Radio Hill costs lower than expected - Artemis

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – An independent review into the newly acquired Radio Hill copper/nickel/cobalt project, in Western Australia, has revealed that the estimated cost to refurbish the existing plant to operational readiness is some A$4.6-million.

A further A$650 000 will be required to install a gravity concentrator for gold, ASX-listed Artemis Resources said on Wednesday.

Artemis acquired the Radio Hill project from Fox Resources for A$2-million in cash and the issue of 20-million Artemis shares.

The asset includes the 425 000 t/y Radio nickel and copper processing plant, a tailings storage facility, administration and maintenance buildings and a fully developed underground mine, which was placed on care and maintenance in 2008.

The project has a nickel/copper resource of 4.02-million tonnes, grading 0.51% nickel and 0.88% copper, with significant exploration upside potential.

“This independent capital cost review to upgrade the Radio Hill plant to full operational status as a copper/nickel/cobalt treatment facility is considerably less than previously anticipated,” Artemis executive chairperson David Lenigas said on Wednesday.

“By adding a gravity gold circuit, this plant could prove valuable in short-cutting the path to commercialistion of Artemis’s Carlow Castle cobalt/copper/gold, Werrianna's gold, and Purdy’s Reward and Silica Hills projects, all of which are situated within a 40-km radius of the plant,” Lenigas said.

The Radio Hill buy was subject to Artemis completing its due diligence and the necessary funding arrangements to pay the A$2-million cash consideration, as well as the company obtaining shareholder approval for the issue of 20-million shares.

All ASX and regulatory approvals were also outstanding.