The Ravensthorpe Nickel Operation (RNO) is an open-pit mine and primary processing plant.
January 15, 2024 - The changes in response to weaker metal prices. Mining at Shoemaker-Levy will be suspended and both High Pressure Acid Leach circuits will be bypassed. Existing ore stockpiles will be processed through the Atmospheric Leach circuit. This will substantially reduce mining and processing costs, albeit at slightly lower recoveries in the process plant. Stockpiles are sufficient for eighteen months of production, after which time Hale Bopp and Halley’s ore bodies will be mined. The change in strategy results in a decrease in nickel production guidance with grades and recoveries impacted, while at the same time preserving the higher-grade Shoemaker-Levy orebody until nickel prices recover and operating margins improve. |