• Data Access
  • Your Email  
  • Your Email  
Keep me signed in.
Forgot your password?
Close
  • Forgot Your Password?
  • Enter the email you signed up with and we'll email it to you.
  • Your Email  
Close
Back
MDO
Mining Data Solutions
  • Home
  • Database
  • Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Sign In
Australia
Lake Wells Project

This page is not tailored to
devices with screen width under 750 px.
 Location:
164 km NE from Laverton, Western Australia, Australia

  Project Contacts:
Suite 31, 22 Railway Road
Subiaco
Western Australia, Australia
6008
Phone  ...  Subscription required
WebsiteWeb
Additional Resources for Suppliers & Investors
Drill results over 30 g/t Au
Stay on top of recent discoveries.
Search drill results by commodity and grade.
Largest mines in the Americas
Mining and mill throughput capaciites.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Deepest underground mines
Shaft depth and mill throughput data.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Heavy mobile equipment
HME type, model, size and quantity.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Permitting and construction projects
Projects at the permitting or construction stage. Full profiles of select projects.
Mines with remote camps
Camp size, mine location and contacts.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
Mines & projects in Australia
A list of country's mines and projects.
Full profiles of select mines and projects.
  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Costs & Financials
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

Thank you for browsing through mine profiles compiled by the Mining Data Online team.

Would you like to subcribe or schedule a Demo?
  • Name:
     
  • Company:
     
  • Position:
     
  • Phone:
  • Email:
  • Message:

Overview

StagePermitting
Mine TypeIn-Situ
Commodities
  • Potash
Mining Method
  • Brine mining
Processing
  • Crush & Screen plant
  • Flotation
  • Concentrate leach
  • Dissolving & Crystallising
  • Solar evaporation
Mine Life30 years (as of Jan 1, 2019)
Latest NewsAustralian Potash Ltd.: Full Environmental Approval Received     February 2, 2021


Owners

Source:
CompanyInterestOwnership
Australian Potash Ltd. 100 % Indirect
Australian Potash Limited holds a 100% interest in the Lake Wells Sulphate of Potash project.

Deposit Type

  • Sedimentary
  • Brine


Summary:

A deep palaeovalley (ranging between 150 and 170m in depth) extends along the length of the LSOP area, infilled with predominantly lacustrine clays and sand interbeds of Tertiary age. Seven hydrostratigraphic units have been identified comprising:

• An extensive surficial unit of mixed alluvial/lacustrine sediments comprising:

- Approximately 15m of sandy loam, including local laterite and evaporite deposits, overlying the entire lake area.

- An upper, low permeability, clay-rich unit with minor sand horizons extending across the entire lake area.

- Local areas of permeable calcrete and / or silcrete.

• An upper sand aquifer unit at the base of the surficial unit, occurring at depths ranging between 35 and 70m, with thicknesses varying between 1 and 12m and anticipated to be continuous both along the length and across the width of the palaeochannel.

• A lower clay aquitard comprising puggy lacustrine clay with minor sandy interbeds. Adopted permeability ranging between 0.07 and 0.8 m/d

• A mixed aquifer unit comprising interbedded sand and clay.

• A basal sand aquifer located along the length of the paleochannel and encountered in 25 drill holes. Although predominantly of Tertiary age, in places, there are thin remnants of Permian glacial deposits (conglomerates and diamictites) overlying the Archean basement, which have also been included in this hydrogeological unit.

The brine contained in this aquifer sequence is enriched in potassium; the aquifer sequence has a
weighted mean average potassium concentration of 3,345 mg/L and a maximum recorded concentration of 7,380 mg/L. Groundwater levels are essentially at ground surface.


Mining Methods

  • Brine mining


Summary:

Brine abstraction
The bore-field network will be developed into the palaeovalley hosted deposit containing the potassium rich brines. The bore-field network has been designed to meet the required production flow rate. Bores will be developed into the upper and lower (or basal) aquifer units, with leakage of overlying units recharging the abstracted brine.

The bore-field design is based upon an abstraction rate across the network of 540 litres per second (l/s) of brine for the life of mine, producing 100,000 tpa of SOP. Total annual brine abstraction volume into the evaporation pond network is 17 gigalitres per year.

DFS bore-field design includes 78 bores on a nominal spacing of 800 metres. A contingency of 8 bores has been included that will be held on stand-by to cover scheduled maintenance.


Crushing and Grinding


Processing

  • Crush & Screen plant
  • Flotation
  • Concentrate leach
  • Dissolving & Crystallising
  • Solar evaporation

Flow Sheet: Subscription required

Summary:

The Project will be developed as a solar salt operation, comprising brine abstraction, brine evaporation and salt processing.

Brine evaporation
The solar evaporation ponds are the first stage of processing the brine to produce SOP. Water is evaporated from the brine, precipitating potassium (K) bearing salts.

There are three types of ponds in the evaporation sequence: the buffer pond, where brine is stored and released to manage seasonal fluctuations in evaporation; the preconcentration ponds, where the playa brine is concentrated and sodium chloride (halite) deposits as a waste material; and, the harvest ponds, where the potassiumbearing salts are crystallised and harvested.

The pre-concentration ponds will be constructed on the lake and will be configured to take advantage of the natural clay layer and topography, minimising construction costs. Berm walls will consist of an impermeable core section keyed into the underlying playa clay. The harve ........


Projected Production:

CommodityUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Potash Mt 1504.5
All production numbers are expressed as sulphate.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics
Annual brine extraction  ......  Subscription required
* According to 2019 study.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Reserves at August 28, 2019:

CategoryTonnage CommodityGradeContained Metal
Probable 490 M cu.m Sulfate of potash (SOP) 3.6 Mt
Probable 490 M cu.m Potassium 3325 mg/L 1.6 Mt
Measured 27,678 M cu.m Sulfate of potash (SOP) 7455 mg/L 18.1 Mt
Measured 27,678 M cu.m Potassium 3343 mg/L

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnitsAverage
Cash costs Sulfate of potash (SOP) USD  ......  Subscription required *
Assumed price Sulfate of potash (SOP) USD  ......  Subscription required *
* According to 2019 study / presentation.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

2019 Study Costs and Valuation Metrics :

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Total CapEx $M AUD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M AUD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax NPV @ 8% $M AUD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M AUD  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscription required
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscription required
Pre-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscription required
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Heavy Mobile Equipment:

Mine Management:

Job TitleNamePhoneEmailProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Feb 16, 2021
Subscription required - Subscription is required.


Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

News:

NewsDate
Australian Potash Ltd.: Full Environmental Approval Received February 2, 2021
Australian Potash obtains green approval September 7, 2020
Australian Potash receives EPA approval for Lake Wells May 8, 2020

Aerial view:

Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Terms of Use Privacy Policy © 2020 MDO Data Online Inc.