Key Points
• TNG is progressing the evaluation of a wastewater treatment plant for the TIVAN® Processing Facility to be located in Darwin, part of its flagship Mount Peake Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project.
• Wastewater discharge was raised in comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the TIVAN® Processing Facility received from the public and the Northern Territory Government agencies.
• The proposed customised wastewater treatment plant would treat waste process water for recycling back into the TIVAN® Processing Facility, removing the need for discharge into Darwin Harbour and materially reducing DPF water demand during operations.
• The wastewater treatment plant forms part of ongoing optimisation work being undertaken for the Mount Peake Project as part of the Front-End Engineering and Design process and further supports TNG’s green management and ESG strategy for the Project.
Australian resource and mineral processing technology company TNG Limited (ASX: TNG) (“TNG” or the “Company”) advisesthat it is evaluating the incorporation of a wastewater treatment plant (“WWTP”) for the TIVAN® Processing Facility proposed to be located in Darwin (“DPF”), as part of optimisation work on its 100%-owned Mount Peake Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project in the Northern Territory (“Mount Peake Project” or the “Project”).
The Project is currently in the final stages of the Front-End Engineering and Design (“FEED”) process encompassing both the Concentrator and infrastructure planned for the Mount Peake mine site, located 230km north of Alice Springs, and the planned DPF. The DPF is designed to process the magnetite concentrate produced at the mine site into three high-quality products for global distribution – vanadium pentoxide, titanium dioxide pigment and iron ore fines – utilising TNG’s patented and 100%-owned TIVAN® processing technology.
As part of the ongoing optimisation program for the Project in the FEED process, the Company has been assessing options to reduce water demand, processing water discharge and overall operational expenditures for the DPF.
The Company’s original strategy, as detailed in the EIS for the DPF submitted in October 2019, was for treated process water to be discharged at a predetermined site in the Darwin Harbour, subject to meeting environmental
standards and guidelines for the area.
The water requirement and wastewater discharge for the DPF was subsequently raised in comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) received from the public and the Northern Territory Government agencies,
and is an area of focus for the Supplement to the EIS being prepared by the Company.
While TNG believes that the previously proposed water discharge via the Darwin Harbour could have been undertaken in a manner consistent with all environmental requirements and other similar operations within Australia and overseas, the Company has proactively pursued alternative options in order to address community and government feedback.
TNG has engaged with specialist wastewater engineering and construction groups both nationally and internationally to assess the viability of a WWTP, and progress bespoke design and engineering works specifically
for the DPF.
The focus of this work is to develop a “zero liquid discharge” processing alternative to the direct liquid discharge that was originally planned for the DPF.
A key outcome of the zero liquid discharge process is recycling of treated process water back into the DPF at a specification suitable for the TIVAN® Process. The recycling of treated process water would also significantly reduce
the Project’s water requirements during operations.
The WWTP works have been running in parallel to the FEED study and non-process infrastructure works. The preliminary design and engineering works completed to date have confirmed the technical viability of the WWTP for the DPF.
The Company is now evaluating the inclusion of the WWTP into the Project design and development, and inclusion into the EIS supplement submission and EPC structure.
Management Comment
TNG’s Managing Director & CEO, Mr Paul Burton, said: “Our in-house team has taken the proactive step of designing and evaluating a customised alternative processing option for the waste process water from the DPF.
“This approach is consistent with our broader strategic objective of minimising our environmental impact across various aspects of the Mount Peake Project, and building a world-class project which meets the highest possible standards in terms of ESG, environmental management and community engagement.
“The recycling of treated process water back into the DPF would not only remove the need for discharge via Darwin Harbour, it would also significantly reduce the annual input water required for the DPF that would be sourced from Darwin water options, which will further benefit the Darwin community.
“The evaluation of the WWTP is another example of the Company’s commitment to optimising the Mount Peake Project in an environmentally responsible manner, following on from the announcement of our recent partnership with SMS group for the production of green hydrogen energy for the Project.
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