PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Nickel miner Western Areas has reported another strong production quarter in the three months to June, with full-year production hitting the top-end of the guidance.

During the June quarter, Western Areas mined some 5 994 t of nickel ore, compared with the 6 778 t produced in the previous quarter, with nickel-in-concentrate production reaching 5 725 t, compared with the 5 672 t produced in the March quarter.

The strong June quarter production results allowed the ASX-listed company to produce 25 996 t of nickel during the full year, which was at the top-end of the guidance of between 25 000 t and 26 000 t, with 23 005 t of nickel produced at the mill, which was more than the guidance of between 22 000 t and 23 000 t.

Western Areas MD Dan Lougher said on Tuesday that the company was pleased to deliver its seventh consecutive year of achieving or exceeding guidance.

“The team at Western Areas has worked diligently at managing all aspects of operations under its control with excellent results in a volatile nickel market, while extracting significant value from noncore activities.”

Lougher noted that the company has also had success with its organic growth pipeline, particularly at the Cosmos plant and continues to lead with innovations, including the offtake arrangements with Tsingshan and the start of the mill recovery enhancement project (MREP).

The A$17.5-million MREP will process one of the tailings streams from the flotation plant, which contains valuable amounts of nickel that cannot be recovered as a saleable concentrate by traditional flotation methods.

The MREP will increase mill recoveries from 3% to 5% over the life of the mine, and will add an additional 1 400 t/y of nickel recoveries. While construction is expected to take six months to complete, Western Areas is targeting the production of first high-grade nickel sulphide from the MREP in the March quarter of 2018.