Mining Intelligence and News
Australia

Nova Mine

Click for more information

Categories

Overview

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Nickel
  • Copper
  • Cobalt
Mining Method
  • Longhole open stoping
  • Avoca
  • Room-and-pillar
Backfill type ... Lock
Production Start... Lock
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Nova is a high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt deposit. It is one of the lowest cost nickel operations in Australia. The Nova Operation comprises the Nova underground nickel mine and processing operation which produces nickel and copper concentrates.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
IGO Ltd. 100 % Indirect
The Nova operation and exploration properties are owned by the IGO Ltd's wholly owned subsidiary IGO Nova Pty Ltd.

Contractors

Lock

- subscription is required.

Deposit type

  • Magmatic
  • Intrusion related

Summary:

The Nova Operation comprises an underground mine consisting of two orebodies, Nova and Bollinger.

Nova-Bollinger is within the 425 by 50km wide, Mesoproterozoic-age Fraser Zone of the Albany-Fraser Orogen. The Fraser Zone is fault bounded by the Biranup Zone to the northeast and the Nornalup Zone to the southeast. The Arid Basin forms the basement to the Fraser Zone and the Snowys Dam Formation of the Arid Basin is the basement package in the Nova-Bollinger area. During the first phase of the Albany-Fraser Orogeny at around 1.30Ga, mafic, ultramafic, and granitic intrusions were emplaced penecontemporaneously with the granulite facies metamorphism of the regional stratigraphy, which was occurring at crustal depths of 28 to 35km below surface. This zone is now characterised by gneissic fabrics, complex refolding and major mylonitic zones.

The rocks within the Nova-Bollinger region are consistent with the regional descriptions of the Snowys Dam formation and include pelitic to psammitic gneisses, a local carbonate unit, along with metamorphosed mafic-ultramafic (MUM) and volcanoclastic rocks. The Nova-Bollinger MUM sill complex that hosts Nova-Bollinger’s Ni-Cu-Co sulphide mineralisation is a doubly plunging synform, where a magnetite-bearing footwall gneiss has been identified as the cause of ‘The Eye’ magnetic feature. The MUM sill complex is a dish-shaped package 2.4 by 1.2km in plan and up to 450m in thickness. The rocks of the complex range in mineralogy from peridotite to pyroxenite, to gabbronorite and norite, with both sharp and gradational contacts between different intrusive phases. An upper and lower intrusion are recognised with the lower ‘Nova Gabbro’ intrusion intimately associated with the Ni-Cu-Co sulphide mineralisation. The mine area is covered by up to 3m thick regolith and/or transported cover, with oxidation of sulphides in fresh rock down to depths of 20m in the western end of the Nova area.

As noted above, Nova-Bollinger’s Ni-Cu-Co sulphide mineralisation is associated with the Nova Gabbro mafic magmatic conduit, from which the sulphide mineralisation precipitated and accumulated within the conduit and the fracture zones surrounding this source intrusion. The Nova Gabbro and associated sulphide mineralisation is interpreted to have been emplaced in a dynamic environment, at peak metamorphism, with most of the sulphide mineralisation remobilised into structures and/or fracture zones surrounding the mineralising intrusion. There are several mineralisation styles in Nova-Bollinger, ranging from massive sulphide accumulations, breccias, net-textured zones (olivine and sulphide matrix), stringer-sulphides in metasediments, and disseminated and blebby textures in gabbroic units.

Nova-Bollinger’s massive sulphide mineralogy is dominated by pyrrhotite (80 to 85%), minor pentlandite (10 to 15%) with lesser chalcopyrite (5 to 10%). Concentrations of up to 5% magnetite also occur locally within more massive sulphides zones. Cobalt is strongly and positively correlated with nickel as both elements are found concentrated in pentlandite, albeit both also occur in minor concentrations in solid solution with pyrrhotite.

Reserves

Lock

- subscription is required.

Mining Methods

Lock

- subscription is required.

Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Lock

- subscription is required.

Processing

Lock

- subscription is required.

Production

CommodityProductUnits20242023202220212020201920182017
Nickel Metal in concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe31223.5
Copper Metal in concentrate M lbs  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe30214.6
Cobalt Metal in concentrate t  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe1,090740112
Nickel Payable metal kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2216
Nickel Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe227165
Copper Payable metal M lbs  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2819
Copper Concentrate kt  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe4331
Cobalt Payable metal t  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe354238
^ Guidance / Forecast.

Operational metrics

Metrics2023202220212020201920182017
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe1,509,875 t1,511,920 t
Tonnes milled  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe1,580,706 t1,427,072 t
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe1.5 Mt1.5 Mt1.5 Mt

Production Costs

CommodityUnits2024202320222021202020192018
Credits (by-product) Nickel AUD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe -2.75 / lb   -3.13 / lb  
Total cash costs Nickel AUD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 2.07 / lb **   2.78 / lb **  
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Nickel AUD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 2.79 / lb **   4.51 / lb **  
^ Guidance / Forecast.
** Net of By-Product.

Financials

Units2024202320222021202020192018
Capital expenditures (planned) M AUD  ....  Subscribe
Capital expenditures M AUD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 34.2   59.6  
Revenue M AUD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 501.9   348.8  
Pre-tax Income M AUD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 95.4   35.6  
EBITDA M AUD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 256.2   196  
Operating Cash Flow M AUD  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 289.1   146.7  

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Lock

- subscription is required.

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 29, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 29, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 29, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 29, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 29, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 29, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 29, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 29, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 29, 2023

Total WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required 2018

Aerial view:

Lock

- subscription is required.