WALNUT, Calif., Sept. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- VIASPACE Inc.
(OTC: VSPC) today reported more details on the Giant King Grass
bioenergy project being pursued by Harmony Gold Mining Company
Limited of South Africa. Below is
an article by Chantelle Kotze in the
Mining Weekly, which is available at
http://www.miningweekly.com/article/r47-million-bio-energy-project-under-development-by-harmony-2014-08-22.
"Gold miner Harmony Gold is
implementing a R47-million bioenergy pilot-scale project involving
the growing of bio crops, namely giant king grass and sugarbeet, on
mine-impacted land and tailings in the Free State.
The project aims to simultaneously rehabilitate the impacted
land in a bid to clean up the land and return it to an agricultural
state.
Speaking at Harmony Gold's fourth- quarter results presentation,
held in Johannesburg earlier this
month, CEO Graham Briggs said that, while
renewable-energy applications in mining were not new, combining
renewables with bioenergy and land rehabilitation was and that was
what made this project unique.
The bio crops will be used as feedstock to generate natural gas.
The natural gas will then be used as a substitute for fossil fuels
in the company's Harmony 1 metallurgical plant, where it will be
burnt in place of polyfuel in the gold elution circuits.
As part of this process, Harmony
Gold will also convert its electrical and polyfuel methods
of heating the water needed in the elution process to biogas
heating.
Phase 1 of the project aims to deliver 71 000 GJ within the
first 18 months, with production being ramped up to 187 000 GJ
within the first 36 months.
'This project aims to turn mine-impacted land to account by
creating a value-added use for it and, in so doing, promote skills
development and job creation for communities and ensure a
sustainable legacy in the Free State,' said Briggs.
One of the main benefits of this project, as noted by Briggs, is
the reduction in the mine's carbon footprint, which can, in turn,
reduce carbon taxes that the mine may potentially incur."
Harmony is the third largest gold mining company in South Africa, and the 5th largest gold
producer in the world. Harmony is a publicly listed company on
the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Berlin Stock Exchange, and the
New York Stock Exchange.
VIASPACE is working with Harmony and Selectra, a pioneer in the
biogas industry in South Africa on
this project.
VIASPACE CEO, Dr. Carl Kukkonen,
stated, "This project has demonstrated that Giant King Grass can
grow in a very difficult and contaminated environment with no
organic matter in the ground We believe that Giant King Grass can
be used to remediate a wide range of contaminated soil and to make
it productive. This is another business opportunity for VIASPACE.
The Giant King Grass grown on this particular contaminated land may
be contaminated itself, so it is not suitable for animal feed or
burning which may put the contaminants into the atmosphere.
However, anaerobic digestion is perfect because it produces clean
biogas and the contaminants are collected in the digestate. We
welcome others interested in biological remediation to contact
VIASPACE."
VIASPACE Chairman, Dr. Kevin
Schewe, commented, "We are in good company with Harmony and
Selectra in South Africa. The
potential commercial applications for Giant King Grass now include
the dual purpose of remediating contaminated soil to produce
biomass energy, biomass electricity production by anaerobic
digestion or direct combustion, pellets to co-fire with coal to
reduce carbon dioxide emissions, production of biofuels and using
GKG for animal feed. This is truly an exciting time for VIASPACE
and its shareholders as we simultaneously build multiple lines of
business and proceed to commercialize Giant King Grass on a global
basis."
Pictures of Giant King Grass growing on the Harmony land in
South Africa are available on the
VIASPACE Facebook page www.facebook.com/viaspaceinc.
About VIASPACE Inc.
VIASPACE grows renewable Giant
KingTM Grass as a low-carbon fuel for clean electricity
generation; for environmentally friendly energy pellets; and as a
feedstock for bio-methane production and for green cellulosic
biofuels, biochemicals and biomaterials. Giant King Grass is a proprietary, high yield,
dedicated biomass energy crop. Giant King
Grass when it is cut frequently at 4 to 9 feet tall is also
excellent animal feed. The USDA granted approval for planting Giant
King Grass throughout the US and cooperates in exporting by
performing the required inspections and issuing the phytosanitary
certificate needed for import into foreign countries. Giant
King Grass is being grown in
California, Arizona, Hawaii, St. Croix Virgin Islands, Nicaragua, South
Africa, China, Myanmar, Pakistan, Guyana and Jamaica. For more
information, please go to www.VIASPACE.com or contact Dr.
Jan Vandersande, Director of
Communications, at 800-517-8050 or IR@VIASPACE.com.
About Selectra
Selectra, established in 1987, is one
of the pioneers of the biogas industry in South Africa.
Selectra utilizes the expertise of experienced biologists and
engineers, to offer the design, development and implementation of
sustainable solutions in the waste, energy and water sectors
globally, to clients in agriculture, industry, mining and
infrastructure. For more information see the Selectra website
http://www.selectra.co.za or contact Dwight Rosslee at
dwight@selectra.co.za.
Safe Harbor Statement
Information in
this news release includes forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements relate to future events or future
performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of
activity, performance or achievements to be materially different
from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. Such factors include, without limitation, risks
outlined in our periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, including Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2013, and
other factors over which VIASPACE has little or no control.
SOURCE VIASPACE Inc.