Name of the Project
Speewah vanadium/titanium/iron project.

Location
Speewah comprises the Central, Buckman and Red Hill deposits on the western part of the Northern Australian Craton, in Western Australia.

Project Owner/s
Critical minerals company Tivan.

Project Description
Speewah is the largest, highest-grade vanadium-in-titanomagnetite resource in the world.

Tivan is focused on the initial development of a conventional salt-roast processing operation at Speewah to produce vanadium oxides and ferrovanadium. The salt-roast pathway is considered the optimal approach to start commercialisation of the Speewah resource and vanadium production.

The project will comprise mining, beneficiation and processing operations integrated at the mine site.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start/End Date
First production is scheduled for 2027.

Latest Developments
Tivan has reported progress in negotiations with Sumitomo towards establishing a binding joint venture (JV) for the development, financing, and operation of the Speewah project.

The negotiations follow the execution of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in December, outlining the nonbinding terms for the JV. Over the past three months, both parties have worked to finalise no fewer than eight interrelated agreements necessary for the JV's establishment.

Ahead of the JV’s formation, Tivan has advanced several preparatory workstreams, including incorporating new holding and special purpose vehicles for restructuring its ownership of the project, completing contractual arrangements for the Speewah project acquisition, and removing security over the project. Legal and tax due diligence have been conducted on the JV structure, securing ATO clearance certificates, and obtaining a pretransaction stamp duty determination from RevenueWA. 

Further, a share placement has been completed to ensure contingency funding for the project schedule, and various workstreams for the feasibility study under way have progressed.

Reflecting the advanced stage of negotiations, Tivan expects Sumitomo to soon submit an application to the Australian government’s Foreign Investment Review Board for approval of its proposed investment in the JV.

Both parties remain engaged in finalising the binding JV agreements and expect an execution in early April. To facilitate this, they have agreed to extend the exclusivity arrangements under the MoU until April 15, 2025.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Hatch (prefeasibility study review).

Contact Details for Project Information
Tivan, tel +61 8 9327 0900 or email engagement@tivan.com.au.