Ardea project recognised

Ardea Resources’ Kalgoorlie nickel project has been granted major project status by the federal government amid a heightened period of activity for the commodity.

Located in WA’s Eastern Goldfields, the project hosts a series of critical minerals deposits that Ardea claims contains the largest nickel-cobalt resources in the world with 5.9 million tonnes of contained nickel and 380,000 tonnes of contained cobalt.

Ardea is working to develop the Goongarrie Hub, situated some 80 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie into production, to then supply to the electric vehicle and battery market.

Broadly, the company said being awarded the status will help advance the project and give it access to the ‘major project facilitation agency’, allowing for more streamlined intergovernmental project support and approvals.

“Globally significant nickel-cobalt projects like the KNP, combined with a benign environmental setting are a rarity,” Ardea managing director Andrew Penkethman said.

“This recognition will assist in advancing the KNP towards development through streamlining the approvals process and providing access to additional sources of potential project funding.”

Ardea raised $21.5 million to continue exploration for further nickel sulphide and critical minerals targets throughout the project area in February this year.

The recognition comes during a lively period for the commodity, with nickel prices subject to extreme volatility amid rising demand for the forward-facing metal.

Domestically, nickel and other minerals deemed ‘critical’ by the federal government have received a boost in funding.

Fellow commodity play Poseidon Nickel and Brisbane-based Prey Battery Technologies, which are also seeking to develop a critical minerals hub in the Kalgoorlie region, were awarded $119.6 million earlier this week as part of a $243 million federal government investment into the critical minerals sector.

Another WA company, Strike Energy, was recently awarded major project status for project Haber, a proposed $2.3 billion urea fertiliser processing facility set to be built near Geraldton in Western Australia.

Ardea shares were up 5.15 per cent to trade at $1.02.