Ardea Resources is making quick work of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) at its massive Goongarrie Hub nickel laterite project in WA’s Goldfields region, with four drill rigs active and several work contracts already awarded.
Supported by mega joint venture partners Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation, the $98.5 million DFS is looking to prove up the economics of turning the project into a low-cost, multi-decade laterite nickel-cobalt producer.
The on-site rigs are conducting the all-important resource definition, geotechnical, and hydrogeological drilling, with a fifth rig set to join the operations next month.
So far, 622 resource definition drill holes for 37,842 metres have been completed on a 40 by 40 metre spacing grid. Most of the assays are still pending however the company expects the trickle of results so far to turn into a flood across the next couple of months.
Key personnel recruitment for the DFS is nearly complete, with 40 specialists now onboard, complemented by contributions from Ardea, Sumitomo, and Mitsubishi.
With the DFS charging along, multiple contracts and work packages have now been awarded. These include metallurgical test work, water assessment studies, pipeline layout planning.
Contractors are now also involved with critical equipment like autoclave agitators and flash vessels.
And as part of the study, the company is also looking at alternative processing flowsheets which could involve reducing the time material remains in the autoclave from 70 to 60 minutes which, in turn, would increase annual throughput in the high-pressure acid leach plant from 3 to 3.5 million tonnes. This would leave a mixed sulphide precipitate as a final product.
Currently, the project is forecast to produce 30,000 tonnes of nickel and 2000 tonnes of cobalt per year for up to an eye-watering 40 years. In operating an open-cut mining process, the project will exploit its shallow, flat-lying nickel laterite orebody with a low strip ratio of just 1.5:1.
Ardea Resources managing director and CEO Andrew Penkethman said: “Ardea are pleased to see the strong progress being made on the DFS to advance the KNP – Goongarrie Hub toward production. With the KNPL Owners Team now in place, working collaboratively with Ardea, Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation, DFS deliverables are set to accelerate.”
The company says the DFS remains on track for completion in late 2025, with updates shortly expected to include a resource estimate together with the status of mining and environmental approvals. Operational updates will include any tweaks the company decides to make to its process plant design and hydrogeological findings.
In a 50:50 joint venture deal inked four months ago, Sumitomo and Mitsubishi committed to jointly fund $98.5 million for the DFS.
Subject to positive DFS outcomes, the JV will bankroll the front-end engineering design and financing discussions, leading to an eventual final investment decision.
The Japanese consortium will then be able to earn up to 50 per cent of the biggest nickel-cobalt resource in Australia which hosts an 854 million tonne resource grading 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt.
Both Sumitomo and Mitsubishi are enormous conglomerates who generally only have an appetite for massive projects. With a PFS projected annual EBITDA of $800 million a year for 40 years, Ardea’s Goongarrie Hub would appear to fit the bill well.
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By James Pearson
