Market conditions have forced Chalice Mining to cut the size of its board and further slash spending, as it looks to develop the Gonneville project near Toodyay.
Market conditions have forced Chalice Mining to cut the size of its board and further slash spending, as it looks to develop the Gonneville project near Toodyay.
The platinum group elements project developer aims to more than halve its monthly spend over the next four months, from $2.4 million to around $1 million, as it wraps up metallurgical testwork and environmental modelling.
At the corporate level, Linda Kenyon and Jo Gaines have each resigned from the board at the platinum group elements aspirant and will finish up next week.
The move cuts Chalice’s board from six to four – chair Derek La Ferla, managing director Alex Dorsch, and non-executive directors Garret Dixon and Stephen McIntosh.
Chalice said the move was taken to “alight and retain necessary core skillsets” needed for the company to deliver on its corporate strategy.
In its release announcing the news, Chalice pointed to its $111 million worth of cash and listed investments as a demonstration of its financial strength.
The company said it would continue with a prefeasibility study at Gonneville, which will evanuate a staged, high grade development scenario including metallurgical testwork, flowsheet development, geometallurgical domaining and regulatory approvals.
“These essential activities form the foundation of the project development strategy, and Chalice remains committed to defining the optimal development pathway for the project as a priority,” it wrote.
The board departures follow a commitment from Chalice last month to deliver cost cuts to facilitate its progress at Gonneville, an orebody rich with platinum group elements, nickel and copper.
The Chalice previously slashed its board remuneration by 25 per cent in January.
The company hopes to have the project ready for a final investment decision by the latter half of 2026 and has a non-binding early-stage development deal in place with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation.
But the project is not without its challenges.
Depressed palladium and nickel prices have dampened the market appeal for projects of its kind, with nickel’s woes well publicised following a spate of closures across the state.
Recent announcements suggest Chalice, which hopes to commence production in 2029, remains confident that the cyclical lows will not endure into the longer term.
Gonneville is being developed on greenfields land in an area bounded by the Julimar State Forest to the north, and the Moondyne Nature Reserve to its south.
The company has proposed to explore in the forest previously, but its development plan currently before the Environmental Protection Authority maps a 30-year mining envelope outside the forest area.
Its Avon Valley mining plan received more than 700 submissions when opened for public consultation earlier this year.
Chalice shares fell 1.2 per cent in early trade, and are currently trading at $1.06 per share.
The company’s shares traded above $9.70 in 2021, after Gonneville’s discovery in 2020.
