Following a feasibility study, Poseidon Nickel has announced that its Black Swan and Silver Swan projects located near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia are viable to restart operations, with a capital expenditure of approximately $56.7 million.
The feasibility study has also forecast that the mine can jump back into operations within a 12-month period after the project is fully funded. This is due to all assets and required operating licenses acquired before the mines were placed under care and maintenance in February 2009 - due to falling nickel prices - are still in good standing.
Approximately 180 new jobs are expected to be supported by operations at Black Swan and Silver Swan. For this project, Poseidon Nickel will be focusing on hiring Kalgoorlie-based residents to take on leadership and maintenance roles.
This project will comprise of the Black Swan open pit mine and processing plant as well as the Silver Swan underground mine.
The study shows that Silver Swan will require up to $12.9 million in capital investment for the restart, together with an $18.5 million investment for the processing plant.
Poseidon Nickel said in a statement: “The study confirms that the operations can be brought back into operation with first production within 12 months of fully funding the project, at a low level of capital investment and that no regulatory or technical barriers exist.
“The engineering study highlighted the key prestart activities required to restart mining and processing activities and to confirm the required capital and operating costs.”
Operations on Black Swan and Silver Swan mines are projected to generate $288.6 million in revenues for Poseidon Nickel, with the mines expected to produce approximately 8,000 tonnes of nickel annually.
Both mines have an expected life of up to 3.1 years and the processing plant has a projected output of about 1.1Mtpa.
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Source: Australian Mining, Poseidon Nickel, Business News WA