PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Nickel developer Blackstone Minerals has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Arca Climate Technologies Inc to investigate the carbon capture potential at the Ta Khoa nickel project, in Vietnam.
Under the MoU, the two companies will enter into a non-exclusive strategic relationship to further investigate the carbon capture potential at Ta Khoa through carbon mineralisation, with Acra to expand on previous characterisation work which has indicated that the project contains minerals such as brucite, which is highly reactive to carbon dioxide in air.
The data collected from this engagement will inform future design considerations to maximise carbon mineralisation, further reducing the nickel project’s carbon footprint and providing a pathway to carbon-negative mining, says Blackstone.
“The positive results from the initial carbon mineralisation tests demonstrate the unique potential for the Ta Khoa project to become the world’s first large-scale, carbon-neutral nickel operation from mine to precursor cathode active material (pCAM) product,” says Blackstone MD Scott Williamson.
“The competitive advantage for Blackstone over other nickel producers is the elevated content of highly carbon-reactive mineral brucite, which is present in higher concentrations at the Ta Khoa mine than at typical nickel deposits. The elevated brucite content therefore presents us with a unique opportunity to drive toward carbon neutrality at the Ta Khoa project, and thus realising our Green Nickel™ strategy.”