>> Two questions remain, however: first, what was Mr. Chapman's role at PDG?<<
From his resume " During his eleven years with Placer, 1967 to 1977, John Chapman worked at company mining operations in Canada and the Philippines, and advanced steadily from engineering assistant to the maine management level over that period"
>> Second, what does "conventional technologies in an innovative combination..." mean? SXEW technology is not necessarily conventional for nickel deposits, especially in BC where Mother Nature has not been kind enough to oxidize the ore<<
I am not familiar with Murrin Murrin, but using information from a report from the company titled "Economic Potential and Process Developement Concept on the Old Nick" I will take most of the following from this report.
" Based on current data and information, this development will be focusing on heap leaching to be followed by SXEW. The approach is thought to be somewhat unique for nickel ores, but appears to be well suited to Old Nick, owing to its paticular geology and mineralogy. It is further supported by reagents recently developed for nickel hydrometallurgical process circuits. These reagents are beginning to be utilized by major mining companies world wide, as discussed in the following section.
The best analogy for commercial process comparison is copper leaching techniques. Copper, which is the next element to nickel on the periodic table of elements is often heap leached in commercial operations. Heap leaching of both copper oxide and sulfide ores have been gaining rapid acceptence in the last decade. At current metal prices, if the price equivalent nickel content at Old Nick is converted to copper, the grade would equal 0.7% Cu. There would also be additional credits for cobalt. This would rank the deposit grade higher than most global copper producers and greater than that of any of the major copper mines currently operating in the province.
Heap leaching technology can be applied to nickel ores, While it is not a traditional process method for nickel ( often due to acid requirements ) it has been suggested for a number of years by various sources. The column leach test results on the Old Nick material confirm amenability to biologically assisted heap leaching. The intitial testwork has shown that the meta - sedimentary ore types result in nickel recoveries ranging from 50-65% in column tests and 80-85% in tank tests. A large scale column leach teat using 270kg of drill core crushed to -3/4" has resulted in a nickel recovery of 50% after 7 months and recoveries are still increasing. Based on the best available information, heap leaching, despite the long retention times and lower overall metal recoveries, appears to offer higher return on investment than other process options. Again, as with copper, economics suggest such techniques benefit lower grade, higher tonnage deposits, due to the lower capital and operating costs.
An important fact is a significant portion of the meta-sedimentary type Old Nick ore requires little or no acid addition to conduct leaching. This is often a major cost consideration for copper heap leaching operations. The mineralized rock also has a very low clay content and onlt trace concentrations of copper, zinc, and other detrimental metals, which might complicate a Ni-Co extraction flowsheet. The climate is generally warm and dry, which is a positive attribute for heap leaching. Minimizing acid requirements and optimizing leach conditions are major factores in the development work. The acidic, pregnant leachate solution (PLS) produced from column tests is being used for down stream metal recovery studies."
>>How about exploration? A six year mine life on the basis of current indicated and inferred resources will not excite any major company already established in nickel production. <<
Management is fairly confident of proving up a reserve base in the order of magnitude necessary for a proper mine life. The metallurgy was the main obstical before plugged a bunch of holes in the ground. They are now ready to proceed as soon as applied Mine Technologies raises the funds.
Feel free to call John Chapman. You sound like a very knowledgeable guy and he would enjoy speaking with you.
Rich |
