Name of the Project
Cobalt/nickel/scandium processing plant project.

Location
Perth, Western Australia.

Client
Australian Mines.

Project Description
The project involves the construction of a demonstration-size cobalt/nickel/scandium processing plant for Australian Mines’ Sconi cobalt/nickel/scandium and Flemington cobalt/scandium/nickel projects, in Queensland and New South Wales respectively.

The plant will produce offtake samples to progress negotiations with potential customers and will be capable of processing more than 15 t of ore and delivering 67 kg of cobalt sulphate, 500 kg nickel sulphate and 8 kg of scandium oxide from the Sconi project each week.

The plant will use a conventional high-pressure acid leach front end to dissolve the metals into solution, with a solid-liquid separation and standard solvent extraction (SX) and sulphate crystallisation back-end to separate the cobalt, nickel and scandium to produce final products.

The demonstration plant has been designed to be readily scaleable to a full-size plant. This enables Australian Mines to optimise the processing flow chart and metal recoveries at this smaller scale prior to the design and construction of the larger 750 000 t/y plant, which is currently proposed to be built at the Sconi project once the Australia Mines’ bankable feasibility study has been completed and funding secured.

Jobs to Be Created
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Value
$2-million.

Duration
Construction on the project started in May. The fabrication and build period for this processing plant is estimated at six months, resulting in the plant being fully operational and processing bulk samples of ore from the Sconi and Flemington project by November.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
Australia Mines, tel +61 8 9481 5811 or email office@australianmines.com.au.