DSO involves "us" (well, company management) being responsible for mining the stuff. Management might (very likely) employ third-party mining contractors to actually do the work, but that wouldn't change the fact that we would be mining it and the associated responsibility.
Once it's mined and brought to the surface for processing we would normally have the option to process it on-site using our own processor (see below) or Direct Ship the Ore to an off-take partner for downstream processing.
However, it's not quite as simple as that because our on-site processor at BS is currently mothballed and needs some refurbishment (time & money) before it can be called production-ready.
Primer:
Before going any further, given your 'zilch' disclosure I think there be merit in providing a very brief overview of the processing requirements, which might help give a little better understanding of some of the issues at play. What follows is
very basic overview to give a
very general
conceptual idea for a Ni sulphide operation (i.e. our type of Ni-bearing ore and generally what is associated with the great majority of Ni ops in WA):
1) Ni-bearing ore is mined (open pit or u/g).
2) Mined ore is usually then processed by a concentrator plant to produce an intermediate product called Ni concentrate. This concentrate is far from pure Ni. It's a grey powder that usually contains, say, ~12 to 16+% Ni. The raw feedstock ore grade in WA is usually anywhere between 0.5% and,say, 3% -- hence the need to concentrate it before smelting. Concentrate is what our currently (mothballed) on-site processors at BS and LJ projects are designed to produce. (NB: When you'll see comments referring to
"Ni in concentrate" it refers to the tonnage of Ni contained withing the larger volume of Ni conc. that is produced by a concentrator. It's used as a metric to help understand the amount of salable Ni produced by a concentrator.)
3) Unless you are BHP's Nickel West, Ni concentrate is then purchased/processed by another operator and run through a smelter to produce almost pure (min. 99.8%) Ni cathodes, pellets, or briquettes. This is the purity/form of Ni that is quoted in international markets (think LME).
In WA there are only a handful, or so, of operators that have processing concentrators.
In WA there is only one operator that has smelting capacity (BHP's Nickel West).
With the exception of the Kambalda concentrator, most mid/large ops have their own concentrator attached to a specific mine site/project. They process their own ore. If there's any spare capacity they might offer (for a fee) to process the ore of smaller third-party players who cannot justify the financial investment of building their own concentrator. This is called "toll treating".
Now, circling back to our potentially v.high-grade ore at GS, let's put it into context of very rough industry norms: finding a Ni-bearing ore body that contains north or 3% grade is unusual. Finding an ore body that contains north or 5% Ni grade is very unusual. Finding an ore body that contains north or 9% Ni grade is very, very unusual. Finding an ore body that contains north or 12% Ni grade is almost unheard of! You get the jist.
If GS repeats the same characteristics/properties (maiden grade and tonnage) as nearby SS's initial historical discovery with grades north of, say, ~12%, then there would potential to completely by-pass the need to process the ore through a concentrator because it would already be at a raw, crushed grade that would be comparable to the contained Ni percentage contained in normal Ni concentrates. In this instance, it would make more sense to send the ore directly to a smelter -- hence the discussion relating to DSO directly to the Nickel West or an international buyer with a smelter. By-passing one intermediate processing step would increase our "payable" rate.
If, however, the GS grades come in less than those eye-watering levels, but still north of, say, 5% there may still be scope to justify sending our ore to the Kambalda concentrator for them to initially toll treat it using their current spare capacity.
Either way, it would mean we would be able to generate cash from ore sales without the associated lead time or capex investment of bringing our BS plant online. This would give us immediate cash revenue, with the option to use that cash to refurbish our own on-site plant down the track.
Was that gentle enough?
Hope that helps.
Z
(20min delay)