Must be close now - note; you read the article closely there are a massive number of hints of where this going where it could be going etc, this is the first time that ECT really posts an article where they actually provide detail about how the technologies are going to disrupt and actually comment on relevant articles which are relevant to ECT and their technologies rather than the previous fluff to me it's almost a price sensitive announcement - sounds like NLC and NMDC are saying the brakes are off - silence is no longer required.
You want to know what plans NLC and NMDC have in the MPA about the project:
"The project is divided into two phases:
- R&D phase: aims to deliver a pilot scale demonstration with a capacity of two tonnes per hour of steel output (up from test plant scale of ~40kg per hour)
- Commercial phase: following successful R&D, scale up to over 60 tonnes per hour (~500,000 tonnes per year) of steel product output, consisting several modular Matmor furnaces.
Layout for the R&D scale integrated Coldry-Matmor pilot plant
Conceptual layout of 500,000 tonne per annum commercial scale plant
Obviously, 500,000 tonnes per annum is not the end-game. It is the first significant commercial threshold. The proposed site at NLC could accommodate 3 million tonnes per annum. Then there are other sites nearby.
For context, Australia’s steelmaking capacity is around 6 million tonnes per annum.
Seaborne coking coal movements will increase over coming decades as the below article suggests. There is no doubt that Australia will benefit from increased sales of coking coal to India over that time.
If we’re successful, Australia will also benefit from the export of innovation, but in the context of India’s ambitious 200 million tonne steel industry growth target, even a 3 million tonne Matmor plant would be a minor player, displacing less than 1% of the coking coal market in India.
From there, the scope of future Matmor expansion will be subject to the performance of the process in the context of prevailing market conditions and the time.
Other logical deployment targets for Matmor include Indonesia, Europe and even Australia.
Indonesia has abundant lignite deposits and significant nickel-rich iron ore. Eastern Europe has lignite and mountains of millscale waste. Australia has ~90 million tonnes of iron-rich nickel tailings in Queensland that could be remediated via Matmor. These are all targets for future business and market development.
And with scale up in India under our belt, financially solid partners in NLC and NMDC and a cost-effective manufacturing base in India, there’s plenty of scope for global deployment. "
Fingers crossed everything gets sorted by JUne 30th! but i reckon things are moving nicely even maybe passed a few stumbling blocks or even the final stumbling block.
Chhers
M.oz
(20min delay)