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Mincor manoeuvres for

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management transition has done little the company,” Walker told Paydirt. “She As well as the early call on development,
A to stem the positive momentum Mincor is a high-quality executive with really good Walker credits Southam and the board’s
Resources NL has been building in 2022 operational and base metal experience. ability to strike new funding arrangements
with the born-again nickel miner set to hit Oz Minerals has a fantastic culture and as key to Mincor’s strong position.
forecast run rates before the end of the fi- Gabrielle was great at driving that culture “There were a few smart decisions taken
nancial year. and will be fantastic for our company. She – the refinancing package, the timing of the
Mincor surprised the market in July when brings exactly what the company needs capital raising, etc. Everything was done
it announced David Southam was stepping right now.” from a position of power rather than weak-
down as managing director. He will eventu- Iwanow’s arrival coincides with the re- ness,” he said. “Moving towards the revolv-
ally be replaced by former Oz Minerals Ltd freshed feel at Mincor. After spending four ing credit facility rather than project-related
general manager Gabrielle Iwanow, who years in the backwaters of care-and-main- debt took the pressure off and allows us to
will take up the role in November. tenance, the move back to mining has rein- focus on getting the mining happening and
Despite his sudden departure, Southam vigorated the company and its workforce. the enhanced deal with BHP brought for-
leaves Mincor in its best state for nearly a The company has built a new camp with ward cash.”
decade and Iwanow will inherit a company modern amenities for Cassini and recently Mincor’s offtake arrangements with
ready to harvest after spending more than moved into a new corporate office. Both are BHP Nickel West also enabled it to avoid
two years sowing the seeds of its recovery. designed to woo people to the company. the worst of the inflationary pressures al-
The June quarter saw Mincor send nickel “We are attracting people back to the though, Walker said, the pandemic was still
ore to BHP Nickel West’s Kambalda nickel business and we are seeing the right kind causing disruption with absenteeism, flight
concentrator for the first time in nearly four of people want to be involved,” Walker said. disruptions and delays in assays the chief
years as underground development at its “People know Mincor and now that we concerns.
two operations – Northern and Cassini are back mining, they see the momentum With the nickel bulls out in force, howev-
– ramped up. The company expects de- which is building and the wins that we are er, he is quick to point out the positives have
velopment and mining rates to continue in- posting. That is an attractive proposition. far outweighed any negatives.
creasing, reaching the anticipated run rate “The new camp at Cassini and the new “There is certainly more upside than
of nearly 500,000 tpa by the end of June. corporate office are part of that culture. It downside currently,” he said. “At the mo-
It will mark a memorable three-year pe- shows that we see Cassini as a long-term ment the only handbrake is capital man-
riod for the company which saw it acquire operation.” agement as we are still making sure we are
the Long operation at Kambalda from IGO That Mincor has manoeuvred itself into conserving cash for rainy days. But once
Ltd and discover and define the Cassini such an enviable position is all the more we reach run-rate we will be spinning off a
orebody at Widgiemooltha. Together, Cas- remarkable given it has done so under the lot of cash.”
sini and the Northern operations (a com- shadow of COVID. Free cashflow will allow Mincor to return
bination of Long and the Durkin mine) will “I don’t think anyone has developed two to exploration at both the Northern opera-
see Mincor produce 16,000 tpa nickel-in- mines ahead of schedule during COVID,” tions and Cassini.
concentrate. Walker said. “It was really tough, and I “We have a five-year reserve, but there
According to Mincor general manager wouldn’t want to do it again, but the board are lots of gaps and we have nothing in
corporate development and sustainability should be commended for making those the mine plan around Golden Mile [the gap
Kurt Walker, Iwanow is the perfect fit for a courageous calls 18-24 months ago. If between the Long and Durkin mines] – or
company in Mincor’s position. they had delayed, it would have been even Cassini expansion.”
“We are excited to have Gabrielle join tougher.” Both areas have obvious targets. At the

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