PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Nickel miner Western Areas’ Odysseus mine is on track for first nickel-in-concentrate production at its Odysseus mine, in Western Australia, as shaft hoisting equipment arrived for the project from South Africa.
Western Areas on Thursday said that all refurbished headframe and winder equipment had arrived on November 27, with customs clearance expected this week.
MD Dan Lougher said that the arrival of the shaft headframe and winder equipment de-risked the hoisting shaft construction schedule, and represented a significant milestone for the Odysseus project.
“Excellent progress is also being made in the Odysseus decline and return airway development, which is now heading across to the Odysseus orebodies with 430 m developed to date. We now have a clearer line of sight towards delivery of the first ore tonnes mined from the Odysseus orebodies in the September quarter of 2021.”
Refurbishment of the Cosmos concentrator will start in the March quarter of 2022, with first nickel-in-concentrate production from Odysseus planned for the December quarter of 2022, with commissioning of the hoisting shaft and winder set for the March quarter of 2023.