Page 38 - pd277-Nov19-mag-final-web_Neat

NICKEL CONFERENCE REVIEW

Exploration bright after Kambalda

fter several years when its ongoing turn with new managing director Da- body, which has emerged as the central
Aparticipation looked in doubt, Mincor vid Southam re-establishing the com- pillar of the company’s mining plans.
Resources NL returned to the opening pany’s mining credentials amid a resur- The development of Cassini is proof
session of the Australian Nickel Confer- gent nickel sector. In May, the company there is still life left in the 50-year Kam-
ence with a message of production re- picked up the Long nickel mine from IGO balda nickel field. And, the purchase of
bounds and exploration opportunities. and in August upgraded the new Cassini Long gives Mincor the most dominant
For many years Mincor was part of the deposit resource to 985,000t @ 3.8% for ground position in the district since WMC
Australian junior nickel quartet alongside 37,800t nickel. walked away two decades ago.
Independence Group NL (IGO), Western The company is now preparing to re- Mincor and IGO were the major ben-
Areas Ltd and Panoramic Resources lease a DFS on a Kambalda restart by eficiaries of WMC’s departure but the
the end of the calendar split ground meant Kambalda was never
year. again subjected to a unified exploration
Southam, who left fellow push.
nickel producer Western “The two companies never found a
Areas to take up the Mincor way to work together on exploration but
role, said the company had the Long acquisition allows us to operate
momentum on its side. the entire complex,” Southam said.
“We are in the right com- Mincor is eager to test targets which
modity at the right time,” fell on the former IGO/Mincor boundary
he said, pointing to falling and already has two underground rigs
nickel stocks on the LME turning at the Spanner prospect. The
and SHFE and increasing company is also drilling under the Durkin
demand from both stain- orebody.
less steel and EV markets. “There has only been $20 million spent
The company has on greenfields exploration in the last 20
tapped into the diversified years; that’s criminal. We have a num-
demand, signing a new ber of geological theories we want to test
offtake agreement with and we think we can link up the entire
BHP Nickel West to send system at depth.”
ore to the Kambalda con- Drilling is ongoing at Cassini with the
centrator. August resource upgrade being followed
“I can say the terms of by hits of 15.4m @ 4.7% and 6.3m @
the offtake are modern 7.1% nickel in September. Southam said
and we are pleased with the exploration team planned to move
the commitment BHP back to the initial Cassini discovery
Nickel West has shown,” holes which were never followed up for
David Southam Southam said, suggesting resource definition.
contract payabilities were “We have also conducted moving loop
Ltd. However, as the nickel price began higher than in previous agreements. EM recently and yesterday we started
its slide the company was forced, like Mincor is cashed up with $29 million RC drilling on the Juno 4 target which is
Panoramic, to batten down the hatches, in the bank, meaning it can start early a Cassini lookalike,” he said.
closing its Kambalda operations and re- works on the Kambalda restart in 2020. “Kambalda has proven exploration up-
inventing itself as a gold explorer. Those works will focus on box-cut and side still.”
This year has seen a 180 degree decline development to the Cassini ore-

The conference proceedings of the 2019
Australian Nickel Conference

is available

$60 (inc.GST)
15 October 2019
Perth, Western Australia Phone (+61) 8 9321 0355 or email christine@paydirt.com.au

Page 38 NOVeMBeR 2019 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT