RNC Minerals has welcomed the announcement on November 27, 2016 of a nickel offtake agreement entered into by Western Areas Ltd and the Tsingshan Group, China’s largest stainless steel producer, as further validation of RNC’s roasting approach as a more valuable alternative to traditional nickel smelting and refining for nickel sulphide concentrate. RNC first successfully demonstrated this process in 2011. After working with RNC in 2012 and 2013, Tsingshan began the construction in 2014 of the first plant to directly use nickel sulphide concentrate as part of the stainless steel production process.
Mark Selby, President and CEO of RNC, commented, “We believe this agreement is another significant milestone for sulphide nickel concentrate producers and further confirms RNC’s roasting approach as a valuable alternative to traditional smelting and refining. RNC’s roasting approach is a simpler, lower cost, higher recovery alternative that should allow sulphide concentrate producers to capture significantly higher payabilities. We are very excited by the initial feedback on our marketing of test samples of NiCal-30, the roasted concentrate from Dumont, with potential payabilities exceeding our expectations. We expect to complete our initial marketing of NiCal-30 in early 2017 and expect to incorporate this market feedback into a feasibility study update for Dumont.
“I am happy with the progress at our Beta Hunt mine under the new leadership of Kevin Small, Director, Mining Operations, as ore grades to date in November have exceeded our expectations and the ramp up is on track to deliver our guidance.”
RNC continues to work to develop the market for roasted nickel concentrates from its own Dumont concentrate and other nickel producers. Samples of roasted concentrate from RNC’s Dumont nickel project, under the product name NiCal-30, have been shipped to a number of potential customers (alloy steel producers, stainless steel producers, and nickel pig iron producers) in Europe and Asia and initial feedback has exceeded expectations. RNC expects this phase of the work to be completed in early 2017.
The Beta Hunt mine is successfully ramping up under the new leadership of RNC’s Director, Mining Operations, Kevin Small, with run-of-mine ore grades to date in November of 2.65 g/t, exceeding expectations of 2.5 g/t. Mined gold production is expected to be in line with previously announced guidance of 8.5-10,000 oz during Q4 2016, targeted gold production rates of 60,000 oz/y early in Q1 2017, and 2017 gold production in excess of 60,000 oz.
RNC is a multi-asset mineral resource company focused primarily on the acquisition, exploration, evaluation and development of base metal and precious metal properties. RNC’s principal assets are the producing Beta Hunt nickel and gold mine in Western Australia, the Dumont nickel project located in the established Abitibi mining camp in Quebec and a 30% stake in the producing Reed mine in the Flin Flon-Snow Lake region of Manitoba, Canada. RNC also owns a majority interest in the West Raglan and Qiqavik projects in Northern Quebec.
The picture shows a Dumont ferronickel button.
