Mining Intelligence and News
Australia

Sherlock Bay Project

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Categories

Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit & Underground
StagePreliminary Economic Assessment
Commodities
  • Nickel
  • Copper
  • Cobalt
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
  • Sub-level caving
Mine Life... Lock

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Sabre Resources Ltd. 70 % Indirect
Sabre Resources Ltd. has a 70% beneficial interest in the Sherlock Bay project.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Banded iron formation

Summary:

The Sherlock Bay nickel-copper-cobalt deposit (“Sherlock Bay” or “Deposit”) is located in the Pilbara region of northwest Western Australia, within / proximal to the Scholl Shear Zone, a major regional strike-slip fault that traverses the north-western margin of the Caines Well Granitoid Complex in the West Pilbara Craton. Much of the deposit is covered by a veneer of sheetwash sediments averaging ~12 m thick. The mineralised horizon is spatially associated with intermediate to felsic metavolcanic rocks, metasedimentary rocks and mafic-ultramafic intrusions - including the Sherlock Intrusion located immediately to the south and spatially (and genetically) associated with the Deposit.

The mineralised horizon is a steeply dipping banded quartz-magnetite-amphibole schist (also referred to as a siliceous banded iron formation or amphibole-bearing chert). There is broad correlation of Ni, Cu and Co grade to sulphide content with the main species being pyrrhotite (+/- pentlandite), pyrite and chalcopyrite.

Sherlock Bay includes two nickel sulphide deposits, Symonds and Discovery, both of which are tabular and trend northeast-southwest within an overall 1.5km strike length mineralised zone within the Scholl Shear Zone corridor. Each deposit is approximately 600m to 800m in strike length, approximately 15m to 20m wide and dip almost vertically to depths in excess of 500m. The deposits remain open down-dip/plunge.

The mineralisation is associated with a laminated silica-chlorite-carbonate-amphibole-magnetite assemblage within the host “chert” horizon. Ni-Cu-Co bearing sulphides occur as fine disseminations, veins, coarse blebs or within the bands apparently replacing magnetite. Nickel grades broadly correlate with pyrrhotite content. The entire chert unit is rarely completely mineralised, with nickel grades dropping to near background towards the “footwall” (south) in upper levels or “hangingwall” (north) at depth. The dip of the mineralised chert changes from steep west to steep east with depth – apparently correlating with an increase in grade down dip/plunge.

The Sherlock Bay deposit has a drilled strike extent of 1.7 km EW and a maximum vertical depth of 600m. The true thickness of the mineralisation ranges from 10 m to 30 m.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Production

CommodityUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Nickel t 6,00070,300
Copper t 12,500
Cobalt t 2,400

Operational metrics

Metrics
Annual ore mining rate  ....  Subscribe
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined, LOM  ....  Subscribe
Tonnes processed, LOM  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage
Cash costs Nickel Equivalent USD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Cobalt USD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Nickel USD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Copper USD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study / presentation.

Operating Costs

Currency2022
OP mining costs ($/t milled) AUD 23.4 *  
UG mining costs ($/t milled) AUD  ....  Subscribe
Combined mining costs ($/t milled) AUD  ....  Subscribe
Processing costs ($/t milled) AUD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Pre-Production capital costs $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Total CapEx $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
OP OpEx $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
UG OpEx $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
OP/UG OpEx $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
EBITDA (LOM) $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M AUD  ......  Subscribe

Heavy Mobile Equipment

Fleet data has not been reported.

Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNamePhoneProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ........... Subscription required Subscription required Jan 7, 2024

Aerial view:

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