australia's identified mineral resources 2005 - Geoscience Australia

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AUSTRALIA’S IDENTIFIED MINERAL RESOURCES 2005 Sally Malay open cut nickel mine, Western Australia (Sally Malay Mining Ltd). Redross in September 2004 and at Mariners in the first quarter of 2005, the Independence Gold NL’s Long-Victor, and from Consolidated Minerals Ltd’s Beta Hunt operation. Production also commenced from Sally Malay Mining Ltd’s Sally Malay mine in August 2004 and the company, in a joint venture with Donegal Resources, commenced initial mining at the Lanfrachi mine. Sulphide nickel mining also continued from another four small nickel mines and WMC Resources Ltd’s concentrator at Kambalda processes ores from third party operators. Two laterite nickel mines were in operation: OM Group’s Cawse and Minara Resources NL’s Murrin Murrin. All of these operating nickel mines are in Western Australia where there is a nickel smelter at Kalgoorlie and a refinery at Kwinana. Another refinery is located at Yabulu, Queensland. WMC Resources Ltd commenced ore production from the new 11 Mile Well open pit in late 2004, and production of some 8 000 t of nickel per annum from the recently-acquired Cliffs project, near Mt Keith, is scheduled to start in 2007. 56 WMC Resources Ltd commenced planning for a new milling and concentrator circuit at Mt Keith, which will be combined with the application of a low-pressure-leach plant to treat existing and future stockpiles of talc and low grade ores from Mt Keith and Yakabindie. Nickel production is expected to increase by 25 000 t per annum from 2008-2009. Pre-feasibility work also continues at the Yakabindie nickel deposit, 26 km south of Mt Keith, with metallurgical testing under way. WMC Resources Ltd is planning to start production around the end of the decade to replace expected declining production from Kambalda. In 2005, WMC Resources Ltd was the subject of a successful takeover by BHP Billiton. In early 2004, BHP Billiton approved the Ravensthorpe Nickel Project in Western Australia and the Yabulu Extension Project in Queensland. Development cost for the mine site at Ravensthorpe is estimated at US$1.05 billion (~A$1.38 billion) and US$350 million (~A$460 million) for the expansion of the refinery. The Ravensthorpe project includes the development of an open cut mine, treatment
AUSTRALIA’S IDENTIFIED MINERAL RESOURCES 2005 plant and associated infrastructure and is based on three laterite nickel deposits with a combined proved and probable reserves of 236 Mt at 0.67% Ni and 0.03% Co. The company plans annual production of up to 220 000 t of mixed nickel-cobalt hydroxide intermediate product at Ravensthorpe containing up to 50 000 t of nickel and 1 400 t of cobalt, to be shipped from Esperance to Townsville, in Queensland, for refining at the QNI Yabulu refinery. The metal refining section of the refinery is being expanded to increase production to 76 000 t of nickel and 3 500 t cobalt. Engineering, procurement activities and site works were on schedule at both sites and production is planned to start in the second quarter of 2007. In late 2004 LionOre Mining International Limited made a successful takeover offer for MPI Mines Ltd that resulted in MPI becoming a fully owned subsidiary of LionOre. The takeover resulted in LionOre having 80% control over the Black Swan and the Honeymoon nickel sulphide deposits. In May 2004 ore production commenced from the disseminated nickel sulphide in the Black Swan open pit to supplement mill feed from the Silver Swan underground operations being fed to the Black Swan concentrator. During 2004 the concentrator processed 183 229 t of ore at 5.5% Ni from the underground massive nickel sulphides and 113 617 t at 0.82% Ni from the open pit disseminated ore. Feasibility studies are nearing completion into the viability of upgrading the Black Swan plant from its present throughput of 600 000 t per annum to 1–2 Mt to optimise the open pit operation. In the Lake Johnstone Operations, LionOre continued development of the Maggie Hays deposit and an upgrade of the nearby Emily Ann processing plant to 500 000 t per annum was completed during late 2004. A feasibility study is currently in progress to evaluate the viability of mining the large disseminated nickel sulphide along with the smaller high grade massive sulphides at Maggie Hays and a decision on development alternatives is expected in the third quarter of 2005. Prior to its takeover by LionOre Mining International Ltd, MPI Mines Ltd reported that a pre-feasibility study indicated that a proposed 250 000 tpa underground operation at Wedgetail (part of Honeymoon Well Project) is viable. An indicated and inferred resource of 1.07 Mt at 6.9% Ni was defined. LionOre Mining International Ltd announced that a feasibility study was commenced by its subsidiary, MPI Mines Ltd, in 2005 to consider the exploitation of the Honeymoon Well Project resource. The study is planned to be completed by the first quarter of 2006. In April 2004 LionOre purchased the Bulong lateritic nickel processing plant near Kalgoorlie and commenced a feasibility study into converting the plant into a nickel sulphide hydrometallurgical facility, utilising its proprietary Activox process, to produce 20 000–40 000 t nickel metal per annum. LionOre owns 80% of the Activox process and plans to complete the study in 2005. Production from Jubilee Mines NL Cosmos Deep ore body in 2004 amounted to 12 297 t Ni. By early 2005 an exploration decline was completed from the Cosmos Deep mine for 350 m to the Alec Mairs deposit, about 550 m below surface. Access to the deposit will be developed following results of an underground drilling program from the decline. An initial resource estimate was announced for Anomaly 1 of 36 Mt at 0.74% Ni at a cut off grade of 0.45% Ni. This deposit is 350 m south of the Cosmos Mine and may be amenable to open cut development. A zone of nickel mineralisation was also being delineated about 500 m below the surface at the Prospero prospect (Anomaly 3), about 4.5 km south of the Cosmos mine. By mid 2005 the company announced an inferred resource of 960 000 t at 5.4% Ni. 57 Western Areas NL completed a feasibility study for its Flying Fox T1 deposit and development work commenced in late 2004 to access the deposit at about 400 m depth. In mid 2005 the company announced an updated probable ore reserve for its T1 deposit containing about 15 000 t Ni. Ore production from T1 is expected to commence in the June Quarter of 2006. The mine development will be extended to the deeper T4 and T5 deposits provided that sufficient reserves can be established. The company is planning to complete feasibility studies in 2005 for the Diggers South and New Morning/Daybreak deposits. A feasibility study is also being conducted for a proposal to build a nickel concentration plant at Cosmic Boy, half way between Flying Fox and Diggers South.
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