By: Mike Woloschuk, executive director, Critical Minerals
Critical minerals, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, rare earth elements and platinum group metals, are vital to modern life. They are essential building blocks for everything from smart phones and electric vehicle batteries to medical devices and national defense applications. The International Energy Agency projects that by 2040, clean energy mineral demand will quadruple to reach climate objectives per the Paris Agreement, but the current long-term supply outlooks are not sufficient. Mining companies are racing to meet this demand.
With a dedicated critical minerals team, Fluor is working across the globe on nearly 20 critical minerals’ projects, ranging from early studies to full execution. Across projects, three key factors are improving time to market and production outlooks for these vital raw materials.
1. Government support and funding
The current average 16-year timeline from discovering a mineral deposit to production is not sufficient to meet the rising demand. Completing the regulatory processes and securing financing to advance through lengthy approval processes are two primary drivers in this development timeline.
To compress this cycle, governments are streamlining the regulatory framework and providing funding to secure domestic supply chains. Fluor has a dedicated team working with several developers to navigate the regulatory processes, connect them to government funding opportunities and complete funding applications.
The U.S. Department of Energy recently granted a conditional, up to $700 million loan for the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project in Nevada, for which Fluor will provide engineering, procurement and construction services. Similarly, Fluor is the engineering, procurement and construction management partner for Iluka’s rare earths refinery in Western Australia that is being developed with the support of an Australian government loan and is the highest-grade rare earths development project globally. Both projects will deliver key metals required to transition to a more electrified economy.
For developers to obtain third-party financing, successfully completing due diligence is a crucial step. Since 2007, Fluor has played a key role in the design and construction of 40-plus concentrator projects valued at more than $60 billion across a range of commodities. Fluor has the project execution expertise, including the development of capital cost estimates, to facilitate the successful completion of third-party due diligence efforts.
2. New, cost-competitive technologies
New technologies, such as direct lithium extraction using selective ion exchange or other adsorption media and nanofiltration, are being developed. They deliver significant improvements to recovery rates, reduced costs and key environmental advantages, including lower water consumption and carbon footprints. Projects previously considered uneconomic are now advancing, thereby unlocking extraction potential for many of the world’s critical mineral resources.
Fluor’s global network of critical minerals subject matter experts are well-versed across these and other technologies and help clients select the best approaches, considering costs and constructability, while protecting intellectual property. For example, Fluor recently helped Jindalee Resources Ltd select a preferred lithium extraction process that conceptually offers the best financial outcome for its McDermitt project, which is the largest non-brine lithium deposit in the world.
3. Compressed execution schedules
One of the biggest schedule challenges is the long delivery cycles for key equipment on critical minerals projects. Fluor tightens this schedule in several ways, including early vendor engagement and innovative tools to accelerate engineering, procurement and construction durations.
Fluor has a suite of data-driven tools that provide project teams with the right information at the right time. Executing with “data as a deliverable,” Fluor shares 3D models with technology providers, fabricators and constructors. Advanced work packaging tools introduce efficiencies and allow some overlap to reduce construction and commissioning schedules.
Leveraging a $16 billion annual procurement spend and global supply chain network, Fluor can maximize schedule acceleration for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) engineering, equipment and material delivery. These capabilities help projects complete within schedule and on budget.
Engineering for construction including facility footprint optimization and modularization are two other opportunities reducing project development timelines. Anytime execution schedules can be compressed and projects ramped up quickly to maximum production levels, the positive impacts on the project’s net present value can be significant. The company’s multidisciplinary set up, expertise in project execution and deep reach into the engineering and construction value chain make Fluor a strong partner in the development of capital projects.
The production outlook for critical minerals is strong, and Fluor is taking a leading role in improving the time to market for these materials vital for modern life. Teams are equipped to effectively address complex challenges and bring innovative, sustainable solutions to realization.