Name of the Project
Goongarrie nickel/cobalt project.

Location
The Goongarrie project covers 142 km²  within the larger Kalgoorlie nickel project, which totals an estimated 1 738 km2, in Western Australia.

Client
Ardea Resources.

Project Description
Goongarrie has a total resource of 215.6-million tonnes at 0.06% cobalt and 0.71% nickel, and includes 130 700 t of contained cobalt metal, and 1.52-million tonnes of contained nickel metal.

An expansion study on the project has showed significant improvements in the value of the project, the rate of return and the payback period, compared with the 1-million-tonnes-a-year and 1.5-million-tonnes-a-year options considered in the prefeasibility study completed in March 2018.

The expansion study envisions a 2.25-million-tonne-a-year operation, producing 10 000 t/y of cobalt sulphate and 81 000 t/y of nickel sulphate over a 25-year mine life.

The 2.25-million-tonne-a-year base case could be further expanded using modular process trains to reflect the true scale of the project.

Further, the on-site neutraliser source also contains nickel and cobalt mineralisation, which could further reduce operating costs and produce up to an additional 10% of nickel and cobalt sulphates. Further upgrade options also include scandium production, high-purity alumina production and in-pit neutraliser optimisation.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an estimated unleveraged pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of A$3.1-billion and a pretax internal rate of return of 31%, with a rapid payback of 5.1 years.

Value
Preproduction capital is estimated at A$1.17-billion.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Ardea is now undertaking definitive feasibility programmes, including a 7.5 t pilot run.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Ardea Resources, tel +61 8 6244 5136 or email ardea@ardea.resources.com.