PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Platina Resources has signed a lease for the site of its proposed Owendale scandium processing facility, in New South Wales.
The site, a former abattoir, is some 70 km from the mine site and has a road system capable of handling the trucks that will be used to transport ore from the mine to the plant.
There was also opportunity to build a dedicated rail facility for handling bulk freight, as the main east-west rail line from Perth to Sydney runs nearby.
Electricity is available on site in the form of an existing 22 kVA supply, while water is available from an existing supply line, with potential for expansion. There are also existing ponds available for potential plant use and surface water run-off management.
Platina executive director Chris Hartley said on Thursday that the signing of a lease for the proposed processing facility was an important milestone in the development of the Owendal project.
“It gives us access to a premium site in close proximity to our scandium, cobalt and nickel resource. We are pleased to be able to start the redevelopment of this disused industrial site that has been largely unused for the last 30 years. It fits with our strategy of having a minimal impact on the local environment, while delivering sustainable benefits for the community.”
Hartley said that the site will be the basis for a definitive feasibility study (DFS) that is scheduled for completion at the end of the year.
“It reduces infrastructure costs for the provision of water, power and housing. We continue to work on engineering and environmental studies required to complete both the DFS and environmental-impact statement for the site that we plan to submit at the end of the year.”
Hartley added that the company has also started discussions with a number of local organisations to identify potential service providers.
A 2017 prefeasibility study on the Owendale scandium/cobalt/nickel mine found that the project would require a capital investment of $94-million to deliver a mine producing 42 000 t/y of scandium oxide.