Sydney, Tuesday 11 November 2008 – White Energy Company Limited (White Energy (ASX:WEC)) is pleased to announce that it has signed a joint venture agreement with an entity managed by Black River Asset Management LLC (Black River), an independently managed subsidiary of Cargill, under which White Energy and Black River will jointly develop and commercialise White Energy’s coal upgrading technology throughout Africa.
White Energy and Black River will establish a special purpose company (the Company) to be held 51% by White Energy and 49% by Black River. The Company will actively originate, develop, construct and operate coal upgrading plants in Africa either on its own or in conjunction with companies in Africa having access to appropriate coal reserves and/or power companies looking to increase their energy output. The Company will have the exclusive rights to utilise White Energy’s coal upgrading technology on the African continent.
The African market represents a significant opportunity for White Energy’s coal upgrading process. In addition to the traditional application of White Energy’s technology, namely the upgrading of lower rank coal reserves to increase the coal’s energy efficiency, there is also significant further opportunity for the Company in Africa relating to the treatment and processing of discard coal fines. The White Energy process can also be used as a means of producing stable and transportable lump coal from unwanted undersized fractions of high energy bituminous coals…