Vulcan Mobilises Second Drill Rig at Lionheart

Vulcan Energy (ASX:VUL) has started mobilising a second in-house drill rig to Lionheart, its geothermal lithium project in Germany, so that well delivery can run at more than one site in parallel.

The refurbished rig, V10, is operated by Vulcan's in-house drilling company Vercana and is moving to Trappelberg, the fourth Lionheart well site, where it will join the existing rig, V20. Vulcan has invested approximately €51m (approximately $A82m) in the two rigs, which it says maintains control over field development timelines and avoids reliance on third party providers. Seven production or re-injection wells are already in place at Lionheart, against a targeted 28-well program. V10 is a heavy-duty rig with 2,000 horsepower and 500 tonnes of hook load capacity. Lionheart targets production capacity of 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide monohydrate per annum, plus 275 GWh of renewable power and 560 GWh of heat per annum, over an estimated 30-year project life, with first production targeted in H2 2028. The project is under construction with take-or-pay lithium offtake contracts.

The release gives no revised drilling schedule, cost per well or update to project capital costs. The 24,000 tonne target comes from a 2023 Bridging Engineering Study, and the on time and on budget description is the company's own.