12 Sep 2011 08:00
For immediate release: 12 September 2011
Sirius Minerals Plc
("Sirius" or the "Company")
Adavale Synergy Study
The Directors of Sirius Minerals Plc (AIM: SXX, OTCQX: SRUXY), the globally diversified potash development group, are pleased to announce it has engaged Parsons Brinckerhoff, a leading engineering firm, and RMIT University in Melbourne to explore how synergies between the potash solution mining and coal seam gas industries could enable more sustainable development options for the Adavale Project in Queensland, Australia.
The Adavale Synergy Study will be a multiple phase study that will look at several linked development scenarios and unique synergies that could provide better economics for the Adavale Project. The first phase of the project is expected to take at least six months.
Solution mining is a method of underground mining that uses water to recover mineral salts such as potash. A key determinant of project viability for solution mines is securing cost effective and sustainable access to water. A major part of this current Adavale study is to evaluate the viability of using the wastewater from the nearby coal seam gas industry.
Coal seam gas wastewater contains salt and other mineral impurities that make it unsuitable for direct disposal on the surface or in the ocean. The coal seam gas industry is currently planning to install large desalination facilities to purify this water. Desalination requires large amounts of energy and produces significant amounts of salt and impurities as waste products that must be disposed of.
The potential exists to directly use the wastewater from coal seam gas extraction for potash solution mining. This water source provides a unique benefit in that the salt content of the wastewater could actually improve the recovery rate of potash and therefore improve the economics of potash extraction. For the coal seam gas industry solution mining at Adavale potentially represents a unique low impact method for permanently and safely storing the salt and mineral impurities deep below the surface (over 1,500 meters) in the salt formations.
Another area of focus for the Adavale Synergy Study will be to explore the potential to generate power and industrial heat from advanced solar thermal ponds (being developed in collaboration with RMIT). Solar ponds store excess wastewater and convert solar heat to energy. They work by capturing the sun's heat in very salty water at the bottom of the pond. This heat can then be extracted and used for either industrial processes or converted to electricity. Unlike solar panels, solar ponds continue to operate at night and when it's cloudy. Solar ponds are potentially a valuable renewable energy generation and storage system requiring only salt, water and sunlight to operate.
Finally the study will also evaluate the potential to realise added value by processing salt and renewable electricity from the solar ponds through the construction and operation of an on-site chloralkali plant. Chloralkali plants convert salt to products such as caustic soda that are used in many essential Australian industries such as the alumina industry in Queensland. Global demand for caustic soda is over 60 million tonnes and spot prices are currently over $400/tonne.
Chris Fraser, Managing Director and CEO of Sirius, said:
"Sirius Minerals is committed to creating value not just for its shareholders, but for the ecological and social environments in which it operates. We believe that an integrated potash mine, chloralkali plant and solar wastewater pond energy system could result in a profitable and environmentally sustainable solution for Sirius and for Queensland.
"The basis of this concept is for potash solution mining to extract sustainable value from a major waste problem faced by the $60 billion coal seam gas industry in Queensland. If this concept proves to be viable Sirius believes it could significantly improve the viability and economics of our Adavale Project and also offer a more sustainable and economically attractive waste water solution for the rapidly growing coal seam gas industry in Queensland.
"The potential of a synergistic linkage that brings together the coal seam gas industry, potash solution mining, renewable energy generation, and caustic soda production is quite remarkable. Sirius is uniquely positioned to analyse and realise this potentially economically rewarding and sustainable business solution."
For further information, please contact:
Sirius Minerals Plc | |||
Chris Fraser(MD & CEO) | Tel: +44 7582 711 382 or +61 404 073 288 | Andrew Lindsay(FD & CFO) | Tel: +44 20 3327 3660 |
NOMAD | Joint Brokers | Media Enquiries | |
Beaumont Cornish Limited | Liberum Capital Limited | XCAP Securities Plc | Gth Media Relations |
Roland Cornish, James Biddle | Michael Rawlinson, Clayton Bush | John Grant, Karen Kelly, Parimal Kumar | Toby Hall, Christian Pickel |
Tel: +44 20 7628 3396 | Tel: + 44 20 3100 2222 | Tel: +44 20 7101 7070 | Tel: + 44 20 3103 3903 |
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About Sirius Minerals Plc
Sirius Minerals is a globally diversified potash development company. Its primary focus is to bring on stream major potash mining facilities through the acquisition and development of projects overlying recognised potash deposits. Today it holds properties in the United Kingdom (North Yorkshire), the United States (North Dakota), and Australia (Queensland and Western Australia).
The Company is additionally progressing ongoing Research and Development initiatives into the secondary uses of salt and potash beds for energy storage and carbon dioxide sequestration.
Incorporated in 2003, Sirius Minerals' shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market. Its shares are also traded in the United States on the OTCQX through the use of a sponsored ADR facility. Further information on the Company can be found at www.siriusminerals.com.