West Perth-based nickel producer Nickelore Ltd has opted for a 25,000-tonne heap leach demonstration plant at its Canegrass nickel-cobalt Project in the state's Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields.
The plant will process 50,000 tonnes of ore and produce approximately 300 tonnes of nickel contained in the heap leach solution over two years to establish the potential for a full scale commercial plant at Canegrass 70 kilometres north west of Kalgoorlie.
The decision is based on detailed laboratory tests and a successful scoping study completed in March this year.
The study found that Canegrass ore is ideal for heap leach processing, underpinning the potential for a robust $865 million commercial operation generating $182 million net cash flows a year (before tax) and an overall payback of 4.5 years.
Managing Director, Iggy Tan said that the pilot facility would be an important element of the feasibility study and technical risk assessment of a full scale process plant expected to produce 20,000 tonnes of nickel a year.
"We have been delighted with the results of our studies to date. Now it's time to test these results in an operational context," he said.
"The Company is currently pursuing capital raising opportunities to fund the next stage of development".