Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Nickel miner Poseidon Nickel on Monday revealed plans to pre-start engineering activities at its recently acquired Black Swan nickel plant.
The miner has placed several contracts to undertake work on the plant, including supplying key financial and technical data for an integrated operation that would include up to 600 000 t/y of Windarra ore, combined with 500 000 t/y of Black Swan ore, which would be processed through the existing plant.
The scope of the work would include a geological review, plant re-commissioning studies and an operating cost budget.
Poseidon intended to have the work completed by the end of July.
The ASX-listed miner acquired the Black Swan operation, in Western Australia, from Russian Major Norilsk Nickel for an undisclosed amount.
The project consists of a 2.15-million-tonne-a-year plant and an openpit mine estimated to contain about 185 800 t of nickel.
Meanwhile, Poseidon was also continuing to negotiate other tolling and offtake arrangements for its Mount Windarra project, which it had been working to refurbish after revealing it was investigating options for toll treating the mine’s ore. It was hoped that the mine could produce between 350 000 t/y and 700 000 t/y, over the first two years of production.
The company was hoping the best option to progress the Windarra project would be determined within the next few weeks.