Investor News

Victoria Coldry License Deal Signed

Business leaders gathered in Melbourne today to officially sign the Coldry licence agreement that paves the way to a record export deal that heralds a new, environmentally cleaner future for Victoria's vast brown coal reserves.

A senior Vietnamese trade delegation, led by Vietnam's Minister for Planning and Investment, H.E Vo Hong Phuc, joined Australia's Federal Minister for Trade, Hon. Simon Crean, to officially acknowledge the multi-million-dollar brown coal deal between Melbourne technology company Environmental Clean Technologies (ECT) and Vietnam's TinCom.

ECT and TinCom would like to thank representatives from the Victorian Government's various departments who attended today's ceremony and for their combined efforts towards a project of state and national significance. In addition, we're continually appreciative of Loy Yang Power Station for their vision and assistance, and we look forward to working together to advance the project.

The deal, as announced to the ASX last Thursday (17/06), enables ECT and TinCom, through their joint venture company Victoria Coldry Pty Ltd (VCPL), to export two million tonnes a year of Coldry pellets from early 2014, expanding up to 20 million tonnes a year in its first decade of operations, helping to underpin the energy security of Vietnam's rapidly growing economy.

The agreement signals the first large-scale commercial deployment of ECT's revolutionary brown coal dewatering technology, known as Coldry, proposed for development at Gippsland's Loy Yang Power site.

This patented process enables brown coal to be economically dewatered from 60% down to 12% moisture producing an exportable, black coal equivalent pellet.

ECT's dewatered pellets are more environmentally sound than using raw brown coal and can cut carbon emissions by 30 per cent.

ECT Chief Executive Mr Kos Galtos said this license agreement was an "historic step" for ECT, and concluded almost two years of intense negotiations.

TinCom Chairman Thang van Luong said this revolutionary technology created an environmentally friendly, sustainable energy supply, which was critical for emerging economies around the globe.

"We will build our Victoria Coldry business by supporting the growth of Vietnamese power stations' consumption of high-grade Coldry black coal equivalent pellets, as well as seeking other opportunities to supply the energy needs of China and other emerging nations," he said.

Mr Galtos said the deal meant hundreds of construction jobs could soon be created in the Latrobe Valley but said the implications of the deal were more far-reaching.

"Coldry technology is a revolutionary way of using what is a world-class lignite asset", he said.

"Victoria has around thirty billion tonnes of economically winnable brown coal, which to date has predominantly been used for local power generation."

Under the terms of the agreement, ECT will draw a royalty of $5 for every tonne, resulting in revenues from this project of $10 million a year in phase one, increasing to $100 million a year after 2020.

The Coldry plant is expected to be fully operational by late 2013 or early 2014.

About TinCom Pty Ltd

TinCom is an investment and commercial company based in Vietnam with interests in real estate development, trading, fund management, manufacturing, construction, brewing, and pharmaceutical industries. It plans to build its Victoria Coldry Pty Ltd business by promoting the use of Coldry black coal equivalent pellets to Vietnamese power stations as well as seeking opportunities to supply the energy needs of China and other emerging nations.

Its head offices are based in Hanoi.

For Further Information Contact:

Kos Galtos - Chief Executive +61 3 9909 7684 or [email protected]