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Allegiance stocks nickel ore as it readies mine
Monday April 30, 2007, 1:31 pm


SYDNEY, April 30 (Reuters) - Australia's Allegiance Mining NL (ASX: AGM.ax) said on Monday it has stockpiled 10,000 tonnes of nickel-bearing ore and is on track to start milling operations at its Tasmanian project in the fourth quarter of calendar 2007.

Allegiance is developing its Avebury mine 7 km (4 miles) outside the mining town of Zeehan on Australia's Tasmania island.

It plans to mill 900,000 tonnes of ore at the nearby and idle Hellyer mill to yield 8,500 tonnes of nickel metal annually.

Jinchuan Nickel Group of China has agreed to buy the mine's first 10 years of production under a marketing agreement reached in August, valued by Allegiance at $2.8 billion. ($1=A$1.20)