Deal: MinterEllison has advised Hillgrove Resources in its sale of rights for development of a South Australian pumped hydro energy storage project.

Value: $31 million

Area: Energy, resources

Key players: MinterEllison’s lead partner for the deal was Andrew Corletto.

He was supported by partners Paul Ingram, Stephen Hill, Jeremy Hill, and Clay Wohling, with senior associate Cianan Hehir and associate Russell Jones.

Deal significance: Hillgrove Resources Limited has sold the development rights to a pumped hydro energy storage project at its Kanmantoo mine site in South Australia.

Hillgrove Resources is a copper and gold producer with production and exploration assets in the state.

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According to MinterEllison, the delivery of the project “will transform a mining site into one of Australia’s lowest cost electricity storage projects, at a time when synchronous generation and bulk storage is required”.

The project is expected to have a generating capacity of 250 megawatts and eight hours of storage, which makes it the largest storage capacity in South Australia, a statement said.

The firm has outlined that the rationale for the project stemmed from a need for cost-effective storage to deal with volatility in electricity prices and the reliability of supply.

MinterEllison’s role has included advising on the structure of the transaction, preparation of tender documents, and the leading of negotiations on the transaction documents.

“With open cut mining set to scale back in the next 12-18 months, the development of the PHES project at the Kanmantoo site presents itself as a great opportunity for Hillgrove to generate added value from an existing asset in an area outside of the scope of its core business,” according to lead partner Andrew Corletto.

“This project is the largest storage capacity in the South Australian energy market, and the relative scarcity of PHES projects in Australia makes this transaction unique,” he continued.

“We have acted for Hillgrove on a range of corporate and transactional matters for many years, and look forward to seeing the PHES project play a positive role for the South Australian energy market,” Mr Corletto noted.

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