Greenvale’s Alpha deposit is being analysed on several fronts in...

Greenvale’s Alpha deposit is being analysed on several fronts in preparation for the delivery of a PFS (pre-feasibility study), with early results supporting an initial 100,00tpa bitumen processing plant.
Greenvale Energy (ASX:GRV) ultimately hopes to increase bitumen production at Alpha to 200,000tpa, potentially positioning the deposit to meet a portion of rapidly growing demand for bitumen and blended products for local supplier and infrastructure needs.
The company’s staged approach to production is based on the development of two trains, with the design of Train 1 underpinned by results from the completed liquefaction test programs (programs 1, 2 and 3), as well as preliminary indications from test program 4.
GRV says this information has informed the conceptual design basis of the plant, initially aimed at producing 100,000t of bitumen and blended products annually from 500,000t of mined resource.
Two decades of mine life at Alpha

Train 2 would begin on completion of Train 1 construction with annual production then increasing to 200,000t by expanding the process plant and increasing mining by a further 500,000tpa, resulting an estimated mine life of 20 years.
That mine life could be further extended via an additional Train 3 if further exploration of the known 10km strike length and further metallurgical test work justifies it, GRV says.
A more rigorous, data-supported evaluation of the Alpha project’s lifespan will be provided as part of the PFS.
‘Robust, long-life project’

“We are now well and truly at the pointy end of bringing everything together for the Alpha Project PFS,” GRV chief executive Mark Turner says.
“The liquefaction test program 4 is progressing well and delivering very promising results, supporting the design premise for a facility initially capable of producing 100ktpa of bitumen and blended products over a 20-year plant life with significant expansion potential beyond that to 200,000tpa.
While the additional time required to extend liquefaction test program 4 to include the additional resource defined late last year is frustrating, we do not want to compromise the very high standard of work that has been put into this project from the outset.
“All of the work completed to date points towards a very robust, long-life project with the potential to become a significant producer of bitumen and blended products into the domestic market in Australia.”
Opportune time for commercialisation

Given the forecast increase in demand for bitumen over the next decade, particularly from major infrastructure-driven projects such as those associated with the Brisbane Olympics in 2032, Turner says this is a very opportune time to be commercialising a project such as Alpha.