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Australia

Sconi Project

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Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StagePermitting
Commodities
  • Nickel
  • Cobalt
  • Scandium
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Sconi Project is encompassing the old Greenvale Nickel Mine site and two nearby satellite deposits, Lucknow and Kokomo.

The Sconi Battery Minerals project to produce battery grade nickel and cobalt products and has the potential to produce scandium oxide as a by-product.

The critical path remains obtaining the Environmental approvals for the Sconi Project.

Australian Mines continues discussions to secure a Strategic Collaborative Partner to assist in driving the project deliverables Final investment decision by the end of 2025/early 2026.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Australian Mines Ltd. 100 % Indirect
Australian Mines, through its wholly owned subsidiary Sconi Mining Operations Pty Ltd, 100% owned Sconi Project.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Laterite
  • Saprolite

Summary:

The Sconi project comprises three granted mining leases with the main deposit located at Greenvale together with two satellite deposits at Lucknow and Kokomo.

The Sconi deposits are hosted in laterites which have formed on ultramafic rocks that include serpentinites, meta-gabbros and pyroxenites. These occur as lower crustal material rich in iron, magnesium and nickel. It is likely that these laterites formed following a period of prolonged weathering post the Cretaceous era.

Ultramafic rocks have a high background level of nickel and cobalt and the process of lateritisation has concentrated the nickel and cobalt to grades which have the potential to be exploited economically.

The laterite profiles are well preserved with the drill holes intersecting a complete laterite profile, from natural surface soil cover down to poorly mineralised bedrock. Each deposit varies with respect to geological profile and mineralisation, with Kokomo and Lucknow enriched in scandium, while Greenvale appears less enriched in scandium.

Greenvale and Lucknow
The Sconi Mineral Resource is contained within a saprolite, developed by weathering process over fragments of ultramafic basement rocks. Ni and Co have been enriched from the ultramafic rocks by both residual and supergene processes. Sc is less enriched at Greenvale than the other deposits, however higher Sc levels are recorded from drill samples obtained from the waste dumps, allowing these dumps to be assessed for inclusion in the Mineral Resource.

Serpentinites are interpreted as being formed in shear zones at the top edges of a meta-gabbro. Through the central regions of the deposit the serpentinite and resultant saprolite are generally flat lying at shallow depth and become steeper with several structures dipping up to 70o on the edges of the deposit. Weathering is preferentially superimposed on the softer serpentinite, resulting in the formation of limonite hosted nickel mineralisation and the formation of cobalt mineralisation, via the scavenging of cobalt by the accumulation of MnO near the base of the weathering profile.

Kokomo
The Kokomo Mineral Resource is contained within a laterite, developed by weathering process over fragments of ultramafic basement rocks. nickel, cobalt and scandium have been enriched from the ultramafic rocks by both residual and supergene processes.

The ultramafic complex and overlying nickel laterite form an elongated north-northeast trending body bounded by predominantly siltstones on the eastern and western margins. These margins display a marked increase in nickel, scandium and cobalt content.

Dimensions
The Greenvale Mineral Resource is approximately 2,700 m in strike length, between 150 m and 1,300 m in plan width, and extends to a depth of approximately 50 m below surface.

The Lucknow Mineral Resource is approximately 3,900 m in strike length, between 150 m and 350 m in plan width, and extends to a depth of approximately 50 m below surface.

The Kokomo Mineral Resource is approximately 4,800 m in strike length, between 330 m and 770 m in plan width, and extends to a depth of approximately 40 m below surface.

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

CommodityProductUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Nickel Metal in sulphate kt 10313
Nickel Sulphate kt 471,405
Cobalt Metal in sulphate kt 1.544
Cobalt Sulphate kt 7209
Scandium Oxide t 742,217

Operational metrics

Metrics
Annual processing rate 2 Mt *
Annual processing capacity 2 Mt *
Stripping / waste ratio 0.87 Mt *
Ore tonnes mined, LOM 57.6 Mt *
* According to 2019 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage
Credits (by-product) Nickel USD -4.64 / lb *  
C1 cash costs Nickel USD 6.1 / lb *  
C1 cash costs Nickel USD 1.46 / lb * **  
Assumed price Cobalt USD 30 / lb *  
Assumed price Nickel USD 7 / lb *  
* According to 2019 study / presentation.
** Net of By-Product.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Pre-Production capital costs $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Gross revenue (LOM) $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 8% $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe

Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jan 11, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jan 11, 2024

Total WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required 2019

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