Clean TeQ Water (ASX:CNQ) has established a 50:50 joint venture called Future Element Operations with privately held mine tailings management company Future Element.
The JV is currently planning pilot-scale testing at several sites in the coming months leading to full scale commercial implementation once proven.
Clean TeQ Water says the JV was formed for financing, acquiring and/or joint venturing a portfolio of mining assets to provide retreatment and rehabilitation, as well as produce critical metals required for global energy transition from tailings facilities, based on proprietary Clean TeQ and Future Element technologies and capability.
Under the terms of the agreement, Clean TeQ will provide technology licenses for the use of its ATA rapid dewatering technology and the full suite of Clean-iX technologies. Clean TeQ will also provide partial seed funding for up to 18 months.
Future Element will contribute the team at a fixed subsidised compensation, as well as an established pipeline of large-scale projects and partnerships.
Commenting on the transaction, Clean TeQ’s CEO Peter Voigt says it comes amid an exciting time for the company as it looks to leverage its technologies into market segments that are long-term value accretive.
“The JV with Future Element combines years of technical innovation and development with highly credentialled and commercially orientated executives to deliver solutions to the mining industry for its most critical problems.
We aim to transform the industry and lead with environmentally sound tailings rehabilitation while generating material cashflows from what were previously considered waste management liabilities.”
Mine tailings are the waste solids that remain after separating the targeted minerals of a mining operation from the remaining uneconomic minerals.
The global inventory of mine tailings is estimated at 282 billion tonnes, with 16 billion tonnes of new mine tailings are being produced every year, which Clean TeQ says represente a significant opportunity to use its technologies to convert liabilities into valuable assets.
The mining industry’s social licence to operate depends on environmentally sound tailings rehabilitation. Clean TeQ’s strategy is to raise environmental standards and reduce tailings management costs via sustainable metal production and enhanced water management.
Future Element was founded by John Carr and Patrick Walta, who also founded New Century Resources (ASX:NCZ) and were responsible for the acquisition and re-development of the Century Zine Mine in Queensland into Australia’s largest ever tailings reprocessing operations.
Since restarting operations at the existing Central Mine, New Century Resources has delivered over 1 million tonnes of zinc concentrate into the global market, while also delivering material reductions to the rehabilitation footprint of the mine site.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Clean TeQ
