Ardea locks in Japanese giants for Kalgoorlie nickel project [Video]

A giant Japanese consortium has committed to backing the development of Ardea Resources’ Goongarrie Hub project in Western Australia’s Goldfields region – a major milestone for the nickel-cobalt operation billed by the Federal Government as “globally significant”.

Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation have agreed to join Ardea to form an incorporated joint venture (JV) to be known as Kalgoorlie Nickel (KNPL). Management has described the decision by the Japanese companies as an “enabler” for the project and a “massive independent endorsement” for its potential.

Once in production, the company expects Goongarrie Hub to be one of Australia’s biggest nickel-cobalt producers.

Goongarrie Hub is a subset of six deposits within the company’s wider Kalgoorlie Nickel project (KNP) that features 854 million tonnes at a grade of 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt, giving 6.1 million tonnes of contained nickel and 386,000 tonnes of contained cobalt. Outside of …