Gulf secures Kupang smelting hub facility power supply
Thursday, November 9 2017 - 02:14 AM WIB
ASX-listed Gulf Manganese Corporation Limited announced on Thursday that its wholly-owned Indonesian subsidiary PT Gulf Mangan Grup has executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with state-owned power utility PT PLN for the provision of up to 20 MVA power supply to the company?s Kupang smelting hub facility in East Nusa Tenggara Province.
The company said in a statement the MOU covers the supply of power to the Kupang Facility and is valid for 12 months from the signing date, which may be extended when required. The technical implementation of this MOU will be outlined in a Power Purchase Agreement which is expected to be executed by end of December 2017.
Elsewhere, Gulf said that the company?s ongoing smelter refurbishment program in South Africa remains on- track and is expected to be finalized this quarter. Gulf?s in-country team is also actively working towards obtaining the approvals required to allow the commencement of Direct Shipped Ore (DSO) (>49% Mn) sales from Kupang and will provide further updates to the market on this strategy in the near-term.
Gulf?s Managing Director, Hamish Bohannan, commented, ?The securing of power supply to the Kupang Facility is a significant achievement by the business which further de-risks the project?s near- term development.?
He said that in addition to power, Gulf has also recently secured its initial ore supply from local miners and both of these agreements with key local partners are a testament to the skill and commitment of its in- country staff.
?Following securing of the final $1.5 million funding commitment which closes out the recent A$12m capital raise, Gulf is now well positioned to execute a number of key operational milestones over the coming months, including the shipment of the two smelting furnaces from South Africa to the Kupang site.?
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak