Silverado Unveils New Fuel Technology
8 May 2000
A production facility will be established at the Grant Mill of Silverado Gold Mines in Fairbanks, Alaska, to produce a new, low-cost, environmentally friendly liquid fuel.
Silverado President and Chief Executive Officer, Garry Anselmo, said that the product is a replacement for oil in areas such as the Pacific Rim where there is a multi-billion dollar market for the new fuel in the manufacturing industries and power generating utilities. A retrofitting of Silverado’s Grant Mill is part of a program to create the world’s first commercial low-rank coal-water fuel facility by using a unique hydrothermal treatment process. Also participating in the venture is the University of Alaska’s Mineral Industry Research Laboratory at Fairbanks, Great Northern Engineering, and Coal Water Fuel Services, leading experts in the manufacture of the low-rank coal-water fuel.
Alaska has some of the world’s largest reserves of what is called Low Rank Coal (LRC) and is able to provide a reliable long-term supply for the new fuel. (A detailed explanation of the technology may be reviewed on Silverado’s website: www.silverado.com.)
Mr. Anselmo said the liquid fuel, which has been validated in pilot plants in Australia, Japan and the United States, offers a range of solutions and answers to efficiency and environmental issues. He pointed out the new product is very different today than the public perception of fossil fuels of the past, adding that besides being environmentally friendly the new low-rank coal-water fuel is safe, secure and cost effective.
Since one third of the world’s population does not have access to commercial energy, Mr. Anselmo pointed out that the future demand for the new product would be dominated by the Asian region providing a viable energy source and making a major contribution to an improved standard of living for people in these developing countries.
