Australia’s first primary platinum group metals mine takes shape

Chalice Mining’s pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its Gonneville project has confirmed it as the lowest cost platinum group metals (PGM) mine in the Western world.

The project – which sits 70km outside of Perth – has a mine expectancy of 23 years, and is a two-stage open-pit operation designed to generate $4.7 billion in free cashflow pre-tax, with a payback of 2.7 years.

Gonneville is set to become Australia’s first primary platinum group metals (PGM) mine and the state’s second-largest nickel producer, producing a mix of precious and base metals.

It is the lowest cost PGM mine in the Western world and the lowest cost of any undeveloped project, with the company reporting exceptional margins that are expected to underpin significant, low-cost debt funding.

“The study demonstrates that Gonneville is viable and will generate solid returns, even at the bottom of the cycle prices,” Chalice Mining managing director and chief executive officer Alex Dorsch said.

“The project has industry-leading cost competitiveness, while it will also deliver substantial social and economic benefits for the region, WA and Australia over a multi-decade life.

“The project development plan has been dramatically simplified, with a two-stage open-pit and conventional concentrator-leach process flowsheet, which with recent improvements and optimisations in the PFS have underpinned a low-risk and financially strong study.”

Gonneville is set to produce an average of 220,000 tonnes per annum of 3E precious metals (palladium, platinum and gold), plus 7000 tonnes per annum of nickel, 8000 tonnes per annum of copper and 700 tonnes per annum of cobalt.

The company believes the large and diverse production profile of the project, paired with its scalability, gives it further upside in a volatile commodity price environment.

Chalice Mining chief operating officer Dan Brearley said the company will develop the project with industry-leading execution discipline, environmental and community management practices, and long-term positive impacts for local stakeholders.

“We now will progress the feasibility study, the next stage of regulatory approvals and continue to de-risk the Project through engineering,” he said. “It’s a very exciting time for our team and we have come a long way in just over five years since our discovery.”