Annual Report 2016
Sydney, Sep 9, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Broken Hill Prospecting Ltd (
ASX:BPL) are pleased to provide the Company's Annual Report 2016.
MARKET OUTLOOK
Technological shifts in the global energy sector are a driving force toward a renewed future for Broken Hill Prospecting. The Thackaringa Cobalt Project is poised to become a significant source of ethical and sustainable cobalt.
Reuters reported in mid-2016 that cobalt prices would likely rise around 45 per cent by 2020 as stricter emissions controls push global demand for electric vehicles, the news agency calling it "a stampede for cobalt".
Thackaringa is a relatively rare, increasingly attractive commodity story. The Company's tenements at Thackaringa cover near-surface cobalt deposits with approximately 30,000 tonnes of contained cobalt metal01.
Most cobalt (around 94 per cent of present global supply according to the Cobalt Development Institute) is mined as a by-product of nickel or copper and so its supply is dependent upon the levels of production of those two base metals. Hence the race to secure primary cobalt resources.
U.S. battery technology commentator John Petersen recently coined the term "Cobalt Cliff". He has forecast that with reduction in nickel mining due to low prices for that metal, he expects world supply of cobalt to fall by at least 15 per cent. Petersen's case is that it will be the lithiumion battery makers that face the "cobalt cliff" when they come to compete for cobalt supplies.
The supply crunch is already on the way as the electric vehicle (EV) sector accelerates. Ford Motor Co is investing $US4.5 billion in new EV capacity; Porsche AG announced a EUR700 million investment in EV assembly lines, Nevada-based Faraday Future plans to spend $US1 billion to build intelligent EVs; General Motors is fast tracking production of the Chevy Bolt; and Audi, BMW, Mercedes, China's BYD, Renault, Nissan and Volkswagen have all announced EV plans.
The strong support of BPL shareholders for the share purchase plan will now allow your Company to accelerate work at the Thackaringa Cobalt Project with a new program of drilling. This will enable us to plan development options for this world-scale resource at a time when demand for cobalt is strengthening.
Recent advances in technology also have worked to the Company's advantage in terms of its heavy mineral sands (HMS) project. In 2014 Broken Hill Prospecting acquired a large portfolio of HMS prospects south of Broken Hill.
While these had previously been investigated by other mineral explorers, recent advances in technology have result in lowercost and competitive processing options for heavy mineral sands, unlocking an opportunity to take a fresh look at these HMS prospects.
Significant new supply of heavy minerals entered the market over the past two years, leading to a steep decline in prices.
However, new applications are emerging and Credit Suisse reports that Ti02 pigment prices are rising - led by China. The investment bank concluded that higher pigment prices are likely to be transmitted into some upside for mineral sands feedstock prices.
Credit Suisse said ilmenite had the strongest near-term price growth due to previous closures of mines in China where ilmenite is produced as a by-product of iron ore mining.
Australia has the world's largest deposits of the titanium metals ilmenite and rutile and is a substantial producer of zircon.
To view the report, please visit:
http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/GZ01217V
About Broken Hill Prospecting Ltd
Broken Hill Prospecting Ltd (ASX:BPL) is an Australian exploration company focussed on the discovery and development of strategic mineral resources across two primary geographical areas; the Murray Basin Region (Heavy Mineral Sands) and the Broken Hill Region (industrial, base and precious metals, including the Thackaringa Cobalt & Base/Precious Metal Project).
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