Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Minerals Ltd (ASX:BSX, OTCQX:BLSTF) welcomes confirmation in an independent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of its vision for the lowest life cycle carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the Ta Khoa Project (TKP) in Vietnam.
The results support ongoing partnership and funding efforts by validating the TKP nickel sulphide production design as the route with the lowest life cycle CO2 emissions compared to emerging and existing NCM811 precursor cathode active material production routes.
The Ta Khoa LCA study confirmed a result of 9.8 kg CO2-equivalent per kg precursor cathode active material (pCAM) from the project, which is substantially lower than existing production pathways in terms of Global Warming Potential (GWP), with known opportunities to reduce even further to 6.3kg CO2-equivalent per kg pCAM.
Minimising environmental footprint
Blackstone managing director Scott Williamson said: “At Blackstone we have an opportunity to engrain best practices into our development strategy, to start from zero with respect to our emission targets and to align ourselves with industry leaders.
“We want to lead the way through the electrification of our mining fleet, investigation of green hydrogen technology, utilising renewable hydropower and most importantly our interactions with local communities.
“The decision to undertake this assessment reflects Blackstone’s commitment to minimising its environmental footprint through its design process and to understand the most impactful and efficient pathways to achieve this.”
Summary of LCA GWP Results
Targeting zero emissions
Minviro, who is also responsible for the completion of Tesla’s LCA in their 2021 Impact Report and other industry peers, were appointed by Blackstone to conduct an LCA on the production of Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese (NCM) precursor cathode active material (pCAM) at TKP.
The study, which was conducted according to the requirements of ISO-14040:2006 and ISO-14044:2006, used data from pre-feasibility studies published for the downstream Ta Khoa Refinery Project (TKR) and upstream Ta Khoa Nickel Project (TKN).
As part of the accreditation process, the LCA was subject to a third-party review by a panel of three industry experts. Chaired by Dr Viktor Kouloumpis, the panel included a representative from the Nickel Institute´s Public Policy team and an independent nickel metallurgical consultant.
While the Base Case GWP result of 9.8 kg CO2-equivalent per kg pCAM is an excellent result, Blackstone is targeting zero emissions and is evaluating options to further reduce the Ta Khoa GWP.
Minviro director Laurens Tijsseling said: ‘’Integrating LCA in the design stages of projects that will provide the products essential for the world’s decarbonised future enables environmentally informed decision making.
“We are proud that we have been able to collaborate with Blackstone to uncover the current drivers of their environmental impact, both highlighting the effect that current efforts will have on reducing environmental impacts and simultaneously showing the focus areas to truly enable Mining Green.’’
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