Nickel in Western Australia - industry trends and recent developments

JOGMEC Seminar , Tokyo, February 2008

Dr Tim Griffin*

Executive DirectorGeological Survey of Western Australia

Dr P. B. Abeysinghe (Abey)

Senior Geologist

Km0 260 520

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MT KEITH

LEINSTERCOSMOS

SILVER SWAN

SALLY MALAY

YilgarnCraton

PilbaraCraton

Halls CreekOrogen

RADIO HILL

EMILY ANN

MURRIN MURRIN

RAV 8

CAWSE

LANFRANCHIWANNAWAYMIITELMARINERSREDROSS

BLAIRLONGCORONETMCCLOYOTTER-JUANMACMAHONBETA HUNT

WATERLOO

PORT HEDLAND

KARRATHA

GERALDTON

ALBANY

PERTH

RAVENSTHORPE

KALGOORLIE

HALLS CREEK

...llllllllåååå åF

Nickel lateriteNickel sulfide

Legend

Western Australian nickel mines2006

3

Nickel production in 2006

Project Operator Nickel (tonnes)

Mineralization style

Leinster and Mount Keitha BHP Billiton Ltd 70 068 Sulfide Cosmos Jubilee Mines NL 11 437 Sulfide Emily Ann LionOre Mining International Ltd 9 737 Sulfide Long Independence Group NL 8 291 Sulfide Silver Swan – Black Swan MPI Mines Ltd 7 190 Sulfide Sally Malay Sally Malay Mining Ltd 7 369 Sulfide Miitel Mincor Resources NL 5 779 Sulfide Lanfranchi Sally Malay Mining Ltd and Brilliant

Mining Corporation 4 766 Sulfide

Beta Hunt Consolidated Minerals Ltd 4 052 Sulfide Redross Mincor Resources NL 3 651 Sulfide Mariners Mincor Resources NL 3 640 Sulfide Blair (Area 57 orebody) Australian Mines Ltd 1 181 Sulfide Waterloo LionOre Mining International Ltd 1 077 Sulfide Wannaway Mincor Resources NL 560 Sulfide Radio Hill Fox Resources Ltd 551 Sulfide RAV8 Tectonic Resources NL 77 Sulfide Murrin Murrin Minara Resources Ltd 31 524 Laterite Cawse OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel 5 686 Laterite Total - nickel sulfide 139 426 Total - nickel laterite 37 210 Total - Western Australia 176 636

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Nickel production in 2007 (currently available)

Project Operator March 2007 Qtr

June 2007 Qtr

Sept 2007 Qtr

Dec 2007 Qtr

Total production*

Ni (t)

Mineralization style

Nickel West Operations (includes Leinster and Mt Keith)1

BHP Billiton Ltd Sulfide

Long Independence Group NL 3,048 2,790 2,838 8,676 Sulfide Miitel Mincor Resources NL 884 1,125 880 2,889 Sulfide Wannaway Mincor Resources NL 116 163 163 442 Sulfide Redross Mincor Resources NL 991 1,077 1,079 3,147 Sulfide Mariners Mincor Resources NL 785 899 739 2,423 Sulfide Lanfranchi Sally Malay Mining Ltd and Brilliant Mining

Lrd 1,150 1,278 1,092 1,563

5,083 Sulfide

Blair (Area 57 orebody) Australian Mines Ltd 185 200 267 252 904 Sulfide Cosmos Jubilee Mines NL 1,709 1,534 1,799 5,042 Sulfide Silver Swan Norilsk Nickel OJSC MMC 2,424 2,424 Sulfide Emily Ann Norilsk Nickel OJSC MMC 2,587 2,587 Sulfide Waterloo Norilsk Nickel OJSC MMC 726 726 RAV8 Tectonic Resources NL / Mincor resources NL 5 33 15 53 Sulfide Flying Fox Western Areas NL 0 Sulfide Beta Hunt Consolidated Minerals Ltd 966 1,189 758 2,913 Sulfide Radio Hill Fox Resources Ltd 146 275 566 987 Sulfide Sally Malay Sally Malay Mining Ltd 921 886 1,017 988 3,812 Sulfide Murrin Murrin Minara Resources Ltd 7,291 7,598 6,676 6,020 27,585 Laterite Cawse Norilsk Nickel OJSC MMC 0 Laterite Total - nickel sulfide 42,108 Total - nickel laterite 27,585 Total - Western Australia (Ni) 69,693

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Nickel production history W A

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Ni sulfide Ni laterite WA Total (sulfide+laterite)

2007 to 2010 projected

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Russia20.8%

Canada15.0%

Australia11.5%Indonesia

9.4%

New Caledonia7.3%

Colombia5.9%

China5.1%

Brazil4.8%

Cuba4.8%

Dominican Republic3.0%

Philippines2.7%

Botswana1.8%

Other countries5.1%

South Africa2.7%

World Nickel production - 2006

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Nickel production in WA, (2006)

Kambalda-Kalgoorlie regionNickel Sulfide

Miitel, Wannaway, Redross and Mariners, Mincor Resources NL (Ni, Cu)Silver Swan, LionOre Mining International Ltd (Ni)Beta Hunt, Consolidated Minerals Ltd (Ni, Cu )Blair, Australian Mines Ltd (Ni, Cu)Lanfranchi, Helmut South, Sally Malay Mining Ltd (Ni)Long, Independence Group (Ni)

Nickel Laterite Cawse, Norilsk Nickel OJSC MMC (Ni)

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Nickel production in WA, (2006)

Northern Eastern GoldfieldsNickel Sulfide: Cosmos, Jubilee Mines NL;

Mt Keith and Leinster, BHPBNickel Laterite: Murrin Murrin, Minara Resources Ltd

Lake Johnston regionNickel Sulfide: Emily Ann, LionOre Mining International LtdNickel Sulfide: Maggie Hays, LionOre Mining (Ni, Cu)

Forrestania regionNickel Sulfide: Flying Fox, Western Areas NL

Halls Creek regionNickel Sulfide: Sally Malay, Sally Malay Mining Ltd (Ni, Cu, Co)

Pilbara regionNickel Sulfide: Radio Hill, Fox Resources Ltd (Ni, Cu, Co)

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Nickel projects in WA - under development or feasibility study (2007)

Kambalda regionWinner, Sally Malay Mining Ltd

Northern Eastern GoldfieldsProspero, Tapinos near Cosmos, Jubilee Mines NLCliffs and Yakabindi, BHPBHoneymoon Well, LionOre Mining International Ltd

Forrestania regionDiggers Rock, Western Areas NL

Halls Creek regionCopernicus, Sally Malay Mining Ltd

Pilbara regionSherlock Bay, Sherlock Bay Nickel Corporation Ltd

NL

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Recent nickel exploration success in WA (2006/2007)

Kambalda district - Junior companies exploring and developing nickel sulfide deposits

McLeay near Victor South deposit; Independence Group NLBSA and Anomaly 11 prospects, Area 57, near Blair; Australian Mines LtdEast Alpha near Beta Hunt; Consolidated Minerals LtdDeacon; Sally Malay Mining Ltd

Kalgoorlie nickel laterite project - advances by Heron Resources / ValeNorthern Eastern Goldfields

Nickel sulfide at Collurabbie; BHPB LtdTapinos and Alec Mairs (near Cosmos), Sinclair; Jubilee Mines NLWaterloo-Amorac; LionOre International Ltd

Forrestania –T5, T Zero nickel sulfides deposits; Western Areas NL

Musgrave – Potential Nebo/Babel – 1 Mt contained Ni, 1 Mt Cu; BHPB Ltd

Geoferret technology- deep penetrating EM – explores 150 to 500 m

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Nickel

WA exploration expenditure - nickel and base metals

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Laterite (probable+proved+measured+indicated+inferred)

Sulfide (probable+proved+measured+indicated+inferred)

Nickel sulfide and nickel laterite resources in WA

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Ni sulfide depositNi laterite deposit

Ranking of nickel deposits in WA by contained Ni

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Major ProjectsMurrin Murrin, Laverton region, NE Goldfields (Yilgarn Craton)Ravensthorpe (Yilgarn Craton)Kalgoorlie Project, Goongarrie (Yilgarn Craton)Wingellina (West Musgraves)

Hosted in regolith as residual and supergene deposits over mafic–ultramafic rocks, including greenstone belts in the Archean Yilgarn Craton

Nickel laterite mineralization in WA

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Yilgarn Craton

MusgraveComplex

WINGELLINA

PERTH

RAVENSTHORPE

CAWSE

MURRIN MURRIN

0 250 500 Km

Nickel laterite mines and deposits in WA

LEGEND

DepositMine operating, developing or closed

Proterozoic rocks

Archaean rocks

Phanerozoic rocks

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Yilgarn Craton

ALBANY

GERALDTON

PERTH

KARRATHA

RAVENSTHORPE

PilbaraCraton

Nickel sulfide depositåååå åF

Nickel sulfide mine operating or closedåååå åFLEGEND

Mt Keith-Perseverancegreenstone belt

Kambalda

greenstone belt

Forrestania

greenstone belt

Halls Creek Orogen

0 250 500 Km

Nickel sulfide mines and deposits in WA

West MusgravesProterozoic rocks

Archaean rocks

Phanerozoic rocks

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Ni sulfide mineralization types in WA

Orthomagmatic — komatiitesKambaldaMount KeithLeinsterForrestania

Orthomagmatic — mafic–ultramafic intrusions (similar to Voisey’s Bay in Canada; Bushveld Complex in South Africa; Stillwater Complex in USA)

Radio Hill (Pilbara Craton)Sally Malay (Halls Creek Orogen)Nebo/Babel (Musgrave Complex)

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Ni sulfide mineralization types in W A (continued)

Orthomagmatic — mafic-ultramafic rocks in shear zones• Pilbara Craton: Sherlock Bay and Worthy-Highway deposits• Pilbara Craton: Sholl and Tabba Tabba Shear Zones• Halls Creek Orogen, Albany-Fraser Orogen, Paterson Orogen

Orthomagmatic — mafic hosted in large igneous provinces (LIP) (similar to Norilsk –style): deposits not found yet in Western Australia, but potential targets are:• Edmund Basin, Kimberley and Speewah Basins, Hamersley

Basin, Antrim Plateau Volcanics

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1070 Ma sills of theWarakurna large igneousprovince in the Glenayle areaof the eastern BangemallSupergroup

1465 Ma and 1070 Madolerite sills of theWestern BangemallSupergroup

Warakuna Large Igneous Province

0 250 500 Kilometers

30°S

Yilgarn Craton

Pilbara Craton

Halls C

reek

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MusgraveComplexEdmund Basin

Collier

Bas

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Hamersley Basin

Albany

-Fras

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Orogen

Forrestania

Greenstone Belt

Mt Keith–Perseverance Greenstone Belt

KambaldaGreenstone Belt

Paterson Orogen

Archean rocksProterozoic rocksPhanerozoic rocks

Nickel sulfide targets in Western Australia

0 250 500 Km

Orthomagmatic — komatiitesOrthomagmatic — mafic–ultramafic intrusionsOrthomagmatic — mafic hosted in large igneous provincesOrthomagmatic — mafic–ultramafic rocks in major shear zone

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Summary

Western Australia - third largest producer of nickel in the world

Large resource base attracting major players – Vale, BHPB and NORILSK

Great success stories for small explorers

Small miners becoming mid-tier companies

New greenfield provincesNebo/Babel in Musgrave ComplexCollurabbie in Gerry Well greenstone belt, NE Goldfields

Outlook - additional nickel production from nickel laterite - BHPB’s Ravensthorpe and Vale/Heron’s Kalgoorlie Project

Enormous large igneous provinces (LIPs) in Kimberley, Capricorn Orogen under explored

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Western Australia

Geological diversity and large size of WA provides opportunities in exploration and mining

GSWA has on-going programs to collect new data

Wide ranging opportunities for new explorersjoin fledgling, mid size or mature projectsinitiate new projects

Visit our website www.doir.wa.gov.au/gswaGeoviewMinedex

Visit websites e.g. www.intierra.com.au

Talk to GSWA or Geoscience Australia

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Thankyou

Questions

www.doir.wa.gov.au/gswa