NiWest Nickel Cobalt Project

The NiWest Nickel-Cobalt Project is one of the largest and highest quality undeveloped nickel-cobalt resources in Australia.

Located in the West Australian nickel belt, the Project sits adjacent to Glencore’s Murrin Murrin Nickel-Cobalt Operation, which is has been active since 1999.

NiWest hosts one of the highest-grade undeveloped nickel laterite Mineral Resources in Australia estimated to contain 93.4 million tonnes averaging 1.04% nickel and 0.07% cobalt. More than 83% of the Mineral Resource is classified as Measured and Indicated under JORC 2012.

The Project benefits from proximity to critical open-access infrastructure, including rail and gas pipelines, arterial roads and the mining hub of Leonora. Water resources have been established and a 2GL extraction license has been granted.

NiWest is designed to use conventional mining techniques and heap leaching technology, offering a simpler, safer and significantly lower-capital-cost alternative to High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL). 

Major imported consumables, including sulphur, are expected to be shipped via the Esperance Port facility and then trucked to site via existing sealed and unsealed roads. Final saleable products will be transported by rail to Fremantle Port for export to global customers.

More than $30 million has been invested into drilling, metallurgical testwork and development studies at NiWest, including a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), which was completed in 2018 and updated in 2022, and a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), completed in November 2024.

2024 Definitive Feasibility Study

The DFS confirms a high margin, long life project.

  • 35-year LOM, processing higher grade ore for the first 27 years of operation followed by an 8-year period of processing remaining previously mined and stockpiled low-grade ore
  • Nameplate capacity of 2.3 Mtpa, with a maximum capacity of 2.5 Mtpa.
  • Average annual production of 20,000 t pa Ni and 1,600 t cobalt over the first 12 years.
  • LOM post-tax free cashflow of A$6.1billion.
  • Low cost, high margin, with first quartile AISC of US$4.84/lb nickel (first 12 years)
  • Pre-production capex of A$1.65 billion (including contingency and pre-stripping) utilising low capital heap leaching process
  • Robust economics:
    • NPV (8%) of A$2.2 billion
    • IRR of 17.6% post-tax
    • Payback period of 5 years from first production
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