Re Sparky: Nickel's dead for the foreseeable future and the major's also think that with their C&M decisions. I don't this this is nickel related. At least two companies have explored the potential to convert the POS plant to lithium processing (Kidman and MinRes) so at least from a technical point of view it seems likely to be possible to convert to a workable flotation plant.
Back in 2016 Kidman explored the potential to truck ore from Mt Holland down to Lake Johnston for concentration to SC6. Some links in relation to this exploration are below. More recently MinRes paid $1m as an option around the plant so their technical dudes/contacts must also have believed conversion was possible. There's likely to be a few technical consultants around that have a good knowledge of what's on site there and its technical capabilities.
27 July 2016 announcements by Poseidon and Kidman exploring lithium conversion potential:
https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/POS/01759062.pdf
Type text h (weblink.com.au)
https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/POS/01760678.pdf
01760678.pdf (weblink.com.au)
16 Nov 2016 - Kidman announces $0.5m option to use for 3 years.
https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/POS/01802511.pdf
01802511.pdf (weblink.com.au)
The 27 July announcement noted this as the equipment onsite:
Kidman let the option lapse as they reached a US$110m JV deal with SQM.
https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/POS/01890797.pdf
01890797.pdf (weblink.com.au)The Poseidon / Horizon merger proposal doc's include the slide below:
There's multiple different permutations around how this POS C&M LJ asset could be of potential use to TG6. Given the state of the nickel market, it isn't being used as a nickel plant in the foreseeable future:
- As an early source of cashflow following granting of a Mining Lease and related mining approvals. Early Burmeister ore is transported to the LJ site, crushed, concentrated with hopefully acceptable recoveries and then trucked/shipped off to China. This would be a temporary option until plant is commissioned but potentially enable gaining access to high prices if they occur before a full plant is commissioned at Burmeister.
- As the back-end flotation option to a Burmeister on-site ore sorter and DMS plant. The fines/middlings would be trucked to the POS LJ site and processed into a concentrate over an extended period in much the same way Kidman proposed.
- As a source of second-hand equipment at a lower price point than new equipment. For example, the Ball mills could be decommissioned at the POS LJ site, trucked to a new Burmeister site and reinstalled. Some of the accommodation units may have potential to be lifted, put on a flatbed truck and brought to a new site near the Burmeister proposed mine for a fraction of the cost of building new accommodation units.
- As an overflow capacity site during periods of high prices. If a period of US$2,000 to US$3,000 or above prices does re-emerge then the limiting factor on increasing production will frequently be the concentrating capacity and the long lead times in building/installing new capacity. If TG6 became a 1Mt to 1.5Mtpa plant and prices were super-high then TG6 could potentially apply more mining resources and truck the additional ore to the POS LJ facility for processing and thereby increase output gaining more high price sales via concentrate not just DSO.
- TG6 uses items like the lab buildings and maintenance facility that while ideally on site, don't need to be onsite during the startup first few years when cash is tight. This would lower the capital build cost until spare cashflow exists to replicate these items at a Burmeister site.
(20min delay)