Mincor buys IGO’s Long for $9.5m

Mincor Resources is moving closer towards a revival of its nickel operations after it acquired the Long mine from Independence Group for up to $9.5 million and announced a capital raising.

Mincor will purchase the mine by issuing $3.5 million in shares and an additional $6 million in cash, subject to production-based milestones.

The mine is located near Kambalda, about 60 kilometres south of Kalgoorlie.

It also announced it will undertake a capital raising, with the specific details to be released in the near future, but disclosed Independence Group will subscribe to $1.5 million worth of Mincor shares as part of the raising.

The Long mine was acquired by Independence in 2002 and remained into product until mid-2018, when it was placed on care and maintenance due to the low nickel price.

As at the end of 2018, Long had a mineral resources of 32 kilotonnes of contained nickel.

In January 2016, Mincor announced it would suspend mining at its remaining operating mines, Mariners and Miitel, due to the depressed nickel price.

In March this year, Mincor signed an offtake agreement with BHP Nickel West, in which BHP will use Mincor’s Kambalda nickel concentrator to process between 200,000 and 600,000 tonnes of nickel ore per year.

Mincor managing director David Southam said Long offered exciting near-mine resource and exploration opportunities including potential extensions of the high-grade nickel channels.

"As well as expanding our strategic footprint in the North Kambalda Dome, the acquisition of the fully maintained mine infrastructure at Long opens up opportunities to exploit the existing high-grade mineral resource which contains 32,000t of nickel and provides potential to enhance capital and operational efficiency by accessing our nearby Durkin North ore reserve from the Long decline,” he said.