Tenindewa focus

TENINDEWA

As noted elsewhere, Tenindewa is the proposed location of AVL’s vanadium pentoxide processing plant.
- So- if all goes ahead - this  historic townsite [gazetted in 1913] may see future increased population and traffic  :



The EPA writes;
https://www.epa.wa.gov.au/proposals/tenindewa-vanadium-processing-facility

Australian Vanadium Limited (AVL) propose to construct and operate a vanadium processing facility in the Midwest region, approximately 80 km east of Geraldton and 27 km west of Mullewa on the Geraldton-Mount Magnet Road in the City of Greater Geraldton. ​

The proposal will include a processing facility which includes a processing plant, evaporation ponds, support facilities, heavy and light vehicle access roads, water production bores, reverse osmosis plant and ancillary office.
The processing facility is expected to operate for at least 50 years.​

​

The processing plant will have a maximum production rate of 13,000 tonnes of vanadium pentoxide flake per annum and approximately 1,050,000 tonnes of iron-titanium co-product. ​

The vanadium pentoxide will be packaged for transport to Fremantle Port for export, and the iron-titanium co-product will be bulk transported and exported via Geraldton Port.​

​

The proposal location is on private land which is currently zoned ‘Rural’. The processing plant is within a development envelope of 838.4 ha which includes 300 ha of disturbance, with clearing of up to 5 ha of native vegetation. The haul road development envelope is 50.5 ha with 15 ha of disturbance, with clearing of up to 2 ha of native vegetation. ​

There are three nature reserves within 3.5 km of the project area, two of which are adjacent to the proposal.​

​

Last year,  July 2, 2024, AVL announced completion of Phase One of an OFS study had been completed following the merger between AVL and neighbour, TMT:
https://www.listcorp.com/asx/avl/au...e-of-optimised-feasibility-study-3050854.html
There were three ‘milestones’;

• Milestone 1–Updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) –AVL has delivered an updated MRE for the consolidated Project,showing a 39% increase in Measured and Indicated categories for the high vanadium grade domain and increased iron concentrate grades.2
• Milestone 2–Identification ofan optimallocationalong strike to commence mining–AVLhasidentifiedthe southern blocksof the Project,withhighervanadium and iron concentrate gradesand favourable weathering attributes for economic mining,as the preferred location for initialmining.3
• Milestone 3–Identification of optimal processing plant location –AVL has now completed a key trade-off study that has determined Tenindewa, near Geraldton in Western Australia, as the preferred location for the downstreamprocessing plant for the Project.

Spoiler : More from that announcement

Optimal location of processing plant

Prior to the merger, AVL had proposed to locate its downstream processing plant at Tenindewa, near Geraldton in Western Australia (see Figure 1),5while TMT had proposed to locate its plant adjacent to the minesite at **anintha.
Further to Milestone 3, a trade-off study has been undertaken, evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of each option to determine the optimal location for the downstream processing plant.
After careful consideration, the Tenindewa locationwas determined to bethe most technically and economically viable location.

The key benefits of a downstream processing plant located at Tenindewa include:

• Reduced length of the gas pipelineto the plant (approximately 20km long to Tenindewa incontrast with 180km long to **anintha). The difference in length has significant impacts, including reduced:

o cost of gas delivered;​

o permitting requirements; and or risk of delays and cost overruns​

• Multiple existing gas pipelines near Tenindewa improve certainty of supply and project economics.
• Readily available and permitted6low salinity water which reduces execution risk.
• Tenindewa is approximately 80km from Geraldton and approximately 18km from Mullewa, offering opportunities for regional employment and a local workforce, thereby reducing camp accommodation requirements.
• Lower delivery costs for reagents given location close to major centres and services along the coast from Geraldton and Perth.
• Significantly better economics for the sale of an iron concentrate product due to proximity to Port of Geraldton,along with the benefits derived from product diversification.

A few events since then;
On 06/08/24 https://www.listcorp.com/asx/avl/au...m-processing-site-near-geraldton-3065645.html







On 14/08/24 some irate locals complained
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08...vanadium-processing-plant-next-door/104206080

Spoiler : Here’s that report

Mid West farming family feels ignored as plans for vanadium processing hub progress at Tenindewa

• By Lucinda Jose
• ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt
• Topic:Mining and Metals Industry

Wed 14 AugWednesday 14 August


Kyle and his father Brad Smith are concerned about potential contamination from a vanadium processing plant next door. (Supplied: Brad Smith)
In short:

A Mid West farmer says planning for a proposed vanadium processing plant has misrepresented the location and views of the neighbouring community.
The company says an error that caused some houses to be missed from a map was corrected before plans were submitted.
What's next?

The City of Greater Geraldton has supported rezoning the property and the decision will now progress to the state development panel and minister for lands.

A Mid West farmer says his family home was erased from the map in planning documents for a major mineral processing plant intended for the property next door.
Australian Vanadium Limited (AVL) has received local government support for plans to build a vanadium processing hub in Tenindewa, 100 kilometres east of Geraldton.
The company hopes to bring vanadium ore from a proposed mine near Meekatharra.
The vanadium ore would then be taken to the hub where it would be processed into vanadium pentoxide, a key component in vanadium flow batteries.
City of Greater Geraldton councillors recently supported rezoning the site from rural to general industry, five votes to three.
The state development assessment panel and the minister for planning will make the final decision about zoning.
Local residents opposed the development due to potential contamination and impacts to the productive agricultural land surrounding the site.
The proposed plant would be located less than 2km from grain farmer Brad Smith's home and sheds.
The third-generation farmer heard about the proposed project in 2019 when the company first met with local residents one family at a time.
He said since that time there had been no formal consultation.  
"We didn't endorse the project," Mr Smith said.
"Unbeknown to all the neighbouring landowners, apparently a quick sit down and a cup of tea is saying we're supporting the project."
He said his family felt ignored and disrespected when planning documents showed their name marked with an S for support and their home did not appear on included Google Earth Maps.
"We are on some and aren't on others so there is a lot of misrepresentation," he said.

The Smith family home was omitted from initial planning documents for a proposed vanadium processing plant next door. (Supplied: Brad Smith)

AVL's executive general manager of project delivery Flormirza Cabalteja said there was an error with initial planning submission maps.
"Some of the houses were missed, but before the submission it was actually picked up," she said.
"Everything else in terms of air assessment, noise assessment actually looks at the cadastral boundaries of lot 40 and 41."
The company said preliminary air quality assessment modelling of pollutants including nitrogen dioxide, ammonia, sulphuric acid, and vanadium were well below the acceptable criteria.
Ms Cabalteja said the company intended to do further assessment and community consultation.
"We really acknowledge that our previous efforts in stakeholder engagement did not meet our expectations or those of our stakeholders but we are committed to improving our approach," she said.
City to look for additional industrial land

Geraldton Mayor Jerry Clune said with other proponents seeking to establish in the region, the city would conduct a study to identify land suitable for industrial purposes.
"We have had people knocking on our door seeking suitable industrial land, which a lot of it is not," Mr Clune said.
He said consultants for the city would soon contact landowners to see if they were willing to have their properties rezoned.


Tenindewa is a grain framing region located 100km east of the City of Geraldton. (ABC Mid West & Wheatbelt: Jo Prendergast)

Mr Smith said he did not oppose vanadium processing but believed it should be conducted near the mine site away from people's homes and land that was used to grow food.
He was alarmed the zoning of agricultural land could change so easily.
"It sort of opens the floodgates for any mining industry to come in and put one on anyone else's back door," Mr Smith said.

In March, AVL successfully produced battery-ready vanadium electrolyte at a new manufacturing facility in Perth using vanadium pentoxide imported from the United States.
In the future, the company hoped the Tenindewa processing hub would enable it to use West Australian mined and processed vanadium to create a "pit to battery" value chain.

AVL says it will make a final investment decision on the project next year.

So the City of Greater Geraldton has said it supports the rezoning the property and the decision will now progress to the state development panel and minister for lands.

I don’t know where it is now but this site says the application was withdrawn?

https://haveyoursay.dplh.wa.gov.au/...cation-vanadium-processing-facility-tenindewa​

​

And this one says that, in December 2023, the cost was estimated at being $450m and  400 workers would be needed for construction; https://online.planning.wa.gov.au/d...ianVanadiumProject_DevelopmentApplication.pdf


And  back in July Infrastructure WA and the Main Roads Dept said the road is not in great condition with all the heavy haulage that’s traversing it, and that it needs $225m of works
https://www.geraldtonguardian.com.a...grades-to-geraldton-mt-magnet-road-c-15329519

And then last November the level rail crossing at Tenindewa for the out of commission railway that runs past received a ‘critical  upgrade’; https://www.arcinfra.com/Newsroom/Notification-of-works-Tenindewa.

And I think others may have more information?

cheers