Nova commissioning starts ahead of schedule

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Commissioning of the nickel processing plant at the Nova project, in Western Australia, has started some four weeks ahead of schedule, owner Independence Group has reported.

The processing plant construction, which included wet commissioning, was completed on October 10, and crushing and milling operations started four days later, following several days of operating on waste to test all systems in slurry.

“The ore commissioning commencement is a great milestone for the Nova project and, combined with the progress that has been achieved with the underground development, marks a significant reduction in the development risk profile of the project,” said Independence MD and CEO Peter Bradford.

“We now expect that we will produce first concentrate, ahead of time, in November and potentially by late October.”

Bradford noted that the project continued on budget.

Over the coming weeks, Independence will focus on calibrating the processing plant control systems and achieving design concentrate grades and recoveries. The last phase of the commissioning process will be the commissioning of the concentrate filters and production of first concentrate.

At full production, the A$443-million Nova project was expected to deliver about 26 000 t/y of nickel, 11 500 t/y of copper and 850 t/y of cobalt over a ten-year mine life.

In July this year, Independence announced plans to accelerate the development of the Bollinger orebody at Nova, with early access to the deposit expected to deliver enhanced early cash flow and additional project value.