Name of the Project
Black Swan nickel operations restart project.

Location
Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia.

Project Owner/s
Poseidon Nickel.

Project Description
A bankable feasibility study (BFS) on Black Swan has proved positive.

The BFS is based on mining ore from the Black Swan disseminated openpit (serpentinite ore only) and Silver Swan and Golden Swan high-grade underground mines, supplemented with Silver Swan tailings and existing surface stockpiles (disseminated serpentinite material), and processing these feed sources through the existing concentrator and associated infrastructure.

Black Swan can produce a high-grade nickel concentrate with an estimated 15% nickel, 6% magnesium oxide and an iron:magnesium oxide ratio of 5:1, which is highly desirable for conventional nickel smelters.

The BFS envisages the refurbishment and operation of the existing plant with a processing capacity of 1.1-million tonnes a year to align with the available processing mine inventory of five-million tonnes, presenting an after development project life of four years. Over the life of the project, the Phase 1 Black Swan project will produce 200 000 t of smelter-grade concentrate, averaging 15% nickel containing an estimated 30 000 t of nickel from the various feed sources, representing an average metal recovery of 68%.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $248-million and an internal rate of return of 103% at the current Australian dollar nickel price.

Capital Expenditure
Capital expenditure is estimated at A$98.9-million.

Planned Start /End Date
If a final investment decision is made during first half 2023, concentrate production could start in early 2024.

Latest Developments
Poseidon Nickel is progressing with its efforts to restart the Black Swan project, with 20% of assays returned of a 11 000 m inpit drill programme, which aims to increase the mining inventory to extend the mine life and enhance startup feed schedule.

The company also notes that it has received strong interest in product offtake, with shortlisted parties undertaking site visits to the project.

MD and CEO Peter Harold has said that Poseidon’s primary focus remains on offtake and project financing work streams, with strong interest having been received.

Poseidon is undertaking prework at Black Swan, which includes rehabilitation works of the underground mine that will be scheduled to coincide with the mine ramp-up, and an inpit resource upgrade to increase mine life, which will be completed once all assay results have been received.

The company has also completed the dewatering of the openpit, and has finalised a contract with a selected engineering company for processing plant refurbishment.

The company is working on obtaining outstanding approvals for the restart, and has noted that planning is well under way for the onboarding of the technical team.

In terms of personnel, Poseidon has identified accommodation as one of the key execution risks and is, therefore, looking at various options with regard to having sufficient rooms in Kalgoorlie for the full complement of personnel required for the operating phase.

There is a temporary accommodation camp at site that will be used for the plant refurbishment.

Poseidon is also undertaking a feasibility study to expand the project, which is based on increasing the mill feed rate from 1.1-million tons a year to 2.2-million tons a year, and producing a rougher concentrate, which will have a lower nickel grade and higher magnesium oxide content.

This product will be an attractive feedstock for a pressure oxidation, high-pressure acid leach or a precursor cathode active material plant, rather than a conventional nickel smelter.

Metallurgical studies are under way to determine the enhanced rougher concentrate nickel grade, the metallurgical recovery and the typical concentrate specifications to enable potential offtakers to provide indicative terms.

Poseidon notes that these terms will be a key component in determining the economics of the expansion project.

The key attraction of the expansion project is that yearly production of nickel-in-concentrate could increase significantly, and the mine life could be extended, owing to the ability to treat talc carbonate ores that are not included in the current ore reserves.

The key to unlocking the value of the talc carbonate material is to find a nonconventional smelter customer/s for the proposed product, which is a main focus of the expansion study. 

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Poseidon Nickel, tel +618 6167 6600, fax +618 6167 6649 or email admin@poseidon-nickel.com.au.