Overview
Status | Care and Maintenance |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
|
Processing |
- Solvent Extraction
- Sulfuric acid (reagent)
- High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL)
|
Mine Life | 2044 |
September 8, 2020 - Vale will now place the Goro mine on care and maintenance, with “the highest degree of responsibility and respect for employees, the natural environment and safety”.
Should no solution be found in the coming months, the company will prepare to shut operations down completely. |
Latest News | Vale signs a binding put option agreement to formalize sale of Vale New Caledonia December 9, 2020 |
Source:
p. 61
Company | Interest | Ownership |
Societe de Participation Miniere du Sud Caledonien SAS
|
5 %
|
Indirect
|
Vale S.A.
|
95 %
|
Indirect
|
Vale Nouvelle-Caledonie S.A.S.
(operator)
|
95 %
|
Direct
|
Vale hold 95% of VNC’s shares and the remaining 5% is held by Société de Participation Minière du Sud Calédonien S.A.S. (“SPMSC”).
Summary:
The Goro plateau is one of the major areas of lateritic New Caledonia. It consists of oxidized ores of two categories:
Lateritic ore (upper profile), richer in iron oxides.
Saprolite ore (lower profile), or magnesium- silicate mineral.
Summary:
Ore mining on the Goro plateau is made in a open pit mine, worked “in seats.” The first phase of the operation of the mine began in 2003 with the work of the mining exercise and pit pre-production to prepare the mine to the commercial phase.
15 meters of rock called “sterile” must be stripped before the excavators encountered layers yellow laterite and saprolite containing the analytes: nickel and cobalt.
The extracted ore is sent to the processing unit where it is prepared.
Processing
- Solvent Extraction
- Sulfuric acid (reagent)
- High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL)
Source:
Summary:
After the rejection of large rocks, earth and rock ore from the mine operation (Limonite and Saprolite) are pulped by adding water and stirring. The ore slurry is transported through pipes to the factory, located below the mine.
The pulp is then decanted to obtain, first, a slurry of ore, said thickened pulp, and, on the other hand, water, which is recycled to the mine to produce again the pulp.
The thickened pulp is then treated by addition of acid: this will have the effect of extracting metals from solid minerals and liquefy. The thickened pulp is gradually heated up to 260° at a pressure of 45 bar which prevents the water from reaching the boiling point.
It then undergoes a process of leaching, called leaching. It is injected in an autoclave at 270°C where it is brewed with sulfuric acid. Certain metals such as nickel and cobalt are dissolved, while the iron content in the pulp, for example, remains in a solid state in the form of hematite (iron oxi ........

Recoveries & Grades:
Commodity | Parameter | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
Nickel
|
Head Grade, %
| 1.54 | 1.46 | 1.47 | 1.53 | 1.41 | 1.44 | 1.36 | 1.27 |
Reserves at December 31, 2014:
Company is not reporting the mineral reserves of VNC as of December 31, 2019, because the mineral reserves for operations in New Caledonia would not be economically viable at the three-year historical average price, due to the decline in nickel prices in the past three years.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade |
Proven
|
55.3 Mt
|
Nickel
|
1.34 %
|
Proven
|
55.3 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
0.12 %
|
Probable
|
67 Mt
|
Nickel
|
1.49 %
|
Probable
|
67 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
0.11 %
|
Proven & Probable
|
122.3 Mt
|
Nickel
|
1.42 %
|
Proven & Probable
|
122.3 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
0.11 %
|
Financials:
| Units | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
After-tax Income
|
M USD
| ......  | ......  | ......  | ......  |
-1,916
|
-982
|
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