Blackstone ticks more boxes for Vietnam nickel project

Blackstone Minerals has ticked more boxes during its definitive feasibility phase of the company’s green nickel project in Vietnam. A raft of work has been completed including bench tests, design, procurement, assembly and commissioning of equipment in addition to successfully converting mixed hydroxide precipitate to metal sulphate.

This year, Blackstone announced the appointments of lead consultants to deliver definitive feasibility studies into the company’s Ta Khoa nickel project and planned Ta Khoa refinery.

Together its nickel project and the proposed refinery form Blackstone’s flagship vision of building an integrated upstream and downstream battery metals processing business in Vietnam producing precursor products for Asia’s fast-growing lithium-ion battery industry.

The completion of a recent bench test work program has successfully confirmed an improved process flowsheet for the refinery project and the data collected has been used to update the plant design criteria.

Design, procurement and assembly of piloting equipment have been completed, followed by the successful commissioning of all unit operations from mixed hydroxide precipitate re-leach through to the production of battery-grade metal sulphates.

Blackstone’s initial look at the refinery flow sheet also confirmed its ability to process third-party mixed hydroxide precipitate to battery-grade metal sulphate. The program will allow the company to potentially pursue a staged development using third-party feed and in effect reduce start-up costs.

The next steps for the trial will be to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate from nickel concentrate feed before converting it into battery-grade metal sulphate in preparation for the company’s end product — a precursor cathode material.

Blackstone expects to finish its refinery pilot program in the final quarter of the year.

On its nickel mine front — where it plans to source its raw nickel ore — Blackstone says key components continue to develop in line with the company’s strategy.

A pilot plant has also been built and processing test work started earlier this month.

Lead consultants working on the nickel project have made several trips to the mine site in support of ongoing test work and have confirmed the suitability of the piloting equipment and Vietnam’s facilities to provide data for the study.

In addition, further re-grind and flotation piloting equipment has been sourced.

Blackstone Minerals Managing Direction, Scott Williamson said: “The success of these respective pilot programs demonstrates our commitment to develop competitive and flexible flowsheets to service the future needs of the battery market.”

In line with the company’s commitment to producing “green” nickel, Blackstone has engaged the University of British Columbia to complete a study assessing the capability of the project to capture carbon through carbon mineralisation.

The study has demonstrated the waste and tailings material from the mine are rich in carbon-absorbing minerals and can capture up to 8.3 grams of carbon dioxide per kilogram of tailings.

Notably in March, Vietnam decreed that registration fees for battery-powered cars within the next three years will be free with the fee for the following two years to increase to just half of the cost of registering a petrol or diesel car.

Similar EV-promoting incentives have been rolled out across other countries in South-East Asia as the region eagerly awaits its state-of-the-art mode of transport.

A report this year by the International Energy Agency says 16.5 million electric cars were on the road in 2021 — a total that has tripled in just three years.

With multiple gears turning at once, it appears Blackstone Minerals is now picking up the pace in the development of its flagship project, however it will be interesting to see if it can successfully catch the impending electric vehicle revolution wave.

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