PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Mt Peake vanadium/titanium project, in the Northern Territory, has been awarded Major Project status by the federal government.

Project developer TNG on Monday said that the grant of federal Major Project status was a recognition of the strategic significance of the Mt Peake project, and the expectation that it would grow and diversify Australia’s critical minerals resource and contribute to the economic development of the Northern Territory.

The vertically integrated project will be developed across two separate sites in the Northern Territory, with a mine and processing facility life of some 37 years.

The project is expected to produce 100 000 t/y of titanium pigment, 6 000 t/y of vanadium pentoxide and 500 000 t/y of iron oxide. Mt Peake will also create some 1 600 jobs during construction and up to 1 000 jobs during operations.

“Mt Peake is a world-class project which is set to deliver critical minerals required for the growing demand from the renewable energy sectors from Australia to global markets for many decades to come,” said TNG MD and CEO Paul Burton.

“The award of Major Project status by the Australian government is a testament to the substantial economic and social benefits expected to be delivered by the project and its potential strategic significance to the Northern Territory and Australia in expanding and diversifying our critical minerals industry.

“Securing the support and involvement of the Australian government in helping to facilitate the development of a global scale critical minerals project like Mt Peake is significant for TNG and its shareholders. It will assist in ensuring certainty of process for the remaining permitting and approvals required both for the Mt Peake mine site and the Darwin TIVAN processing facility, and represents an important endorsement of the project as we embark on the next stages of project financing,” said Burton.

TNG is currently progressing front-end engineering design at the project, which will provide confirmation of the final capital expenditure requirement for the beneficiation plant and the TIVAN processing facility.