Name of the Project
Townsville Energy Chemicals Hub (TECH) base metals project.

Location
Queensland, Australia.

Project Owner/s
Queensland Pacific Metals.

Project Description
Stage 1 of the TECH project has been designed at a nameplate capacity of 1.05-million dry metric tonnes (1.6-million wet metric tonnes) a year over a 30-year design life.

Stage 1 will produce 15 992 t/y of nickel sulphate, 1 746 t/y of cobalt sulphate, 607 395 t/y of hematite pellets, 4 000 t/y of aluminium and 28 856 t/y of magnesium oxide.

Stage 2 is at the same scale as Stage 1, with the same grade of ore being processed.

The combined Stage 1 and Stage 2 operation is expected to produce 32 784 t/y of nickel sulphate, 3 579 t/y of cobalt sulphate, 1.25-million tonnes a year of hematite, 4 000 t/y of aluminium and 59 154 t/y of magnesium. 

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Stage 1 has a pretax net present value (NPV), at an 8% discount rate, of A$2.67-billion and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 18.4%.

Stage 1 and 2 have a pretax NPV, at an 8% discount rate, of A$4.92-billion and an IRR of 19.7%.

Capital Expenditure
Total capital expenditure (capex), including contingency, for Stage 1 is estimated at A$2.11-billion.

Stage 1 and Stage 2 combined will require an additional A$1.75-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
First production from TECH is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Latest Developments
Canadian export credit agency Export Development Canada (EDC) has doubled its indicative debt financing commitment to Queensland Pacific Metals for the TECH project to A$400-million.

EDC’s interest, expressed through the nonbinding letter of interest to avail the funds, pertains to potential equipment and services supply from Canadian companies for the construction of the project.

Queensland Pacific MD and CEO Dr Stephen Grocott says the company is satisfied with the response received to date from financiers, in particular the EDC, and its willingness to consider debt funding for the TECH project.

EDC’s financing is subject to the successful completion of its due diligence process and typical project finance conditions such as security, debt serviceability and equity financing.

In conjunction, export financier Australian government agency Export Finance Australia (EFA) and infrastructure development financier Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) have continued financing discussions with Queensland Pacific – both for finance deals of up to A$250-million.

Queensland Pacific says its TECH project aligns with the objectives of the Australian government’s Critical Minerals Strategy – to diversify global critical minerals supply and capture more value from the global critical minerals value chain.

NAIF has previously advised that the project has passed the strategic assessment phase of the application process and is now in the due diligence stage.

EFA has assessed the TECH project, reporting that it meets the agency’s mandate to provide financial expertise and solutions to support Australian businesses across a variety of industries, including critical minerals.

Queensland Pacific and its debt adviser KPMG Corporate Finance continue to progress discussions with other lenders, including K-Sure, which has previously provided a letter of interest.

Export credit agency Korea Trade Insurance Corporation has a memorandum of understanding in place with EFA to strengthen their capacity to work together and undertake joint financings. 

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Queensland Pacific Metals, tel +61 7 3517 590o or email info@qpmetals.com.au.