A pre-feasibility study (PFS) of Tivan Ltd’s Speewah fluorite project in the Kimberley region of Western Australia has positioned the company to deliver another critical minerals project reducing the dominance of China in global supply chains.
The PFS released today described the project as geo-strategically significant, with high criticality for important supply chains in Asia and strong alignment with the federal government’s Critical Minerals Strategy.
Speewah is the largest, highest grade vanadium in titanomagnetite resource in the world as well as housing an inferred resource of 27.2 million tonnes of calcium fluoride (CaF2) ore.
Fluorite was recently added to the Critical Minerals List in light of its role in energy transition, lack of production in country, and the dominance of China in global supply.
China produces half the world’s fluorite, which is used in industrial applications including steel, aluminium and chemical manufacturing as well as lithium ion batteries, solar cells and semiconductors.
The Tivan board said in a statement: “The board views the project as ideally placed to make an important contribution to the emerging critical minerals sector in Australia and to communities in the East Kimberley region.
“The PFS highlights the high criticality of offtake from the project and the unique opportunity afforded to strengthen the resilience of important supply chains in Asia.
“In strategic alliance with Sumitomo Corporation, and with the support of Traditional Owners and native title holders, Tivan is strongly positioned to deliver the project on schedule for the benefit of shareholders and stakeholders.”
The PFS found that the resource could be open cut mined, reducing costs, with ‘onsite processing of critical minerals, capturing value-add onshore, furthering sovereign capabilities’.
The project was found to offer an optimal market entry point, amid demand from new technologies and rapid global reserve depletion.
The study said that the federal government’s recently budgeted Critical Minerals Production Tax Incentive was part of likely ‘robust profitability’.
“In contrast to the lithium sector, the forecast supply deficit in fluorspar has not generated a significant supply-side response.
“The Speewah Fluorite Project is the only major greenfield project expected to be delivered in the west this decade.”
Tivan is targeting first production in 2027.
Further reading:
Tivan gets Sumitomo backing to develop fluorite project
Picture: Tivan