Coffee with Samso Episode 109 with Andrew Strickland, Head of Project Development of Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX:BSX)
Part 4 of Samso's Special Series on Blackstone Minerals Limited (ASX:BSX) is the perfect conversation to tie up all three previous speakers on delivering the business of Ta Khoa and Nickel Downstream production.
Andrew Strickland, who is the Head of Project Development, gives us a great overview on how all components of the business fit together. In my opinion, the Blackstone business is a complete package. They have the ore, the processing and the customer. And when it comes to the ore, not only do they have it, but they also have the combination of low and high grade ore.
Investors on the ASX need to realise that when we look at a company like Blackstone Minerals which is at the "mining" and "processing" stage, all their ducks are lined up. And this is no mean feat. It is definitely time consuming. This is why it is vital to have the skill of being cost and time efficient.
A component that makes the business so green is the introduction of an electric mining fleet. The innovation by the team to make this happen will create another feature that will give the business more visibility in being an ESG story. Listen to how Andrew Strickland is making this happen.
Tune in to find out why Andrew Strickland thinks the Blackstone story in Vietnam is the real deal.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:02 Andrew Strickland Introduction
01:49 What does Andrew deal with in the business.
02:33 Does having its own ore make it "safer" for Blackstone?
04:02 The Massive Sulphide vs. Disseminated Sulphide Story.
05:25 The challenge of having a large number of targets.
06:49 How important is planning the timing of delivering your targets.
09:13 How does Ta Khoa compare to other projects?
11:18 What does Andrew feel on the ESG factors in Vietnam.
13:02 ESG is more apparent for Andrew and his area of concern.
14:12 Is drilling more expensive in Vietnam?
15:10 Is the culture of ESG instilled in Blackstone?
16:32 What is the resource going to look like?
18:15 Is the implementation of Electric Vehicle & Renewable Energy in the Feasibility Study?
19:06 How realistic is the coming of the electric Mining Fleet?
19:41 The Hybrid nature of mining fleet including Hydrogen.
19:56 Transition Path to Electric Mining Fleet.
20:45 Are there any other "ways' to do it better?
22:08 How hard is it to have a Mining Fleet?
24:11 Is the plan to have an electric fleet the way to go?
25:10 What is there for Investors going forward?
25:49 Development of by-products.
26:22 Potential of Credits.
27:28 The benefits of by-product credits.
28:10 Any issues chemically?
29:19 Are the partners helping?
30:26 Are your "retail" partners helping?
31:41 Any last minute thoughts for investors?
32:47 Ducks lining up proper now for Nickel and Mining Nickel.
34:04 Conclusion
PODCAST
About Andrew Strickland
Head of Project Development
Blackstone Minerals Limited
Qualifications: BEng (Chemical), BSci(Extractive Metallurgy), MBA, FAusIMM
Mr Strickland is an experienced Study and Project Manager, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, University of WA MBA graduate, with undergraduate degrees in Chemical Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy from Curtin and WASM.
Before joining Blackstone, Mr Strickland was a Senior Study Manager for GR Engineering Services where he was responsible for delivering a series of Scoping, PFS and DFS studies for both Australian and international projects, and over his career, he has held a variety of project development roles across both junior to mid-tier developers (including Straits Resources Ltd, Perseus Mining Ltd and Tiger Resources Ltd) and major multi-operation producers (South32).
Mr Strickland has a demonstrated history of developing mining & metals projects across commodity types (including base metals, precious metals, industrial minerals and iron ore), as well as a broad understanding and experience in developing all aspects of mining projects including geology, mine design optimisation and planning, process infrastructure and non-process infrastructure design, environment approvals and permitting, marketing, project estimation, project financial analysis, and financing.
About Blackstone Minerals Limited
Blackstone Minerals Limited (ASX: BSX) is developing the district-scale Ta Khoa Project in Northern Vietnam where the company is drilling out the large-scale Ban Phuc Nickel-PGE deposit. The Ta Khoa Nickel-PGE Project has existing modern mine infrastructures built to International Standards including a 450ktpa processing plant and permitted mine facilities.
Blackstone Minerals also owns a large landholding at the Gold Bridge project within the BC porphyry belt in British Columbia, Canada with large scale drill targets prospective for high-grade gold-cobalt-copper mineralisation. In Australia, Blackstone Minerals is exploring for nickel and gold in the Eastern Goldfields and gold in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Blackstone Minerals has a board and management team with a proven track record of mineral discovery and corporate success.
The Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project
The Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project is located 160 km west of Hanoi in the Son La Province of Vietnam and includes an existing modern nickel mine built to Australian standards, which is currently under care and maintenance. The Ban Phuc nickel mine successfully operated as a mechanised underground nickel mine from 2013 to 2016. In the Ta Khoa Nickel-Copper-PGE Project, previous project owners invested more than US$136m in capital and generated US$213m in revenue during a 3.5-year period of falling nickel prices. The project was placed into care and maintenance in mid-2016 during some of the lowest nickel prices in the past 10 years.
Existing infrastructure associated with the project includes an internationally-designed 450 ktpa processing plant connected to local hydro grid power with a fully-permitted tailings facility and a modern 250-person camp.
Since commencing maiden drilling in August 2019, Blackstone Minerals has made significant progress at Ta Khoa, drilling over 9,000 m of diamond core in more than 47 holes into the Ban Phuc DSS deposit and the highly prospective King Cobra discovery zone. An initial scoping study evaluating mining and processing options is well advanced, including potential in-country downstream processing to deliver high-value nickel sulfate into Asia’s rapidly expanding electric vehicle (EV) industry. The recently announced MOU with Asia’s largest and the world’s second-largest EV battery cathode manufacturer, Ecopro BM Co Limited represents a significant step towards making this a reality.
Disclaimer
The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer.
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