Hi DDTRH Perhaps I might be able to help with the gap in your understanding. Please note that these writings below are my understanding at this stage.
Ardea has a cut-off grade of 0.71% for the KNP being the overall total resource. This will be used for the long term beyond say 25 years at this stage.
The first ore body within the KNP to be mined will be the Goongarrie resources, these are the chosen smaller ore bodies with higher grades in them. Goongarrie has been chosen as the start-up resources with an overall higher cut-off grade, this was done to increase the returns, make the project more financially viable and improve our chances of funding the plant build. The chosen resources in Goongarrie comprise of the aggregate average of selected ore bodies.
Then there is the 1% nickel grade to be produced for the initial production period, lets call that the payback period. We need to note that this very high grade compilation of above average nickel grades that will be mined first, this will effectively increase the returns above Goongarrie averages resulting in a production average being higher than the 0.8% nickel cut-off for the Goongarrie resource. We also need to be cognisant of the other important factor increasing Ardea Resources output to 1%, call this the super weapon.
Nickel sulfides are available as a JORC resource in Ardea's tenements, these resources are known but are of low grade for a nickel sulfide smelter processing operation. However. These sulphide resources are of a higher grade than the Goongarrie average of 0.8%. Testing has proven that nickel sulphides can be added/ beneficiate to an autoclave to increase the output grade, this addition has the benefit of. - Increasing the output grade, in this case with Goonagarrie now 1%. - The nickel sulphide can be added in small portions to the entire life of mine, increasing output grades over an extended period, this has not been quantified. - The nickel sulphides being more abrasive also help in scouring/ cleaning the autoclave while it is in production. This has the effect of reducing shutdowns for maintenance, thus increasing throughput with less downtime.
Ardea will always have elevated production output of nickel in % by adding nickel sulphides into the autoclave production mix. NOTE: That Highway and Goongarrie Hill are nickel sulphide ore bodies.
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