Junior nickel miner Sally Malay Mining is on the lookout for additional production material to feed its state-of-the-art plant at its namesake mine in the Kimberley.
Sally Malay managing director Peter Harold said the end of open-pit mining next February would result in spare capacity, as underground mining became the sole source of material for the nickel concentrator.
Mr Harold said the plant would have spare capacity in the order of 200,000 raw material tonnes a year when open-pit mining ceased, raising the prospect of providing concentrating capacity to other players.
“The company would prefer to develop its own satellite ore bodies to find extra material, but a more immediate source could be found,” Mr Harold said.
The $65 million Sally Malay project is bankrolled by Macquarie Bank and Standard Bank of London, which together provided a loan of up to $47 million.
Its Chinese customer, the Jinchuan Group, also provided a $US5 million loan, with the balance made up in shareholder equity.
The Kimberley has been touted as a major nickel producer for years but no major developments have emerged in the region for it to rival Kambalda’s status as the home of Western Australian nickel.
A distinct disadvantage for prospective producers is the lack of infrastructure, although the Sally Malay plant and the recent installation of a power grid are improvements.
Others in the Kimberley include Thundelarra Exploration and Navigator Resources.
A joint venture with Thundelarra Exploration to develop a feasibility study into processing nickel from Thundelarra’s Copernicus nickel project at the Sally Malay plant turned sour in April and is currently the subject of a legal dispute between the two.
