Overview
Stage | Permitting |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
|
Mine Life | 30 years (as of Jan 1, 2019) |
Sconi Project in Queensland is expected to deliver the world's most sustainable nickel and cobalt from the first mineral resources company to be Carbon Neutral certified by the Australian Government, Australian Mines. |
Source:
p. 14, 61
Contractors
- Subscription is required.
Summary:
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.
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 th ........

Summary:
The Sconi Project spans three Mining Licence areas (ML 10368, ML 10366, and ML 10342) which are Greenvale, Lucknow and Kokomo respectively. The mining operation will be centred at the Greenvale site. Lucknow is located approximately 10 kilometres to the south-east with access via the Gregory Highway, while Kokomo is located approximately 60 kilometres to the north-northeast of Greenvale.
An unsealed haulage road will be constructed to connect Kokomo to the processing facility at Greenvale. Conventional open pit mining is planned for the operation at the three sites utilising a mining contractor model. The ore production schedule assumes Greenvale and Lucknow are operated as one mining area and Kokomo as a separate area. The schedule indicates that mining will be split between both areas and operated simultaneously, thereby requiring two mining fleets.
At Greenvale, ore will be delivered from the pits to a Run-of-Mine (ROM) pad adjacent to the primary crushing circuit. Ore from both Lucknow and Kokomo will be delivered to local ROM pads from where it will be loaded into road trains and transported to the Greenvale site.
The road trains will discharge their load into a purpose-built hopper bin where the ore will be crushed and processed directly or diverted to a storage stockpile on the upper level of the Greenvale ROM pad for rehandling.
Economic recovery of valuable metals requires optimised acid dosing in the Sconi project and to e ........

Flow Sheet:
Summary:

- subscription is required.
Projected Production:
Commodity | Product | Units | Avg. Annual | LOM |
Nickel
|
Sulphate
|
kt
| 47 | 1,405 |
Cobalt
|
Sulphate
|
kt
| ......  | ......  |
Scandium
|
Oxide
|
t
| | ......  |
Operational Metrics:
Metrics | |
Stripping / waste ratio
| 0.87 * |
Annual processing rate
| 2 Mt * |
* According to 2019 study.
Reserves at June 13, 2019:
Ore Reserve summary based on based on variable nickel equivalent cut-off between 0.40% and 0.45%.
Greenvale Mineral Resource. Lower cut-off grade: Nickel equivalent 0.40%.
Lucknow Mineral Resource. Lower cut-off grade: Nickel equivalent 0.55%.
Kokomo Mineral Resource. Lower cut-off grade: Nickel equivalent 0.45%.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Proven
|
8.08 Mt
|
Nickel
|
0.72 %
|
|
Proven
|
8.08 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
0.09 %
|
|
Proven
|
8.08 Mt
|
Scandium
|
44 ppm
|
|
Probable
|
49.22 Mt
|
Nickel
|
0.55 %
|
|
Probable
|
49.22 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
0.08 %
|
|
Probable
|
49.22 Mt
|
Scandium
|
33 ppm
|
|
Proven & Probable
|
57.3 Mt
|
Nickel
|
0.58 %
|
|
Proven & Probable
|
57.3 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
0.08 %
|
|
Proven & Probable
|
57.3 Mt
|
Scandium
|
35 ppm
|
|
Measured
|
8.27 Mt
|
Nickel
|
0.75 %
|
62,221 t
|
Measured
|
8.27 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
0.09 %
|
7,725 t
|
Measured
|
8.27 Mt
|
Nickel Equivalent
|
1.05 %
|
87,044 t
|
Indicated
|
49.24 Mt
|
Nickel
|
0.6 %
|
295,736 t
|
Indicated
|
49.24 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
0.08 %
|
39,946 t
|
Indicated
|
49.24 Mt
|
Nickel Equivalent
|
0.85 %
|
420,532 t
|
Inferred
|
18.2 Mt
|
Nickel
|
0.54 %
|
97,622 t
|
Inferred
|
18.2 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
0.05 %
|
9,486 t
|
Inferred
|
18.2 Mt
|
Nickel Equivalent
|
0.66 %
|
120,378 t
|
Total Resource
|
75.71 Mt
|
Nickel
|
0.6 %
|
455,579 t
|
Total Resource
|
75.71 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
0.08 %
|
57,157 t
|
Total Resource
|
75.71 Mt
|
Nickel Equivalent
|
0.83 %
|
627,954 t
|
Corporate Filings & Presentations:
- Subscription is required.
- Subscription is required.