Overview
Stage | Permitting |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
- Nickel
- Copper
- Cobalt
- Gold
- Silver
- Palladium
- Platinum
|
Mining Method |
|
Processing |
|
Mine Life | 26 years (as of Jan 1, 2020) |
The West Musgrave Project includes the Nebo and Babel nickel-copper deposits and the Succoth copper deposit. |
Latest News | OZ lines up West Musgrave with EPA approval February 7, 2022 |
Source:
p. 133
The OZ Minerals Ltd. consolidated its ownership in the West Musgrave Project to 100 per cent in 2020.
Deposit Type
- Magmatic
- Breccia pipe / Stockwork
Summary:
The Babel deposit and Nebo deposit are hosted by a sub-horizontal, concentrically zoned, tube-shaped (chonolithic) gabbronorite intrusion. The east-west trending mafic intrusion has a known extent of 5 km, with a gentle 15-degree dip to the south, and in the case of Babel, a less than 10-degree plunge toward the south-west. Babel and Nebo are separated by the steeply-dipping, north-south trending Jameson Fault, with Babel to the west of the fault and Nebo to the east.
Babel consist of three main lithostratigraphic units, which are variably textured leucogabbronorite (VLGN) that forms the outer shell around mineralised gabbronorite (MGN), and barren gabbronorite (BGN) in the core of the intrusion. At Nebo, the main lithostratigraphic units are VLGN that forms an outer shell of the intrusion, around BGN and oxide-apatite gabbronorite (OAGN), which occur in the core of the intrusion at the eastern end (Seat et al. 2007). The Babel Nebo deposits contain two main styles of mineralisation: massive and breccia sulphides, which are a comparatively minor component of the overall sulphide inventory and disseminated gabbronorite-hosted sulphides that represent the bulk of the mineralisation. Massive and breccia sulphides at both deposits comprise, in decreasing abundance, pyrrhotite, pentlandite, chalcopyrite and trace pyrite. In most of the shallower intersections, supergene alteration has modified the primary sulphide assemblages to pyrite and violarite. The disseminated mineralisation at both deposits occurs as blebs in gabbronorites. Copper and nickel grades at Babel and Nebo are at a 1:1 ratio with higher grades occurring in the massive sulphides and marginal breccia zones. Lower copper and nickel grades occur in the disseminated sulphide zones
The deposits are located within the West Musgrave Province of Western Australia, which is part of an extensive Mesoproterozoic orogenic belt. The Nebo and Babel deposits are hosted in a mafic intrusions of the Giles Complex (1068Ma) that has intruded into amphibolite facies orthogneiss country rock.
Mineralisation is hosted within tubular chonolithic gabbronorite bodies and are expressed primarily as a broad zones of disseminated sulphides and co-magmatic accumulations of, matrix to massive and breccia sulphides.
Summary:
The West Musgrave Project consists of the Nebo and Babe pits. The deposits are near-surface and easily accessible by open pit mining with a pre-strip and initial ore stockpile for processing plant commissioning of approximately 32 Mt, some of which will be free dig.
Mining is modelled as conventional drill, blast, load and haul and assumed to be contractor operated during the first five years of operation, transitioning to owner operate in year six. The haulage fleet will comprise up to 25, 220 t haul trucks and optionality is being maintained to allow for these trucks to be fully autonomous in the future.
Mining equipment would include excavators, haul trucks, drill rigs, dozers, water trucks, service trucks and graders. Ore from the pits would be transferred by truck to the run-ofmine (ROM) stockpile pad located adjacent to the ore processing plant. An explosives magazine, conforming to relevant Australian Standards, would store explosives for open pit blasting activities.
Babel will be mined for the first two years to access higher grade, near-surface mineralisation, with Nebo to begin mining in year three.
Open Pit Characteristics for the Nebo Pit:
Width (m) - Up to 500;
Length (m)- Up to 2,100;
Depth (m) - Up to 270.
Open Pit Characteristics for the Babel Pit:
Width (m) - Up to 1,400;
Length (m) - Up to 2,200;
Depth (m) - Up to 520.
Stockpile strategies and in-pit dumping of waste have all been optimised to minimise operating cost and maximise mill feed grade.
Nebo and Babel to a maximum depth of ~520 m.
Flow Sheet:
Crusher / Mill Type | Model | Size | Power | Quantity |
Vertical mill / Tower
|
|
|
|
2
|
Summary:
The comminution circuit consists of primary and secondary crushing followed by two parallel vertical roller mills treating nominally 6 Mtpa each. The application of the Vertical Roller Mill technology has been peer reviewed for West Musgrave by an independent expert and has been substantially de-risked through a series of pilot tests.
Flow Sheet:
Summary:
An innovative mineral processing plant will be built on site.
A Bulk Separation flotation flowsheet producing separate copper and nickel concentrates will be used.
The flotation flowsheet uses bulk rougher flotation, regrinding, two stages of bulk cleaning, then copper nickel separation at elevated pH. The principal component of the bulk flowsheet will be the Direct Flotation Reactor®, further reducing energy consumption and improving concentrate grade quality. The flowsheet was thoroughly tested via locked cycle testing and piloting. The overall flowsheet remains largely equivalent to that in the PFS. The capacity of the processing plant has been increased to accommodate a 12 Mtpa throughput. The nickel concentrate is a high-quality product with a low MgO content, is low in arsenic and other impurities. The copper concentrate is also low in impurities and includes minor by-products of gold and silver.
Recoveries & Grades:
Commodity | Parameter | Avg. LOM |
Nickel
|
Recovery Rate, %
| 69 |
Nickel
|
Head Grade, %
| 0.39 |
Nickel
|
Concentrate Grade, %
| 12.5 |
Copper
|
Recovery Rate, %
| 77 |
Copper
|
Head Grade, %
| 0.42 |
Copper
|
Concentrate Grade, %
| 29.5 |
Projected Production:
Commodity | Units | Avg. Annual |
Nickel
|
kt
| 29 |
Copper
|
kt
| ......  |
All production numbers are expressed as metal in concentrate.
Operational Metrics:
Metrics | |
Stripping / waste ratio
| ......  |
Annual processing capacity
| ......  |
Annual mining rate
| ......  |
* According to 2020 study.
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Reserves at December 9, 2020:
The Mineral Resource has been reported at a Net Smelter Return (NSR) cut-off of A$20/t.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Probable
|
253 Mt
|
Nickel
|
0.32 %
|
820 kt
|
Probable
|
253 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.35 %
|
890 kt
|
Probable
|
253 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
120 ppm
|
|
Probable
|
253 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.06 ppm
|
|
Probable
|
253 Mt
|
Silver
|
1 ppm
|
|
Probable
|
253 Mt
|
Palladium
|
0.1 ppm
|
|
Probable
|
253 Mt
|
Platinum
|
0.1 ppm
|
|
Indicated
|
310 Mt
|
Nickel
|
0.31 %
|
970 kt
|
Indicated
|
310 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.34 %
|
1,000 kt
|
Indicated
|
310 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
120 ppm
|
|
Indicated
|
310 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.06 ppm
|
|
Indicated
|
310 Mt
|
Silver
|
0.96 ppm
|
|
Indicated
|
310 Mt
|
Palladium
|
0.09 ppm
|
|
Indicated
|
310 Mt
|
Platinum
|
0.08 ppm
|
|
Inferred
|
82 Mt
|
Nickel
|
0.32 %
|
260 kt
|
Inferred
|
82 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.37 %
|
300 kt
|
Inferred
|
82 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
120 ppm
|
|
Inferred
|
82 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.06 ppm
|
|
Inferred
|
82 Mt
|
Silver
|
1.1 ppm
|
|
Inferred
|
82 Mt
|
Palladium
|
0.1 ppm
|
|
Inferred
|
82 Mt
|
Platinum
|
0.09 ppm
|
|
Total Resource
|
390 Mt
|
Nickel
|
0.31 %
|
1,200 kt
|
Total Resource
|
390 Mt
|
Copper
|
0.34 %
|
1,300 kt
|
Total Resource
|
390 Mt
|
Cobalt
|
120 ppm
|
|
Total Resource
|
390 Mt
|
Gold
|
0.06 ppm
|
|
Total Resource
|
390 Mt
|
Silver
|
1 ppm
|
|
Total Resource
|
390 Mt
|
Palladium
|
0.09 ppm
|
|
Total Resource
|
390 Mt
|
Platinum
|
0.08 ppm
|
|
Proposed Heavy Mobile Equipment as of December 9, 2020:
HME Type | Size | Quantity | Leased or Contractor |
Truck (underground)
|
220 t
|
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|
|
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