FGR granted Government Approvals for Commercial Graphene Facility in WA, Australia

FRG gets receipt of Government Approvals for Commercial Graphene Production Facility

Highlights



• Works Approval has been granted by the Department of Environment Regulation, enabling construction of a graphene production facility at Henderson to commence and be operational in Q4 of 2017.



• FGR will be the first ASX-listed company to attain a commercial graphene production capability.

• The production facility will be funded from existing cash

balances.

• Initial capacity will be in the order of 15 tonnes per annum of saleable graphene, based on a single shift operation, five days per week. Multiple shifts could escalate production rates to globally significant levels in the event suitable sales contracts are negotiated.




Works Approval


First Graphite (ASX: FGR) is pleased to advise it is now moving towards the construction of a commercial graphene production facility, having been granted a Works Approval by

the Department of Environment Regulation (DER) for its facility at Henderson, Western Australia.

The Works Approval results from the submission of an extensive application to the DER. FGR’s independent laboratory testing demonstrated the controls to be used resulted in minimal

emissions with these being significantly below the levels set by the regulations. These approvals also account for the necessary occupational health and safety controls.



Information source



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Nickel Gains Most in Week on Signs Producers Are Cutting Output

Nickel climbed, leading increases in industrial metals, amid signs the slump in prices is forcing some producers to curtail production.

Global nickel output is likely to fall as some producers hit a “pain threshold” on lower prices, Dan Lougher, chief executive officer of Western Areas Ltd., said in an interview on Tuesday. Standard Chartered Plc estimates as much as 65 percent of nickel production is unprofitable at current prices. Metals also rallied as China planned a bond program for construction stimulus, which may improve prospects for raw-material demand.

“I still expect a lift in nickel prices from this level going forward,” Casper Burgering, an analyst at ABN Amro Bank NV in Amsterdam, said by phone. “The second half should be better.”


Nickel for delivery in three months advanced 1.3 percent to $10,885 a metric ton by 12:31 p.m. on the London Metal Exchange after rising as much as 1.9 percent, the most since July 28. It’s down 28 percent in 2015 and is this year’s worst performer among the main industrial metals on the LME.

Copper rose for the first day in four after sliding to a six-year low on Monday. The metal is close to a bear market after falling 19 percent from a peak on May 5. Zinc climbed as much as 1.6 percent after orders to remove the metal from warehouses tracked by the LME surged 54 percent.
Bond Stimulus

China is planning at least 1 trillion yuan ($161 billion) in bonds, and potentially a multiple of that, to fund construction projects to address the struggling economy, according to people familiar with the matter. The bond program is taking shape amid fresh signs that growth is running at less than an official target of about 7 percent for this year.

“Prices have lifted for all base metals this morning quite steeply,” Burgering said. “It could be that the market is hoping for some economic stimulus.”

Metals have declined to the lowest since 2009 amid the commodity rout. Oil is in a bear market, while platinum sank 1.7 percent on Tuesday to a six-year low and palladium dropped to an October 2012 low. On the LME, tin and lead increased Tuesday, while aluminum was little changed.

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MRL Heads of Agreement to Pursue Graphene Commercialisation Outcomes

Heads of Agreement (“HoA”) signed with Imagine Intelligent Materials Pty Ltd (“IMAGINE”), an Australian graphene enhanced advanced materials solutions company. 

The agreement will identify commercial applications for MRL’s graphite and graphene. 

Access to graphene testing and characterisation through IMAGINE’s Certification Program

Collaboration with leading Australian universities with whom IMAGINE has existing relationships, for up-scaling of graphene testing and characterisation of graphene products.

Working with IMAGINE’s certified partners and customers pursuing a strategy to access the full spectrum of the graphene value chain through.

Following on from the ASX release of 13 May 2015, in which the Company disclosed that the University of Adelaide had achieved outstanding results on the recovery of graphene from MRL’s highgrade graphite ore, the directors are pleased to announce a significant step in the process to maximise the return on its Sri Lankan Graphite Projects. 

The signing of the HoA between MRL and IMAGINE will give the Company access to a network of advanced manufacturing enterprises and scientific expertise that would not normally be available to a junior mining company. MRL’s graphite projects in Sri Lanka have very high grade vein ore. 

The key challenge in the generation of commercially valuable graphene is the ability to produce consistent and replicable graphene functionalised to meet the requirements of industrial customers. IMAGINE brings knowledge of high volume market applications the understanding of solutions development processes and its own intellectual property. 

The proposed Co-operative agreements between MRL and Imagine are intended to maximise revenue opportunities for both parties through develop premium price graphene solutions for high volume industrial markets.

#Graphene #Graphite #MRL #MRF #ASX #IMAGINE #GRAPHINESOLUTIONS

Buru Energy Looks to Brighter Future with Ungani

Almost four years since it first made the discovery, Buru Energy, and partner Mitsubishi, officially opened the Ungani oil field 100km east of Broome today.

In what the company hopes will be the trigger in a change of fortunes after a tough 12-month period, Buru will produce of 1250 barrels of oil a day at the site with the aim rising to 3000.

Buru received production licences from the Department of Mines and Petroleum in May, following on from the green light it received from traditional owners in April.

However the collapsing oil price put a serious dent in its ambitions for a big-ticket exploration program in the largely untapped onshore Canning Basin, where Ungani sits.

Ungani has produced about 450,000 barrels during two extended production tests spanning two years, with oil trucked to Wyndham for export to refineries. Production flow rates have been capped at 1250 barrels a day.

Buru chairman Eric Streitberg said Ungani was the first oil development in the Canning Basin in over 30 years.

“There was no modern precedent for the development and it took perseverance and co-operation between all the parties to make the transition from a greenfields oil discovery to the current production system,” Mr Streitberg.

Buru and Mitsubushi Start Commercial Production at Ungani Oil Field

The cash flow from Ungani marks the next chapter in Buru Energy's growth

Australian oil and gas firm Buru Energy and Japanese Mitsubishi have started commercial oil production at Ungani oilfield in the western parts of the country with the spudding of the Praslin-1 conventional well.

Praslin-1 is located at a 15km from the existing Ungani field and is in the Jackaroo 3D seismic data grid.

Ungani oilfield is a 50:50 joint venture between Buru Energy and Mitsubishi.

Initial production rate for Ungani oilfield is 1,250 barrels of oil per day (bopd). It is expected to be raised to 2,500bopd, and then to a further 3,000bopd within the year.

Buru Energy executive chairman Eric Streitberg said: "The cash flow from Ungani marks the next chapter in Buru Energy's growth.

"Combined with our strong cash position ($41.9m at 30 June 2015), we have the financial strength to fund our aggressive exploration programme and create further growth for shareholders.

"We have the strong support of government and traditional owners for our programmes and an extensive and diverse prospect portfolio to drill. This is a privileged position for a company of our size."

Facilities at the field have been upgraded, which are expected to boost its operations and productions while reduce its costs.

Buru and Mitsubishi intend to expand its hydrocarbon reserves through further explorations near the Ungani field.

The owners have signed a contract with Fuel Trans for cost-effective transportation of oil to the port of Wyndham

China's Revenge Serves Body Blows to BHP and Rio

China's revenge serves body blows to BHP and Rio

It's taken six years, but China is slowly turning the tables on the heavyweight iron ore miners.

In 2009, iron ore giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto decided they wanted to take advantage of China's soaring demand for iron ore, which was pushing prices ever higher. So they ditched the 40-year old system of setting annual contract prices in favour of using spot pricing for the majority of their iron ore shipped to China from 2010.

Needless to say, China's steel mills weren't very happy about that. BHP's previous CEO Marius Kloppers is widely acknowledged as the man most responsible for bringing about the change. With BHP and Rio filling a huge amount of China's demand, the steelmakers had little choice but to acquiesce. 

The changes, and China's thirst for iron ore, saw the iron ore price soar as high as US$191 per tonne in February 2011, from around US$60 per tonne in 2008. Rio Tinto produced record underlying earnings of US$15.5 billion in the 2011 financial year, with iron ore contributing US$12.9 billion. BHP, for its part, saw net profit rise 74 per cent to US$21.7 billion as revenues rose 36 per cent.

China may also still be sore over aluminium giant Chinalco's aborted US$19.5 billion investment in Rio Tinto back in 2010, which was aimed at gaining resource security. At the time, reports suggest Chinese officials feared that China was too vulnerable to both Rio and BHP, even separately. Rio's board canned the deal, and announced that it was instead forming an iron ore joint venture with BHP. That deal never went ahead – much to the relief of China.

The giant (re)awakens

But China has never forgotten, and appears unlikely to forgive. Now the sleeping giant has awakened, and looks set to turn the tables on Rio and BHP.

Firstly, China needed to loosen its dependence on the two Australian iron ore miners, so it has turned to Brazil's Vale. For many years Vale was snubbed by the Chinese. The iron ore giant had built a number of very large ore carriers to ship ore to China, but they have been banned from docking at Chinese ports since 2012.

Now, China hasn't just removed the restrictions but Vale has also sold 4 of the ore carriers to two of China's biggest shipping companies. Each carrier can transport up to 400,000 tonnes of iron ore, and could reduce Vale's production costs by as much as 25 per cent, according to some estimates. That would bring Vale's landed costs around the same as BHP and Rio's.

Vale also has a 25-year shipping agreement with China Cosco to transport iron ore from Brazil to China. China has gone another step further too, loaning Vale US$4 billion to help fund a US$16.5 billion project, known as S11D.

S11D is expected to produce 90 million tonnes of very high quality iron ore each year, taking Vale's production to 450 million tonnes of iron ore within the next few years.

In two moves, China has decreased its dependence on BHP and Rio, loosening their control over the iron ore market, and thanks to the increase supply of iron ore, achieved lower prices.

One last dance? 

Fairfax Media reports today that Chinese-linked companies have applied to the Foreign Investment Review Board seeking permission for an investment with Australia's self-styled 'new force in iron ore' Fortescue Metals Group.

Fortescue, with its US$7.7 billion in net debt, could strengthen its balance sheet with a capital injection, either to pay down debt in return for an equity stake, or refinance existing debt at lower rates. The miner recently issued US$2.3 billion in senior secured notes, but is paying a whopping 9.75 pe cent interest rate, at a time when interest rates around the world are at record low levels.

Fortescue could struggle to repay its debt load if iron ore prices continue to trade at or under US$60 per tonne, with some estimates putting the miner's breakeven price around US$70 per tonne. The company may well be amenable to a deal with the Chinese, particularly after the recent kerfuffle over the iron ore inquiry that was going ahead, but was cancelled.

Australian Households Chase Sun to Lead World on Solar Adoption

Australian Households Chase Sun to Lead World on Solar Adoption

Australian households are world leaders in solar power installation, according to new figures from Australia's peak industry body representing the fossil fuel and renewable energy sector.

The Energy Supply Association of Australia, representing the fossil fuel and renewable energy sector, has sourced data from around the world revealing household solar photovoltaic (PV) penetration in Australia is way out in front of any other nation.

The report shows almost 15 per cent of Australian households have adopted the technology to power their homes.

This is more than triple that of Germans, who are second on the world stage and typically thought of as the most prolific solar adopters.

The report breaks the data down to countries and jurisdictions illustrating where the world's most enthusiastic installers of small-scale solar energy are located.

"Germany, the US, Spain and others are held up as being at the forefront of solar power, but it is Australia, where households have taken it upon themselves to install solar PV, that easily lead the world when it comes to solar penetration," the ESAA report states.

The ACT had 15,637 household installations as of September last year, according to ActewAGL figures. Based on 2011 census data this put the ACT at about 10 per cent of households connected to solar – South Australia leads the way with almost 25 per cent of households connected to solar PV.

Although Australia leads the charge on small-scale installations, Germany is out front with utility-scale solar installations.

In terms of total solar energy produced per million people, Germany's capacity is about triple that of Australia's.

Australian Solar Council chief executive John Grimes said that was due to policies that had focused on domestic solar systems.

"The economics are compelling," Mr Grimes said. "The cost of the technology continues to fall at such a rate that it is already much cheaper to install solar than it is to buy electricity from the grid. And with the advent of cheap energy storage technology – battery technology – that really closes the loop.

"People like the Energy Supply Association and others should rightly be thinking about this. If they don't start to embrace the technology as opposed to resist it, their members companies – the big utilities – are set to become the Kodaks of the future."



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