Heron approves $5.5m leaching project

West Perth-based Heron Resources Ltd has approved the commencement of trial mining and construction of the Demonstration Leaching Project on its Jump-up Dam Heap Leach Nickel Project, expected to cost $5.5 million.

The full text of a company announcement is pasted below

Heron Resources Limited (ASX:HRR) is pleased to announce that the Board of Heron today approved the commencement of trial mining and construction of the Demonstration Leaching Project, a key step in the study and development of the Jump-up Dam Heap Leach Nickel Project.

Construction is anticipated to take approximately three months and is scheduled for completion at year's end, with an estimated capital expenditure of A$5.5 million. Engineering is 95% complete for the demonstration plant, and Board approval was given for the key contracts for construction.

Trial mining is scheduled to commence in the new year, and will involve the excavation of 100,000 tonnes of ore, blending representative ore feed, agglomeration and stacking 20,000 tonnes in 4 X 500 tonne heaps for leaching over a 10 month period.

The demonstration will provide key inputs to the definitive feasibility study which is scheduled to commence in the new year and run concurrently with the demonstration leaching.

Heron's Managing Director Mathew Longworth said: "The demonstration step was important to prove the stability of the leach heaps and provide critical input data for the final study."