What We Do
Cosmic Boy
The high-grade nickel ore mined from Forrestania is processed through the Cosmic Boy Concentrator (CBC) and sold into offtake agreements with Tsingshan Group, China’s largest stainless steel producer and BHP Billiton.
The CBC treats the raw nickel and produces a consistent nickel concentrate product grading approximately 14% nickel. The concentrate produced from the Forrestania project is characterised by low impurities such as magnesium which makes it more desirable to smelters.
The concentrator consists of a three-stage crushing circuit, followed by a single closed-circuit ball mill and a system of flotation tanks and thickening/filtration system.
The recovery rates for Cosmic Boy currently average between 85% and 90%. The recovery rates refer to the percentage amount of nickel recovered from the raw ore during processing.
At CBC a Mill Recovery Enhancement Project (MREP) has recently been commissioned. The MREP incorporates the use of the Company’s BioHeap™ technology to recover nickel from the tailings waste stream. The nickel recovered is then converted into a high-grade nickel sulphide product which can either be mixed with the CBC floatation concentrate or sold as a separate premium product suitable to be processed in a refinery.
PRODUCTION STATISTICS
18/19 19/20 YTD Item Unit Mar Qtr Jun Qtr Sep Qtr Dec Qtr Total Total Ore Mined Tns 141,595 133,312 147,356 144,932 292,288 Mine Grade Ni % 4.30% 4.10% 3.90% 4.00% 4.00% Total Nickel Mined tonnes 6,066 5,423 5,805 5,849 11,654 Ore Processed (Milling/Concentrator) tonnes 146,935 152,329 149,729 143,409 293,138 Processed Grade Ni % 4.20% 4.00% 3.90% 4.20% 4.10% Average Mill Recovery % 88% 88% 89% 89% 89% Total Nickel in Concentrate Produced tonnes 5,448 5,433 5,259 5,399 10,658 Total Nickel Sold tonnes 5,189 5,890 5,051 3,982 9,033 Contained Nickel in stockpiles tonnes 4,510 3,317 3,315 3,778 Cash Cost Nickel in Concentrate A$/lb 2.82 2.96 3.06 3.1 3.07 Cash Cost Nickel in Concentrate US$/lb 2.01 2.07 2.1 2.12 2.11 Exchange Rate US$/A$ 0.71 0.7 0.69 0.68 0.69 Realised Nickel Price (before payability) A$/lb 8.31 8.09 11.5 9.39 10.57 (*) Noting the export shipment missed the quarter end, leaving port on 1 January 2020
18/19 19/20 YTD Tonnes Mined Mar Qtr Jun Qtr Sep Qtr Dec Qtr Total Flying Fox Ore Mined tonnes 56,386 57,213 61,414 60,081 121,495 Grade Ni % 4.50% 4.20% 3.70% 4.50% 4.10% Flying Fox Nickel Mined tonnes 2,550 2,381 2,280 2,712 4,992 Spotted Quoll Ore Mined tonnes 85,209 76,099 85,942 84,851 170,793 Grade Ni % 4.10% 4.00% 4.10% 3.70% 3.90% Spotted Quoll Nickel Mined tonnes 3,516 3,042 3,525 3,137 6,662 Total Ore Mined tonnes 141,595 133,312 147,356 144,932 292,288 Grade Ni % 4.30% 4.10% 3.90% 4.00% 4.00% Total Nickel Mined tonnes 6,066 5,423 5,805 5,849 11,654 18/19 19/20 YTD Tonnes Milled and Sold Mar Qtr Jun Qtr Sep Qtr Dec Qtr Total Total Milled Ore tonnes 146,935 152,329 149,729 143,409 293,138 Grade % 4.20% 4.00% 3.90% 4.20% 4.10% Average Recovery % 88% 88% 89% 89% 89% Total Nickel in Concentrate Produced (i) tonnes 5,448 5,433 5,259 5,399 10,658 Nickel in Concentrate Sold tonnes 5,189 5,890 5,051 3,991 9,042 (i) Includes MREP Nickel tonnes produced.
(*) Noting the export shipment missed the quarter end, leaving port on 1 January 202018/19 19/20 Stockpiles Mar Qtr Jun Qtr Sep Qtr Dec Qtr Ore tonnes 96,114 77,098 75,638 77,426 Grade % 3.80% 3.80% 3.80% 3.50% Concentrate tonnes 5,481 2,390 2,584 11,146 Grade % 15.10% 15.10% 15.80% 14.80% Contained Nickel in Stockpiles tonnes 4,510 3,317 3,315 4,389 18/19 19/20 Financial Statistics Mar Qtr Jun Qtr Sep Qtr Dec Qtr YTD Group Production Cost/lb Mining Cost (*) A$/lb 2.11 2.24 2.26 2.28 2.27 Haulage A$/lb 0.06 0.07 0.06 0.06 0.06 Milling A$/lb 0.48 0.46 0.55 0.53 0.54 Admin A$/lb 0.2 0.22 0.22 0.21 0.21 By Product Credits A$/lb -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.02 -0.02 Flotation Cash Cost Ni in Con (***) A$/lb 2.82 2.96 3.06 3.06 3.06 Total Cash Cost Ni in Con (***) incl MREP A$/lb - - 3.06 3.1 3.07 Cash Cost Ni in Con/lb (***) US$/lb (**) 2.01 2.07 2.1 2.12 2.11 Exchange Rate US$ / A$ 0.71 0.7 0.69 0.68 0.69 (*) Mining Costs are net of deferred waste costs and inventory stockpile movements.
(**) US$ FX for Relevant Quarter is RBA average daily rate (Dec Qtr = A$1:US$0.68)
(***) Payable terms are not disclosed due to confidentiality conditions of the offtake agreements. Cash costs exclude royalties and concentrate logistics costs.
Note: Grade and recovery estimates are subject to change until the final assay data are received