Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
- Metals recovery and industrial water treatment company Clean TeQ (CLQ) has come across some delays in developing its Sunrise Project
- Sunrise is located in New South Wales and is one of the largest cobalt deposits outside Africa
- The company has been bogged down by its project execution plan (PEP), which is now expected to be completed at the end of the third quarter for 2020
- Additionally, Clean TeQ has come across issues securing an investment partner for the project
- However, the company says it has not given up and will continue to remains optimistic on the outlook for demand growth in the electric vehicle (EV) and lithium-ion battery sectors
- And once the PEP and funding are completed, Sunrise will be one of the few “development-ready nickel-cobalt battery material projects in the world”
- Clean TeQ is down 14.3 per cent on the market this morning and is selling shares for 15 cents each
Metals recovery and industrial water treatment company Clean TeQ Holdings (CLQ) has come across some delays in developing its Sunrise Project.
At present, the company is progressing with the Project Execution Plan (PEP) with engineering and consultants from Fluor Australia.
The PEP is an update to the 2018 definitive feasibility study (DFS) and will include the latest design and engineering work, as well as a revised master schedule for Sunrise.
Once the PEP and funding are completed, Sunrise will be one of the few “development-ready nickel-cobalt battery material projects in the world”.
However, Clean TeQ says there are some delays in finalising the working stream for the PEP and is now expecting to complete the plan in the third quarter of 2020.
Sunrise is located in New South Wales and is one of the largest cobalt deposits outside Africa.
Financing
Additionally, the company says its search for an investment partner remains ongoing, as it’s been unable to find the right fit to financially back the project as of yet.
Due to this, Clean TeQ can’t commit to a final investment decision in mid-2020, as it originally targeted.
Additionally, COVID-19 has presented difficult conditions for financial markets and challenges for funding new project development. But the company is not giving up and remains optimistic on the outlook for demand growth in the electric vehicle (EV) and lithium-ion battery sectors.
CEO Sam Riggall says the mining sector needs to build two to four Sunrise projects every year over the next decade just to simply meet the EV battery demand for nickel and cobalt.
“Global automotive supply chains are dangerously underestimating development timeframes and capital requirements, which is why some carmakers are now contracting directly with mining companies to secure a supply of strategic metals,” he said.
“At some point in this game of musical chairs, the music will stop and not everyone will have a seat.”
CEO, Sam Riggall
Sam believes the company has a vision for Sunrise that adds value to any carmakers EV supply chain.
“This includes a direct-to-sulphate production process to by-pass offshore refining, options for connecting the plant to renewable energy, a battery recycling circuit and refining of scandium to improve materials performance for aerospace and automotive applications,” he added.
As of the end of May, the company says it is well capitalised, with approximately $42.2 million cash in the bank.
However, Clean TeQ is down 14.3 per cent on the market this morning and is selling shares for 15 cents each at 10:47 am AEST.
