Coal Exploration: Prospects For Southland Lignite Development
March 9th, 2010
American regulators have approved an experimental North Dakota coal-drying plant which has imported more than 400 tonnes of NZ lignite to test in the hope the same process can be used in Southland. But Solid Energy project manager Greg Visser says the processing of the coal has been put back to this month or early next month after delays to construction of the plant by a ferocious winter. GTL Energy USA is building the plant to test a process called beneficiation which removes water and pollutants from lignite. Solid Energy sent its trial shipment to North Dakota in the expectation it will produce about 280 tonnes of briquettes, after the water is removed from the lignite. Nearly 200 tonnes will be sent back to NZ for trials among potential clients. If successful Solid Energy plans a joint venture with GTL Energy to investigate building a briquetting plant at the former paper mill at Mataura, 10 km east of its New Vale mine.
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