Mining magnate Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Neighborhood (FMG) has lodged applications to detect huge tracts of WA’s south hover for serious minerals.
Key good points:
- The mining exploration licences embrace tenements terminate to Ravensthorpe where lithium and nickel are mined
- A resource analyst says FMG will most certainly be taking a investigate cross-take a look at for materials old in renewable batteries
- The firm is positioning itself as a renewable vitality firm, the analyst says
The WA billionaire owns FMG, which has lodged virtually two dozen applications by the mining regulatory body this month.
The 21 applications are for tenements in an home stretching from Gnowangerup to Ravensthorpe and Lake King.
FMG is a West Australian mining firm that focuses on the exploration, construction, manufacturing and processing of iron ore, with most of its property positioned in the direct’s Pilbara location.
FMG remained tight-lipped when puzzled by the ABC about which minerals it became taking a investigate cross-take a look at for in the Mammoth Southern, nonetheless it completely has been ramping up its detect lithium.
Lithium is in excessive quiz of due to it is old in batteries for skills and electric vehicles.
The commodity is precious due to of its excessive charge and low atomic mass.
Hundreds of minerals in Ravensthorpe embrace nickel and cobalt.
Battery minerals in excessive quiz of
MineLife senior resource analyst Gavin Wendt said FMG would be taking a investigate cross-take a look at for battery materials and assorted metals that would possibly maybe well proceed into renewable vitality.
“Fortescue is an increasing selection of positioning itself as a renewable vitality firm, and it be taking a investigate cross-take a look at in the direction of these future-facing commodities because the sector moves in the direction of renewable vitality,” he said.
“There is a right impart replacement accessible for resource corporations.
“We’re initiating to take into yarn the sector’s main miners … realise that they want to salvage their palms on these strategic materials due to of the develop in quiz of that goes to scheme by over the ensuing decades.”
Fortescue has no longer explored mining solutions in the Mammoth Southern and Esperance home sooner than, nonetheless Mr Wendt said in most up-to-date years greater corporations had been going “additional off the crushed [track]”.
“Ravensthorpe already has a magnificent history in the case of lithium, nickel and tantalum mines,” he said.
“Of course, we have bought the Greenbushes mine, which is the sector’s greatest laborious rock lithium operation, in the location.
“It be a in actuality doable location, nonetheless it completely doubtlessly hasn’t viewed the stage of exploration that is justified over the decades, so I mediate that is about to substitute.”
Alongside with mining exploration, Dr Forrest has a sustainable shellfish enterprise in Albany by Harvest Toll road.