New nickel laterite heap leaching technology will increasingly provide more competitive and “greener” mining and processing options as the global sector makes the transition from nickel sulphides to majority nickel laterite production, according to European Nickel. Addressing the second day today in Perth of the Paydirt 2010 Australian Nickel Conference, European Nickel Finance Director, Mark Hanlon, said proprietary heap leaching technology – developed in part in JV with BHPB – had now achieved three years of successful and substantive testwork.
“It will be the foundation of European Nickel’s new Çaldağ nickel laterite mine on the west coast of Turkey and our second planned mine, Acoje in the Philippines,” Hanlon said. “Despite the previous history of difficulties in processing nickel laterites, the results, – based on full height trial heaps and demonstrated permeability and recovery rates – have encouraged us to commercialise the process as it offers significant lower capex and opex than more conventional laterite HPAL processing methods,” he said.
European Nickel says heap recoveries under test have averaged 75% and an annual capex of around $6/lb nickel concentrate – one third the cost of more conventional smelting operations – making it particularly suitable for smaller laterite deposits.
“The method also has a low carbon footprint and does not require a large team of ‘experts’ to be hired to monitor and maintain the process,” he said. “Against this, conventional processes are under pressure as they require large-scale operations to be competitive and that requires large deposits, are high energy consumers and under the transition to laterite consumption outweighing sulphide availability and consumption, puts conventional smelting operations under cost and project execution pressures.”
Subject to outstanding regulatory approvals, European Nickel is targeting first production from Çaldağ in 2012 and has announced plans to secure financing arrangements worth more than $300 million by the end of this year. Shareholders in recent weeks approved a strategic partnership with Hunter Dickinson in which the Vancouver-based private mineral development investor is acquiring a 30% stake in European Nickel for $60 million.
This two tranche deal is subject now only to completion by European Nickel of the Caldag project finance.
European Nickel merged mid-year with Perth-based Rusina Mining to form the larger nickel developer, with Rusina’s key executives, Robert Gregory and Hanlon, appointed to the lead roles of Managing Director and Finance Director respectively.
The enlarged entity has a near-term production target of 50,000 t/y of nickel concentrate – from Caldag and the company’s also well advanced Acoje project on Luzon Island in the Philippines.
European Nickel has negotiated an indicative term sheet and signed a joint mandate letter with Soc Générale and UniCredit Bank as the Mandated Lead Arrangers for funding of Çaldağ. Both mandated lead arrangers intend to commit $50 million each.
European Nickel will assign $50 million of the Hunter Dickinson proceeds as its equity portion of the Çaldağ project financing. It will use the remaining $10 million for working capital.
The Çaldağ open pit project has a JORC Reserve of 33.2 Mt @ 1.13% Ni for an estimated 375,000 t of nickel concentrate, with an expected annual output of 20,400 t/y and 1,000 t/y of cobalt over a 14-year mine life. $78 million has been spent on site to date with mine infrastructure substantially complete, engineering design work 76% completed and long lead-items already purchased.
The company intends that Caldag’s start-up will be followed closely by the commissioning of the planned 24,500 t/y nickel operation at Acoje and currently the subject of a Definitive Feasibility Study. The project has already secured key environmental permits and a heap leach trial site has been constructed.