Overview
| Stage | Production |
| Mine Type | Underground |
| Commodities |
|
| Mining Method |
- Longhole open stoping
- Avoca
- Cemented backfill
- Paste backfill
|
| Production Start | ...  |
| Mine Life | 1 years (as of Jan 1, 2021) |
The Flying Fox underground mine remains one of the highest grade nickel mines in the world. Production commenced in 2006, and the mine now operates at depths of over 1km underground. |
Source:
p. 70
| Company | Interest | Ownership |
|
IGO Ltd.
|
100 %
|
Indirect
|
On 20 June 2022, IGO Limited acquired 100% of the issued capital of Western Areas Limited (Western Areas). Western Areas was an ASX listed Australian-based mining and exploration company with a portfolio of operating and development stage mines. It owns a 100% interest in the Forrestania Operation (consisting of the Flying Fox and Spotted Quoll underground mines and the Cosmic Boy processing facility) and the Cosmos Project, both located in Western Australia, together with a substantial exploration portfolio.
Contractors
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Summary:
Forrestania’s camp of nickel sulphide deposits is hosted by a sequence of ~2.9Ga meta-igneous and metasedimentary rocks that are part of the Forrestania Greenstone Belt (FGB) of the Youanmi Terrane of the Eastern Yilgarn Craton.
Forrestania’s nickel deposits is the ‘Kambalda-style’ Type 1 and Type 2 models where nickel sulphides are interpreted to have accumulated in channelised komatiitic lava flows. Many of Forrestania’s deposits are often tectonically displaced from the original depositional locations and have been deformed and/or dismembered by one or more local and/or regional post-depositional tectonic events.
The main deposit type is the komatiite hosted, disseminated to massive nickel sulphide deposits, which include the Flying Fox and Spotted Quoll deposits. The mineralisation occurs in association with the basal section of high MgO cumulate ultramafic rocks.
The greenstone succession in the district also hosts several orogenic lode gold deposits, of which the Bounty Gold Mine is the largest example.
Flying Fox is hosted by a package of deformed metavolcanics and metasediments that have been intruded by granites. Locally, the geology comprises a strongly foliated succession of komatiites intercalated with metasediments, both of which are typical of the FGB’s Lower Sequence.
Post the primary deposition of the sulphide mineralisation in lava channels, one or more tectonic events have dismembered Flying Fox’s origi ........
Mining Methods
- Longhole open stoping
- Avoca
- Cemented backfill
- Paste backfill
Summary:
The Flying Fox underground mine has been in operation since 2005 and the current inputs to its ORE are based on operating budgets, and as such the level of study is considered superior in precision to an FS. Flying Fox’s ORE is reported on a >0.8% Ni model cut-off grade, which approximates the break- even grade for processing.
The mining methods at Flying Fox are direct or modifications of the AVOCA mining method, where longhole stoping is used to extract the ore and the void is progressively filled with rock and/or cemented rock or paste fill, depending on local geotechnical conditions. The minimum mining width is 2.0m, with stopes typically 20m along the strike of the ore and from 8 to 17m high.
Source:
Summary:
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Production:
| Commodity | Units | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|
Nickel
|
kt
| ...... | ...... | ...... | 10 | 10 |
All production numbers are expressed as metal in ore.
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Operational Metrics:
| Metrics | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|
Ore tonnes mined
| ...... | ...... | 231,607 t | 260,665 t | 237,119 t |
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Reserves at June 30, 2022:
Mineral Resource is reported at cut-of 0.4% Ni.
| Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
|
Probable
|
0.18 Mt
|
Nickel
|
2.22 %
|
4 kt
|
|
Indicated
|
0.66 Mt
|
Nickel
|
4.48 %
|
29 kt
|
|
Inferred
|
0.12 Mt
|
Nickel
|
1.7 %
|
2 kt
|
|
Total Resource
|
0.78 Mt
|
Nickel
|
4.05 %
|
31 kt
|
Mine Management:
| Job Title | Name | Profile | Ref. Date |
|
.......................
|
.......................
|
|
Sep 29, 2022
|
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Corporate Filings & Presentations:
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