Directors’ fees by 20% – to be reviewed monthly during the crisis period. The Board of Directors have agreed to take TNG shares in lieu of payment subject to shareholder approval at the Company’s next General Meeting. This will help to preserve the Company’s strong cash position while still allowing the business to continue operating as efficiently as possible to keep all important Project workstreams in place.
The Company has also secured rate reductions from a number of its key suppliers and contractors.
As announced on 31 March 2020, a number of contractors linked to development planning for the Mount Peake Project have been impacted by the COVID-19 situation, which may affect their ability to deliver agreed scopes of work within planned timeframes.
The key FEED work streams related to design and engineering have experienced relatively limited disruption to date, and will continue to be progressed. However, a range of other supporting FEED work streams have been impacted by temporary shutdowns of business units in heavily affected locations and travel restrictions, and will therefore be deferred for the time being.
As a result, the timing of the FEED study completion is likely to be impacted. While the Company is not at this stage expecting any major delays, this is subject to further developments with the rapidly changing COVID-19 global situation.
The Company is continuing to monitor the situation closely to assess if any further impacts to project delivery will occur.
MOUNT PEAKE VANADIUM-TITANIUM-IRON PROJECT (TNG: 100%)
Project Summary and Details
The Mount Peake Project is a potential world-scale strategic metals project located 235km north-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, close to existing key power and transport infrastructure corridors including the Alice Springs-Darwin Railway and the Stuart Highway. With a JORC Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource totalling 160 million tonnes (118 million tonnes Measured, 20 million tonnes Indicated, 22 million tonnes Inferred) grading 0.28% V2O5, 5.3% TiO2 and 23% Fe (refer to Appendix A of this report for a full statement of the Mineral
Resource), Mount Peake is one of the largest undeveloped vanadium-titanium-iron projects in the world and one of the most advanced in pre-development activities.
Mount Peake Project Progress, Planning and Development Front-End Engineering and Design (“FEED”) Study During the quarter, TNG’s strategic engineering and development partner, the German-based metallurgical engineering firm SMS group (“SMS”), continued to advance the comprehensive FEED study for the Project.
The areas covered include all the process plant equipment required for the mine site Beneficiation Plant and all processing equipment for the DPF, including all associated plant and equipment.
On 28 January 2020, SMS’s FEED team provided a detailed briefing to TNG’s Management and FEED team at TNG’s office in Perth.
The team also visited the DPF site and had meetings with the NT Government.
Representatives of SMS conducted further meetings with reagent suppliers and construction companies during their visit to Australia.
Off-Take Agreements
Vanadium Pentoxide
TNG and GUNVOR have continued negotiations and discussions for the completion of a formal agreement for potential off-take of 40% of the forecast 6,000 tonnes per annum of high-purity vanadium pentoxide intended to be produced by the Mount Peake Project, following the execution of the Binding Term Sheet in December 2019.
A draft agreement has been prepared and is currently under review by both parties.
The Company already has a binding life-of-mine off-take agreement in place with Woojin (Korea) for 60% of TNG’s forecast vanadium pentoxide production.
The Company has progressed negotiations with V.M. Salgaocar & Bro. (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. in order to finalise a binding life-of-mine off-take of the high-purity iron ore products intended to be produced by the Mount Peake Project based on the Binding Term Sheet signed in December 2019.
A draft agreement has been prepared and is currently under review by both parties.
Titanium Dioxide Pigment
The Company has a binding life-of-mine off-take and marketing agreement in place with market expansion provider DKSH (Switzerland) for a minimum of 75,000 tonnes and up to 100% of TNG’s titanium dioxide production on an FOB basis.
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