Next steps for JRV is a great read these guys know what they are doing (due to the boards experience in HPAL plants) mmmmm that means cheap capex.
Next Steps,
The application of heap leach to produce mixed hydroxide, mixed sulphide, separate nickel and cobalt hydroxides, as well as making of refined products such as nickel and cobalt sulphates, suitable for direct sale to battery manufacturers, will be explored. Jervois will study the relative attractiveness of each alternative with the benefit of significant practical experience of construction, commissioning and ramp up of hydrometallurgical flowsheets, benefitting from a close understanding of the differential capital and technical risk profiles, and their associated economics. Jervois’ new management team and advisers continue to review almost a decade of historical testwork surrounding the Nico Young deposit. Since discovering the deposit in the late 1990’s Jervois has spent 4
around A$6 million on studies involving drilling, various hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical process routes.
Jervois and its geological advisers have designed a drilling programme at Nico Young to further boost the level of confidence in the distribution of nickel-cobalt mineralization, and also extract bulk samples for further metallurgical testing. This drilling will focus on enhancing our understanding of high grade, shallow, cobalt mineralization at the Ardnaree deposit and to increase the confidence in the mineral resource estimate so that the shallow deposits can be upgraded to Indicated status. It will also target possible extensions of high grade cobalt intercepts, where cobalt mineralization is interpreted to extend beyond the currently defined cobalt wireframes. Plans are now underway to initiate this workstream.
Baseline environmental activities at site will be initiated and negotiations are commencing with surface landholders to facilitate these activities.
The Nico Young deposit also contains low levels of scandium, running around 50ppm. Initiatives are underway to ascertain if these scandium levels can be practically incorporated into a viable development plan. Likewise historical samples were not tested for platinum group metals and steps are underway to reassess these intersections.
Due to the Jervois Board’s extensive experience with HPAL plants across all facets of their operating life cycles (construction, commissioning and ramp up, stabilization of operations), we are focused primarily on lower technical risk projects that can be more rapidly brought to market successfully. The company will simultaneously pursue the HPAL studies that many of our Australian peers are focused upon, however we recognize that such projects are seldom able to provide the optimized development scenario for shareholders, once technical risk is appropriately weighted. However given the background of the Board, should Jervois proceed in this area, its team is well placed to do so.
The company has been working with Mineral Technologies out of Gold Coast, Australia in undertaking ore characterization studies to explore upgrading and beneficiation processes that may be suitable for Nico Young mineralization. This will also extend to an assessment of heap leach, with leading international consultants in the field whom the Board has previously engaged to assist with this work.
Heap leach is significantly lower capital cost than alternative hydrometallurgical flowsheets such as HPAL or atmospheric leach. The metallurgy (Fe content) is considered manageable, and this part of rural New South Wales has favourable climatic conditions for the operation of the heaps and management of water balances.
Jervois has undertaken extensive testing on the hydrological and geotechnical properties of cobalt-nickel ore heaps; including bottle rolls, column and bulk common tests. Initial recoveries are estimated in the 75-80% level, which whilst less than alternative processing routes, is adequate given the savings in capital. The Jervois team was directly involved in the construction and operation of the trial heap leach pads at Murrin Murrin, Glencore’s nickel-cobalt operation in Western Australia.
For further information, please contact:
Bryce Crocker
Chief Executive
JRV Price at posting:
54.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
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