Some light reading to quench your thirst for Mantle related knowledge.
GHD are the consultants who recently reported to the Vic Gov that Mantle Mining could be exporting large quantities of brown coal through Geelong within a time frame that will require them to get a wriggle on IMO.
GHD have also had Mantle as a long term client and I would imagine that relationship has come in handy over the years when Mantle has been looking at tenements to acquire within the LV.
With over 70 employees across Gippsland, our clients benefit from our local knowledge and experience coupled with our ability to draw on skills and resources from over 700 staff in Victoria and more than 6000 worldwide.
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GHD has recently completed concept and pre-feasibility studies for Monash Energy for their proposed mine development at Flynn in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, Australia. The significant project is a joint development of Anglo American and Shell Gas and Power for a Coal to Liquids (CTL) plant based on brown coal.
The pre-feasibility study was undertaken for a stand-alone mine with a 50-year life. The mine will be required to produce coal at approximately 3600 tonnes/hour or 31.5Mtpa to supply the CTL plant. GHD also conducted a conceptual study for a mine with double the coal supply requirement to indicate changes that would be required if the capacity of the CTL plant was to be increased .
A mine planning assessment was also conducted to review mining areas, mine outlets, dump locations and impacts on local infrastructure. A materials handling concept study was also completed.
Potential mining methods and mine equipment were examined for use in the Flynn Field, while mine stability and hydrogeological analyses, as well as a cost analysis, were also carried out.
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BCBRA (Japanese joint venture who commissioned GHD to provides services to) developed proprietary technology called ECOPRO® which converts brown coal into a variety of high value energy products with lower greenhouse gas emissions than conventional technology when integrated with a carbon storage project.
Following successful trials of ECOPRO® technology in Japan at a 20 tonne/day coal processing plant, BCBRA engaged GHD for support with numerous technical studies – including a social impact assessment – to understand the feasibility of developing larger scale projects in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria.
As part of the broader study, the client engaged GHD to investigate the feasibility of using ECOPRO® technology to produce SNG/LNG, methanol, acetic acid, diesel oil and hydrogen at a variety of scales. Drawing on the results of this analysis, the client proposed to construct and operate the following developments in the Latrobe Valley: •a 200 tonne/day ECOPRO® technology demonstration processing plant with a productive capacity of 1PJ/year of synthetic natural gas (SNG) (Stage 1); and pending successful outcomes •a 4,000 tonne/day ECOPRO® commercial processing plant with a productive capacity of 830 kton/year of methanol (Stage 2).
GHD conducted a socio-economic impact study of both of these proposed projects. Supporting labour and industrial relations studies were also completed as part of this scope of work along with a community engagement strategy
Despite some late changes to the project description, the results were delivered to the client on time and within budget.
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Latrobe Valley Geological Modelling
Department of Primary Industries
Our team has a track record delivering large, complex modelling projects. They have been active in geological drilling, data management, geological interpretation and modelling of the Latrobe Valley from the 1980s up to the current day. GHD also set-up and manage the Latrobe Valley Bore data base.
GHD's Victorian brown coal modelling experience includes the development of the digital geological model of the Latrobe Valley coal resource for DPI in 2003 and extensions to cover Stradbroke, Gelliondale and Yarragon in 2008 and 2011. This model was ground-breaking in its breadth and detail and presents a century of resource evaluation in a consistent and useable format. This regional experience is complemented by detailed modelling of the Loy Yang, Driffield, Flynn, Hazelwood, Yallourn North Extension, Gelliondale, Yarragon resources within Gippsland as well as the Maddingley resource in the state's west.
Jon McNaught, Principal Mechanical Engineer and GHD’s Gippsland Manager has been involved in a number of major infrastructure and future planning projects for the Gippsland coal industry. Jon will present and provide insight into new Lignite projects currently being advanced for Gippsland. He will draw on his experiences from visits to various Chinese process plants and discuss the exciting results from testing that has been carried out on Latrobe Valley lignite. Key areas that will be discussed include: Raw coal drying/dewatering processes Target products Potential markets Barriers to delivering projects and how these are being addressed This is your chance to keep abreast of developments in the utilisation of brown coal.
