Specialist mining services provider Aquirian Ltd., Perth, Western Australia, on March 12 announced that the licensing submission for the 110,000 mt/y Wubin Ammonium Nitrate Emulsion Plant in Wubin, Western Australia, is complete and the license has been granted to the company’s subsidiary, Western Energetics Pty Ltd., by the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS).
“We look forward to completing the financial settlement and formal acquisition of the plant as we restart production at the facility over the coming weeks,” said Aquirian Managing Director David Kelley.
The licensing approval was one of the final conditions for the financial settlement and ownership transfer of the plant to Aquirian. The company announced the purchase of the facility from South Korean conglomerate Hanwha in October 2023. The company said it paid A$9.6 million, with March 2023 independent valuations at $15 million, which indicated a replacement cost of $18 million.
The facility was built and commissioned in 2020 and is production-ready. It was put into care and maintenance in 2021 as part of Hanwha’s strategic decision to exit the bulk explosives market in Australia. Hanwha sold its other emulsion production facilities in Queensland and New South Wales to Orica Ltd. earlier in 2023.
Aquirian said the Wubin facility has 1,500 mt of storage with plans for 10,000 mt. It said the plant has access to 1.25 million mt/y of explosives demand in Western Australia. The company said it has experienced significant interest in the facility’s capacity to supply emulsions and storage to a broad range of potential customers, with several commercial discussions ongoing.