Overview

Mine Type	Underground
Status	Care and Maintenance
Commodities	Nickel
Mining Method	Longhole open stoping
Backfill type	...
Snapshot	Spotted Quoll mine is a part of Forestania operation. In July 2024, the Forrestania Operation experienced significant seismic events at the Spotted Quoll mine. As a result, mining at Spotted Quoll finished earlier than previously anticipated, after which the Operation transitioned into care and maintenance. Forrestania reached its end of life in September 2024 and transitioned into care and maintenance.

Deposit type

• MMS

Summary:

Forrestania’s magmatic nickel sulphide deposits are hosted by a 2.9 Ga old sequence of now metamorphosed igneous and sedimentary rocks that are part of the Forrestania Greenstone Belt (FGB) of the Youanmi Terrane of the Eastern Yilgarn Craton.

Spotted Quoll is located within the traditional footwall of the basal ultramafic metasediment contact, which was probably the original locus for sulphide deposition from an overlying pile of komatiite flows. Subsequent metamorphism, deformation, and intrusion of granitoid sills has contributed to a complex setting, with mineralisation now occupying a possible shear zone within the footwall sediments, 15 to 20m (stratigraphical) beneath the basalt/ultramafic contact.

The deposit is principally a body of matrix magmatic sulphide mineralisation in which the original pentlandite and pyrrhotite assemblage has been overprinted by arsenic-bearing assemblages dominated by gersdorffite and minor nickeline. Sulphide abundances of 20% to 90% are common.

Mean nickel grades of ore intersections are in the order of 4% to 12% Ni.

Late-stage intrusions of granodiorites, granites and pegmatites showing little to no evidence of ductile deformation exploit three main structural orientations: subvertical units striking north-south, gently west dipping units and moderately east dipping units. An early-stage felsic porphyry intrusion displaying features of strong ductile deformation was modelled in Zone 4 through to Zone 6, subparallel to footwall sediment bedding and existing mineralisation. Occurrences of all stages of felsic intrusions were observed to increase in abundance below Zone 3 (750mRL).

Dimensions:
- The strike length of the MRE is nominally 300m on average, with a range of 25m to 520m, depending on depth below surface. The nominal mean dip length is 1,500m.
- The elevation below the pre-existing open pit is 1250mRL and the maximum depth of the Mineral Resource is 250mRL.

Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Processing

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Production

Commodity	Units	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
Nickel	kt	....	....	13	14	16

Operational metrics

Metrics	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
Ore tonnes mined	....	....	324,395 t	346,455 t	354,659 t

Personnel

Job Title	Name	Profile	Ref. Date
.......................	.......................		Oct 8, 2024
.......................	.......................		Oct 8, 2024
.......................	.......................		Oct 8, 2024
.......................	.......................		Oct 8, 2024