What We Do
Flying Fox
Flying Fox is Western Areas first producing underground mine and remains one of the highest grade nickel mines in the world. Production commenced in 2006, and the underground mine now operates at depths of over 1km underground.
The Flying Fox orebody extends from 250m to 1.2km below the surface and includes discrete independent orebodies with possible extensions at depth. The primary stoping method used is ‘top-down’ long-hole stoping using paste-fill to attempt 100% recovery of the high-grade orebody. In the narrower sections of the orebody both modified Avoca with unconsolidated and cemented rock-fill are used.
PRODUCTION STATISTICS
Item Unit 2019/2020 2018/2019 Sep Qtr Jun Qtr Mar Qtr Dec Qtr Total Ore Mined tonnes 147,356 133,312 141,595 139,528 Mine Grade Ni % 3.90% 4.10% 4.30% 4.20% Total Nickel Mined tonnes 5,805 5,423 6,066 5,851 Ore Processed (Milling/Concentrator) tonnes 149,729 152,329 146,935 154,517 Processed Grade Ni % 3.90% 4.00% 4.20% 4.00% Average Processing Recovery % 89% 88% 88% 88% Total Nickel in Concentrate tonnes 5,259 5,433 5,448 5,415 Total Nickel Sold tonnes 5,051 5,890 5,189 5,386 Contained Nickel in Stockpiles tonnes 3,315 3,317 4,510 4,413 Cash Cost Nickel in Concentrate A$/lb 3.06 2.96 2.82 3.15 Cash Cost Nickel in Concentrate US$/lb 2.09 2.07 2.01 2.26 Exchange Rate US$/A$ 0.69 0.7 0.71 0.72 Net Nickel Price (before payability applied) A$/lb 11.5 8.09(*) 8.31 7.01 Tonnes mined Unit 2019/2020 2018/2019 Sep Qtr Jun Qtr Mar Qtr Dec Qtr Flying Fox Ore Mined tonnes 61,414 57,213 56,386 59,309 Grade Ni% 3.70% 4.20% 4.50% 4.30% Flying Fox Nickel Mined tonnes 2,280 2,381 2,550 2,574 Spotted Quoll Ore Mined Tonnes 85,942 76,099 85,209 80,219 Grade Ni% 4.10% 4.00% 4.10% 4.10% Spotted Quoll Nickel Mined Tonnes 3,525 3,042 3,516 3,277 Total Ore Mined Tonnes 147,356 133,312 141,595 139,528 Grade Ni% 3.90% 4.10% 4.30% 4.20% Total Nickel Mined Tonnes 5,805 5,423 6,066 5,851 Tonnes milled Unit 2018/2019 2019/2020 Dec Qtr Mar Qtr Jun Qtr Sep Qtr Total Milled Ore tonnes 154,517 146,935 152,329 149,729 Grade % 4.00% 4.20% 4.00% 3.90% Ave. Recovery % 88% 88% 88% 89% Nickel in Concentrate Produced (i) tonnes 5,415 5,448 5,433 5,259 Nickel in Concentrate Sold tonnes 5,386 5,189 5,890 5,051 Stockpiles Unit 2019/2020 2018/2019 Sep Qtr Jun Qtr Mar Qtr Dec Qtr Ore tonnes 75,638 77,098 96,114 101,455 Grade % 3.80% 3.80% 3.80% 3.70% Concentrate tonnes 2,875 2,390 5,481 4,093 Grade % 15.80% 15.10% 15.10% 15.60% Contained Nickel in Stockpiles tonnes 3,315 3,317 4,510 4,413 Financial Statistics Unit 2019/2020 2018/2019 Sep Qtr Jun Qtr Mar Qtr Dec Qtr Group Production Cost/lb Mining Cost (*) A$/lb 2.26 2.24 2.11 2.38 Haulage A$/lb 0.06 0.07 0.06 0.07 Milling A$/lb 0.55 0.46 0.48 0.51 Admin A$/lb 0.22 0.22 0.2 0.22 By Product Credits A$/lb -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 -0.03 Cash Cost Ni in Con (***) A$/lb 3.06 2.96 2.82 3.15 Cash Cost Ni in Con (***) US$/lb(**) 2.09 2.07 2.01 2.26 Exchange Rate US$ / A$ 0.69 0.7 0.71 0.72
