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COAL INTO OIL i
CSR, Mitsui sigit
for $ 3 m study
MELBOURNE: A $3-million,
15-month feasibility study into the
conversion of La Trobe Valley
brown coal into oil and other prod
ucts will be undertaken by CSR Ltd
and the Japanese group, Mitsui.
The study is likely to lead to a coal
to-oil plant, which could cost SI,500
million on 1980 figures, operating from
1987.
The formal agreement was signed in
Melbourne yesterday by the general
manager of CSR, Mr Gordon Jackson,
and the executive vice-president of the
Mitsui SRC Development Company,
Mr Akira Sasaki.
The study is to evaluate the technical,
economic and environmental viability of
building a plant to handle 6,000 tonnes
of dry coal a day to produce oil, sol
vents, refined coal, carbon anode and
carbon fibre.
It would involve the open cut mining
of seven million tonnes of brown coal
a year.
It was stated that a coalfield would
be allocated to the joint project in the
next few weeks.
CSR said that, using Mitsui technol
ogy, the study also would evaluate the
further processing in Australia of the
products.
Later expansion of the plant's proc
essing capacity could be achieved by
duplication of units. The projcct at all
stages would offer significant em
ployment opportunities in the La Trobe
Valley.
CSR would be responsible for the
evaluation of mining, infrastructure,
transport, marketing in Australia, en
vironmental and socia-economic impact
studies, industrial relations and talks
with governments and authorities.
Economic analyses and the com
mercialisation plan would be the re
sponsibility of Mitsui and CSR jointly.
The general manager of CSR's
energy division, Mr E. F. Herbert, and
Mr Sasaki, would head an executive
committee to supervise the study.
Target date of completion of the
study was June 30 next year.
The Premier, Mr Hamer, said other
international companies, such as Rhein
braun (West Germany), Kominic
(Japan) and Arco (USA), also were
moving towards oil-from-coal plants in
Victoria in partnership with Australian
companies.
$