Name of the Project
West Musgrave base metals project.

Location
West Musgrave Ranges of Western Australia.

Project Owner/s
Copper/gold miner OZ Minerals.

Project Description
The West Musgrave includes the Nebo-Babel nickel/copper and Succoth copper deposits.

OZ Minerals is hoping to establish the West Musgrave project as a scaleable, low-cost, long-life, openpit mining operation.

An updated prefeasibility study (PFS) has increased the project’s mineral ore reserves from 220-million tonnes, grading 0.36% copper and 0.33% nickel, to 253-million tonnes, grading 0.35% copper and 0.32% nickel.

Mineral resources have increased – from 340-million tonnes grading 0.36% copper and 0.33% nickel in the February 2020 PFS to 390-million tonnes grading 0.34% copper and 0.31% nickel in the updated PFS.

The updated PFS envisages a 12-million-tonne-a-year crushing, vertical roller mill, flotation operation, producing separate copper and nickel concentrates. The average nickel production from the project has increased from 22 000 t/y in the February 2020 PFS to 26 000 t/y in the updated PFS. Average copper production has increased from 28 000 t/y to 32 000 t/y.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The updated PFS has increased the project’s after-tax net present value from A$800-million to A$1-billion, and the internal rate of return from 20% to 25%, with a payback of about six years from the decision to mine.

Capital Expenditure
Preproduction capital has increased from A$995-million in the February 2020 PFS to about A$1.1-billion in the February 2021 updated PFS.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is supporting copper/gold miner Oz Minerals' plans for its West Musgrave operations.

The project is committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by 2040 and has been recommended for approval by the EPA.

The EPA has stated that its environmental-impact assessment found the proposal could be implemented subject to strict conditions pertaining to cultural heritage, flora and fauna, inland waters and GHG.

EPA chairperson Prof Matthew Tonts has said that the recommended conditions, as well as the proponent’s adoption of renewables and a commitment to delivering against a trajectory of net-zero GHG emissions by 2040, mean the proposal is generally consistent with the EPA’s GHG guidelines.

The EPA noted West Musgrave was the first mining project it had assessed that had committed to net-zero GHG emissions by 2040.

As part of the assessment, members of the EPA visited traditional owners at the Jameson community, 25 km north of the proposal site.

“We have been very aware of this cultural heritage throughout the assessment. This means the EPA’s recommended conditions have carefully considered the cumulative impacts of future projects on the environmental and social values of the area,” Tonts has said.

Oz Minerals hopes to make a final investment decision on the West Musgrave project by the second half of 2022, pending progress on value uplift options.

Further value opportunities being considered for the project include increasing production above the current 12-million-tonne-a-year capacity while contemplating a third vertical roller mill that could allow for further energy management and emission reductions, and acceleration towards aspirations of a zero emissions mine and mining fleet.

Oz Minerals is considering the construction of a renewable-energy power plant and operation ownership options, and the construction of a downstream nickel processing plant on site, in addition to seeking interest from third parties in its potential development.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
OZ Minerals, tel +61 8 8229 6600 or email info@ozminerals.com.