InterGroup ready to roll on NQ kaolin and silica project

The Clydesdale and Brumby kaolin and silica project in north Queensland is ready to move into production, according to proponent InterGroup Mining. The company has completed a definitive feasibility study proving the long and short-term case for the project, in the Charters Towers area. It said current financial models and projections, without debt, showed a net present value of $1.39 billion at a discount of 10 per cent, while the internal rate of return for the project is 35 per cent per annum. "The next steps of purchasing necessary equipment, constructing processing plants and mining at surface can begin immediately with minimal investment," InterGroup stated in its DFS executive summary. "The project has been staged to pay for its own growth quickly and to, in turn, run at a cash surplus for 30-plus years." InterGroup said the operation would bring 56 jobs to the area, as well as increasing work and economic activity in the community of Homestead, along the rail transport network to Townsville, and at Townsville Port. The project requires an initial capital investment of $56 million for stage one, which would include the production of hydrous kaolin, silica, gold and construction sand from a surface mining operation. InterGroup said this would yield cash flow to help bring on wet and dry processing equipment for project growth. Stage 2 would involve the construction of a sand washing plant at Homestead, projected to occur between the second quarter of this year to early 2025, and the third stage would see that plant upgraded. This would be followed by development of a calcination plant and then a high-purity alumina (HPA) plant. The company said a $216 million investment would allow a product stream including metakaolin and fully calcined kaolin. An additional $300 million would yield 10,000 tpa of HPA and a further $300 million would allow the plant upgrade required to lift the HPA production to 20,000tpa. The project also offers potential opportunities in tantalum, lithium, niobium, yttrium and cerium, which have been discovered via recent drilling programs. InterGroup has appointed Investique to complete a $1 million capital raise from the UK. The funds will be used to broaden the scope of its 2024 exploration program at Brumby, continue acquisition opportunities as well as the start of Kaolin production, and to ensure the company fully meets its working capital requirements and is ready for imminent listing on the ASX. “The recent drilling reports show that InterGroup Mining is not only a future mining heavyweight but also a major player in the next generation of green mining and exploration," Investique founder and chief executive officer Joe Coggings said. He said the company had attracted high levels of interest from the world’s largest mining conglomerates and sovereign wealth funds. Image at top of page: The project is situated in the Lolworth Range area near Charters Towers. Photo courtesy of Dr LJ Hutton via InterGroup Mining.

InterGroup ready to roll on NQ kaolin and silica project

Industry Queensland

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