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Australia
Ravensthorpe Mine

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 Location:
33 km E from Ravensthorpe, Western Australia, Australia

  Regional Office:
Lot 1269 South Coast Highway
Locked Bag 100
Ravensthorpe
Western Australia, Australia
6346
Phone  ...  Subscription required
Fax+61 89 838 2001
WebsiteWeb
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  • Overview
  • Owners
  • Geology
  • Mining
  • Processing
  • Production
  • Reserves
  • Costs & Financials
  • Personnel
  • Filings & News

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Overview

StageProduction
Mine TypeOpen Pit
Commodities
  • Nickel
  • Cobalt
  • Magnesium
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Processing
  • Sulfuric acid (reagent)
  • Pressure Acid Leach (PAL)
  • Atmospheric Leach (AL)
  • Counter current decantation (CCD)
Mine Life30 years (as of Jan 1, 2020)
RNO was placed on care and maintenance in October 2017 due to the continuing low nickel price.
During 2019 work began towards the restart of operations at RNO and nickel production activities recommenced during Q1 2020, with the ramp up to full production levels expected during Q2 2020.
Latest NewsSIMPEC secures inaugural First Quantum contract     December 15, 2020


Owners

Source: p. 8, 57
CompanyInterestOwnership
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. 100 % Indirect
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. is the 100% owner of the Ravensthorpe Nickel Operations. The Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation’s mineral rights are primarily held by the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, FQM Australia Nickel Pty Ltd.

Deposit Type

  • Laterite


Summary:

Ravensthorpe Nickel Operations (RNO) consists of several discrete nickel laterite deposits.

The mineral resources defined at the Halley's, Hale-Bopp, Shoemaker-Levy, Nindilbillup and Shoemaker-Levy North nickel laterite deposits have developed over Archaean ultramafic rocks through prolonged deep weathering. Sub-horizontal tabular zones containing residual and supergene accumulations of nickel, cobalt, manganese and iron have developed in association with extensive leaching of principally magnesium.

The majority of nickel mineralisation in the RNO deposits is hosted in the goethite/limonite zone, whilst the upper levels of the saprolite zone is also commonly well mineralised. In all RNO deposits, nickel mineralisation forms as a blanket beneath barren surface units whilst cobalt mineralisation occurs mainly in a narrow zone generally towards the top of the nickelenrichment zone in association with manganese accumulation. It is often centred around the redox boundary in the limonite zone, recognised by an accumulation of manganese enrichment.


Mining Methods

  • Truck & Shovel / Loader


Summary:

Operations at Ravensthorpe involve open pit mining and beneficiation of nickel laterite ore.

All mining activities will take place in the three mining areas, each of which has been split into smaller stages. The current mining activities in Halleys involve a conventional Drill/Blast and Load/Haul operation. There is up to 40% free diggable ore and waste to be mined over the life of mine. All remaining ore and waste requires drilling and blasting.

The mining contractor mobilized and commenced mine production early in the first quarter of 2020. On the process plant, commissioning works and recruitment of operations personnel are planned to continue to ramp up ahead of expected first nickel and cobalt production during the quarter. The first two shipments of sulphur, a critical process reagent, were received in January 2020.[12.31.2019 MDA, p. 27]


Crushing and Grinding


Processing

  • Sulfuric acid (reagent)
  • Pressure Acid Leach (PAL)
  • Atmospheric Leach (AL)
  • Counter current decantation (CCD)

Flow Sheet: Subscription required

Summary:

Beneficiation
Nickel and cobalt values are enriched in the fines fractions of both the limonite and Saprolite ores, and the beneficiation process consists of rejecting the principally siliceous coarse fractions using conventional wet ore sizing equipment. Typical mass rejections of 60-70% are achieved at a nominal nickel recovery of 60-65%.

Crushed ore to each Beneficiation circuit is recovered from its respective reclaimer stockpile. Both feeds direct the crushed ore to a drum scrubber, where loose ore agglomerates are broken up and dispersed, and any loosely attached mineralisation is scrubbed from the siliceous gangue. The scrubber product is treated through a combination of screening and hydraulic classification to recover the nickel and cobalt values, which are now concentrated in the -100µ fraction. The +100µ material is discarded to a reject stream which is mechanically transported to a dump.

Limonite beneficiated products are treated through Pressure ........

Recoveries & Grades:

CommodityParameter20172016201520142013
Nickel Recovery Rate, %  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Nickel Head Grade, % 1.11.31.41.51.6
Nickel Concentrate Grade, %  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Production:

CommodityProductUnits2020201720162015
Nickel Metal in concentrate t  ......  Subscription required ^17,83723,62426,667
Nickel Concentrate t 78,097100,059112,766
^ Guidance / Forecast.
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Operational Metrics:

Metrics20172016201520142013
Ore tonnes mined  ......  Subscription required9,160 kt8,272 kt
Waste  ......  Subscription required4,970 kt4,588 kt
Stripping / waste ratio  ......  Subscription required0.54 0.55
Tonnes processed  ......  Subscription required2,510 kt2,334 kt3,128 kt3,119 kt

Reserves at December 31, 2019:

CategoryTonnage CommodityGrade
Proven 81.8 Mt Nickel 0.63 %
Proven 81.8 Mt Cobalt 0.03 %
Proven 81.8 Mt Magnesium 6.27 %
Probable 115.4 Mt Nickel 0.58 %
Probable 115.4 Mt Cobalt 0.03 %
Probable 115.4 Mt Magnesium 5.18 %
Proven & Probable 197.2 Mt Nickel 0.6 %
Proven & Probable 197.2 Mt Cobalt 0.03 %
Proven & Probable 197.2 Mt Magnesium 5.63 %
Measured 74.2 Mt Nickel 0.62 %
Measured 74.2 Mt Cobalt 0.03 %
Measured 74.2 Mt Magnesium 5.77 %
Indicated 141.9 Mt Nickel 0.58 %
Indicated 141.9 Mt Cobalt 0.03 %
Indicated 141.9 Mt Magnesium 5.97 %
Measured & Indicated 216.1 Mt Nickel 0.59 %
Measured & Indicated 216.1 Mt Cobalt 0.03 %
Measured & Indicated 216.1 Mt Magnesium 5.9 %
Inferred 110 Mt Nickel 0.52 %
Inferred 110 Mt Cobalt 0.02 %
Inferred 110 Mt Magnesium 8.89 %

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnits2017201620152014
Credits (by-product) Nickel USD -0.56 / lb -0.23 / lb -0.26 / lb -0.23 / lb
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Nickel USD 5.29 / lb† 5.29 / lb† 5.3 / lb†
C1 cash costs Nickel USD 4.45 / lb† 4.66 / lb† 4.6 / lb† 4.5 / lb†
C3 fully allocated costs Nickel USD 6.17 / lb† 6.34 / lb† 5.99 / lb† 5.98 / lb†
† Net of By-Product.

Financials:

Units2020201920182017201620152014
Capital expenditures (planned) M USD  ......  Subscription required
Capital expenditures M USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required 20   16  
Revenue M USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required 246   507  
Operating Income M USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required
Gross profit M USD  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required  ......  Subscription required -51  
Subscription required - Subscription is required


Heavy Mobile Equipment:

Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required May 16, 2020
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required May 20, 2020
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required May 16, 2020
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required May 16, 2020
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

Staff:

EmployeesTotal WorkforceYear
Subscription required 2017
Subscription required 2016
Subscription required Subscription required 2015

Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2019
................................... Subscription required 2018
................................... Subscription required 2018
Annual Report 2017
Annual Report 2016
Annual Report 2015
Technical Report 2014
Technical Report 2014
Other 2013
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

News:

NewsDate
SIMPEC secures inaugural First Quantum contract December 15, 2020
First Quantum set for Ravensthorpe restart despite virus April 29, 2020
MACA wins another First Quantum contract January 21, 2020
First Quantum to ramp up Ravensthorpe operations January 10, 2020
First Quantum to revive Ravensthorpe with $480m MACA contract November 20, 2019
First Quantum could restart Ravensthorpe amid surging nickel prices May 3, 2019

Aerial view:

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