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Australia

Goongarrie Hub (KNP) Project

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Summary

Mine TypeOpen Pit
Study CompletedPrefeasibility
Study in ProgressFeasibility
Commodities
  • Nickel
  • Cobalt
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Goongarrie Hub (within the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project) is a multi-decade, large scale, low cost nickel-cobalt operation.

The PFS (2023) Base Case end-product is Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP), which is the new Class 1 nickel for Lithium Ion Batteries (LIB).

A key component of the PFS was replacement of limestone sourced from third parties with mineralised neutralising (MN) material sourced from within the deposits mined.

As of March 2025, Definitive Feasibility Study is underway.

Process Plant update according to DFS:
• potential increasing annual throughput capacities of both the HPAL and AL circuits treating;
• flowsheet update from Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate to Mixed Sulphide Precipitate as the final product.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Ardea Resources Ltd. 100 % Indirect
The Kalgoorlie Nickel Project (KNP) Goongarrie Hub is 100% owned by Kalgoorlie Nickel Pty Ltd (KNPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ardea Resources Limited.

Deposit type

  • Laterite

Summary:

The KNP – Goongarrie Hub is located within the Kalgoorlie Terrane of the EGST upon a NNW trending, craton-scale structure termed the Bardoc Tectonic Zone (BTZ) which separates the Ora Banda Domain in the west from the Boorara Domain in the east (the same crustal structure hosts the famous City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Golden Mile gold mines).

Goongarrie Hub deposits: Goongarrie South, Big Four, Scotia Dam, Goongarrie Hill, Highway and Siberia North.

The KNP – Goongarrie Hub mineralised Nickel Laterite regolith has developed from intense Tertiary-aged tropical weathering of a single distinctive protolith unit, the Walter Williams Formation (WWF), an olivine(-pyroxene) cumulate ultramafic volcanic rock.

The Goongarrie Hub deposits within the Goongarrie South-Big Four-Scotia Dam (Goongarrie Line) protolith have been subject to intense deformation in association with the BTZ. The deformation has resulted in a deeply recessive weathering profile, permitting within the Eocene geological period the incursion of the ancestral Lake Goongarrie onto the Goongarrie Line WWF/BTZ.

Nickel laterite mineralisation within the Goongarrie Hub is developed from the weathering of Achaean-aged olivinecumulate ultramafic units within the Walter Williams Formation (WWF) with resultant near surface metal enrichment. The mineralisation typically occurs within 80m of surface (but can extend to 160m depth) and can be subdivided based on mineralogical and metallurgical characteristics into upper iron-rich (“Clay Upper”) and lower magnesium-rich (“Clay Lower/Saprock”) materials based on the ratios of iron to magnesium. These upper and lower layers can be further subdivided into additional mineralogy groups or material types based on ratios of the other major grade attributes. The deposits are analogous to many weathered ultramafic-hosted nickel-cobalt deposits both within Australia and worldwide.

The continuity of mineralisation is strongly controlled by variations in the ultramafic protolith, fracturing and palaeo water flow within the ultramafic host rocks. Areas of deep fracturing and water movement within the bedrock typically have higher grade and more extensive mineralisation in the overlying regolith. There is also often a distinctive increase in grade, widths and depth of mineralisation coinciding with olivine mesocumulate facies and increased structural deformation proximal to more competent thinner orthocumulate facies and mafic rocks immediately to the east and west of the WWF. Where the host regolith overlies olivine adcumulate lithologies there is typically an increase in siliceous material, coinciding with mostly lower nickel and cobalt grades along the central axis of the WWF. Deeper fracturing occurs along cross cutting structures which often coincides with narrow higher grade nickel and cobalt mineralisation within the adcumulate facies.

The carbonated saprock variant of adcumulate commonly has a palaeo-karst speleothem development, being coarse residual silicified fragments of light-coloured adcumulate “floating” in a matrix of dark red goethite. The open-space within the breccia constitutes a favourable borefield reservoir rock.

Thin layers of transported colluvial, alluvial and lacustrine sediments overlie much of the insitu nickel laterite mineralisation at the Goongarrie Hub, with mostly colluvial sediments approximately 4m thick at GH. All sediment types present at GS range from less than 5m to over 40m thick. At BF and SD and colluvial and alluvial sediments range from less than 5m to 40m thick. Much of the high-grademineralisation at GS, BF and SD is under 10-20m of transported cover.

Dimensions
Goongarrie Hill (GH): The total strike length of the nickel and cobalt mineralisation domains is 5.2km with the nickel envelope averaging 750m wide and 50m thick. The main cobalt domain is approximately 700m wide extending 2.2km south from the northern end of GH, bifurcating into a 500m wide western zone extending another 1.1km south before tapering to 140m wide and extending a further 1km south. The 150m wide eastern zone extends 3km south from the bifurcation to the south end of the deposit. The cobalt domains range from 2m to 30m thick and average approximately 15m thick. Interpreted depth of the mineralisation averages from approximately 8m below surface down to approximately 55m below surface.

Goongarrie South (GS): The total strike length of the main nickel and cobalt mineralisation domains is approximately 7.4km with observed widths of approximately 400m and up to 1km.. Several semi-parallel mineralisation zones for the smaller cobalt domains are observed are with variable thicknesses typically ranging in the order of 5m to 20m thick with some zones being up to and exceeding 50m thick in the area referred to as the Pamela-Jean zone. Mineralisation has been modelled from near surface down to approximately 160m below surface.

Big Four (BF): The total strike length of the main nickel and cobalt mineralisation domains is approximately 7.7km with observed widths of approximately 300m. In the cobalt domains, several semi-parallel mineralisation zones are observed with variable thicknesses typically in the order of 5m to 15m thick with some zones being in the range of 20m to 40m thick. Mineralisation has been modelled from near surface down to approximately 80m below surface.

Scotia Dam (SD): The total strike length of the nickel and cobalt mineralisation domains is approximately 1.3km with observed widths of approximately 250m and up to 550m. Possibly two cobalt mineralisation zones are observed with variable thicknesses typically in the order of 5m to 25m thick with some zones being up to and exceeding 35m thick towards the northern end of the main mineralised zone. Mineralisation has been modelled from near surface down to approximately 55m below surface.

Highway (HW): The nickel mineralisation occurs within a single zone that extends over a strike length of 5.7km averages approximately 50m thick and is 1.2km wide at the south end, gradually tapering to 300m wide at the north end. The interpreted top of mineralisation ranges from surface to 25m below surface, averaging 10m below surface. The interpreted base of mineralisation ranges from 6m to 80m below surface, averaging 60m below surface.

Siberia North (SN): The mineralisation occurs in a single zone that extends over a 7km strike length and averages approximately 1.5km wide over 4km (central region) and 500m wide over 3km (combined north and south ends). Mineralisation has been modelled from near surface down to approximately 70m below surface.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Commodity Production

Ore tonnes mined 214,044 kt includes Ore and mineralised neutralising (MN) material (~53,438 kt).

A key component of the PFS was replacement of limestone sourced from third parties with mineralised neutralising (MN) material sourced from within the deposits mined.
CommodityProductUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Nickel Metal in hydroxide kt 291,188
Cobalt Metal in hydroxide kt 2.188
Nickel Hydroxide kt 132

Operational metrics

Metrics
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe
Stripping ratio  ....  Subscribe
Waste tonnes, LOM  ....  Subscribe
Tonnes processed, LOM  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2023 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage
Credits (by-product) Nickel USD  ....  Subscribe
Cash costs Nickel USD  ....  Subscribe
Cash costs Nickel USD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Cobalt USD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Nickel USD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2023 study / presentation.
** Net of By-Product.

Operating Costs

CurrencyAverage
OP mining costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
Processing costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
G&A ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
Total operating costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2023 study.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Pre-Production capital costs $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
OP OpEx $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Processing OpEx $M AUD 11,609
Freight costs $M AUD 1,337
G&A costs $M AUD 710
Total OpEx $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Gross revenue (LOM) $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
EBITDA (LOM) $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 7% $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 7% $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Apr 17, 2025
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Workforce

Total WorkforceYear
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Aerial view:

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