On September 10, 2012 Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. (the "Company") (TSX-V: NOB, FRANKFURT: NB7, OTC.PK: NLPXF) announced that preliminary evaluation of the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) sequestration (Carbon Dioxide Capture & Storage) potential on Project 81 is in excess of 500,000 tonnes CO2 per year for more than 30 years initially, generating a potentially significant revenue stream.
Mikro-Tek of Timmins
has been retained by the Company to complete a 2-part full feasibility
study on the Carbon Sequestration potential on this 100% privately owned
60,701 hectares (149,000 acres) forested land package known as Project
81. This land package is one of the largest freehold land packages in
the province if not the country to which all rights (surface, mineral
and timber) have been retained by the company.
Project
81 is located within the Northern Ontario Boreal Biome. Globally, the
boreal biome is the world's largest and most important forest carbon
storehouse holding almost twice as much carbon per unit area as tropical
rain forests. Canada's boreal forest
stores about 71.4 billion tonnes of carbon in its forest ecosystems and
136.7 billion tonnes in its peatland ecosystems.
Recent articles in the national media highlight the Shell, Marathon Oil and Chevron $1.35- billion Quest Capture and Storage Project to capture one million tonnes CO2
per year from their Scotford Upgrader and store it 2 km underground,
helping to reduce the carbon footprint of their Athabasca Oil Sands
project in Alberta. This project puts into focus the cost and importance of Carbon Dioxide capture and storage requirements in Canada, as we all work toward a lower carbon future.
Carbon Credits are being sold on the open markets in Europe at $10 tonne CO2, but recent reports and analysis by independent observers have this price pegged at between $14 and $30 per tonne CO2.
Vance White said that "at the current market price of US$10.00 per tonne of CO2,
and a sequestration analysis indicating approximately 500,000 tonnes
per year, it is estimated that Noble's gross revenue would be in the
order of $5 million per year for the next 30 years with an operating cost of approximately $500,000
per year. In other words, the business model is really a royalty stream
– just by managing the trees to optimise the carbon sequestration
potential of the forest. The pricing used for Shell's Quest Project is $15 per tonne with a proposed CO2 sequestration of one million tonnes annually. Assuming these prices are attained in Ontario,
the sale of carbon credits would have a significant impact on Noble's
free cash flow available to build the company. This business model would
make Noble a self financing company for years to come and at the same
time allow us to aggressively pursue the multiple mineral targets on
Project 81."
According
to Ecosystem Marketplace, the global market for forest carbon
sequestration credits in 2010 was over 30 million tonnes of CO2 representing over $177 million
(US) in value. Since governments across the world are moving toward
increasingly regulated carbon credit markets, the price and volume of
credits transacted both stand to increase over the next several years. Ontario's CO2
emission was approximately 180 million tonnes in 2008, with the
transportation sector accounting for approximately 60 million tonnes CO2
equivalent. These numbers are expected to increase substantially with
the expansion and development of the Golden Horseshoe Area in Southern Ontario and the mining and smelting sectors in Northern Ontario.
About Mikro-Tek Inc.
Mikro-Tek
is a carbon project developer and supplier of registered carbon offset
credits generated in forestry projects. The company was incorporated in
1983 and was the first Canadian company to register a forestry carbon
project with the United Nations under the Clean Development Mechanism of
the Kyoto Protocol.
About Project 81:
Project
81, the Company's flagship project, is a 72,218 hectare patented and
staked land package divided into 2 blocks. The patents include surface,
mineral and timber rights, and host a significant timber resource plus a
number of zones that have historical exploration identifying nickel and
gold mineralization (these sample results are historical and non 43-101
compliant) from work carried out in the 1960's and 1970's, which have
been confirmed by recent assay results from the current, ongoing drill
program.
Press Release dated September 10, 2012
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