WA Kaolin Ltd (ASX:WAK) has passed another milestone in Stage 1 construction of the Wickepin Kaolin Project with three FG Wilson P550 generators from AllightSykes purchased, tested and delivered to the project site awaiting installation.
These Gensets are key components of the Stage 1 build as they provide the main power source for the entire site.
The purchase and subsequent successful testing of the Gensets, combined with the recently signed LNG and water supply contracts, comprise the Stage 1 utilities package and will enable WA Kaolin to complete the package.
“Really coming together”
CEO Andrew Sorensen said, “The Wickepin Stage 1 build is really coming together now, and it is exciting that we have reached another major milestone in the project’s development with key components such as the Gensets passing factory testing.
"The units have now been shipped to site and installation and connection to the motor control centre will occur in the coming month.”
Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) of the three units took place at AllightSykes’ Landsdale in Western Australia and included a load test to confirm operation and the fuel consumption at various electrical loads up to 440kw per unit.
Factory Acceptance Testing at AllightSykes’ Landsdale location.
WA Kaolin will use USLD10ppm diesel fuel and service the diesel engines in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations for optimum performance and to minimise emissions.
It is the company’s intention in 2022 to source renewable solutions which will include solar panels to reduce the fuel used in the thermal generation plant, the engineering for which will be based on the first six months of operating data from the kaolin beneficiation plant.
“Sensible solution”
AllightSykes is a market leader in the design, manufacturing and distribution of lighting, dewatering and power solutions in Australia and New Zealand with its CEO Gus Elliott saying: “AllightSykes is proud to supply WA Kaolin three synchronised 550kVA Gensets for their site in Wickepin.
"Through providing a sensible solution to WA Kaolin’s power requirements, the system is able to accommodate the variations in load.
"AllightSykes worked collaboratively with WA Kaolin to customise the offering, with this significant project milestone delivered at the beginning of September.”
About Wickepin
The Wickepin Kaolin Project, 220 kilometres southeast of Perth, contains a JORCE 2012-compliant mineral resource of 644.5 million tonnes of high-grade premium kaolinised granite.
This is one of the world’s largest known remaining premium primary resources of kaolin and is characterised by its purity, quality and brightness, producing kaolin products that typically attract higher prices from a growing collection of top tier customers.
With more than $42 million invested in the project prior to the company’s IPO in November 2020, WA Kaolin has developed a proprietary dry processing method, known as K99, to turn raw material into market suitable feedstock for global customers, and constructed a small-scale commercial processing plant on 3 hectares of portside industrial land at Kwinana, WA.
The company is focused on increasing production from Wickepin to 400,000 tonnes per annum by 2023 with further modular increases to capacity to be implemented in tune with market demand and funding capability.