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- ASX 200-listed Chalice Mining (CHN) highlights some key early-stage development plans for its Gonneville Deposit in WA in its latest quarterly financial report
- According to Chalice, Gonneville is the largest global nickel sulphide discovery in two decades and the largest platinum group elements (PGE) discovery in Australian history
- Chalice’s main focus is on advancing studies for the initial development of the deposit, which is part of the wider Julimar project, with ongoing drilling and design work underway
- Given this focus on Gonneville, Chalice made minimal revenue over the December quarter, posting a net-cashflow loss of $14.6 million for the quarter
- Shares in Chalice Mining finished the day up 3.72 per cent to $7.52
ASX 200-listed Chalice Mining (CHN) has had a rocky day on the ASX following the release of its quarterly report for the three months to the end of December 2021.
The quarter was marked by the confirmation of Chalice’s Gonneville deposit as the largest global nickel sulphide discovery in two decades and the largest platinum group elements (PGE) discovery in Australian history.
In November, Chalice reported a mineral resource estimate for Gonneville of 330 million tonnes at 0.94 grams of palladium, platinum, and gold (3E) per tonne, 0.16 per cent nickel, 0.1 per cent copper, and 0.016 per cent cobalt.
This means the deposit contains some 10 million ounces of 3E, 530,000 tonnes of nickel, 330,000 tonnes of copper, and 53,000 tonnes of cobalt.
The Gonneville deposit lies within Chalice’s Julimar project, just northeast of Perth, WA.
Given the strong focus on developing the deposit, Chalice made almost no operating revenue over the December quarter — just $35,000 from customer receipts. Moreover, the company posted a net operating cashflow loss of $14.6 million for the quarter.
Chalice ended December with roughly $65 million worth of cash in the bank.
Looking ahead, Chalice said its strategy for the Julimar project was to advance studies for the initial development of Gonneville on private Chalice-owned land while working to define the full extent of mineralisation along the Julimar Complex, which spans over 26 kilometres long.
This plan includes ongoing reconnaissance, extension, infill, and other drilling work, with seven rigs currently in operation an the project.
At the same time, Chalice is busy taking on some key mine development studies to support a scoping study for the Gonneville deposit. This would be an early-stage assessment of the project’s economics as Chalice works to gain a deeper understanding of what lies beneath the ground and, more importantly, how much it would cost to extract the material.
Chalice said at this stage, its studies were focussed on gathering data and assessing conceptual constraints for the project rather than defining an optimal outcome for Gonneville.
Over the March quarter, Chalice’s planned scope of works includes metallurgical testwork, the design of a sulphide processing facility, mine engineering design, baseline water studies, and water supply studies.
The company also plans to finish up a roadside geochemical sampling program at Julimar before the end of March, which will be followed by a 1692-line-kilometre airborne electromagnetic survey.
Along with the Julimar project, Chalice also owns the Hawkstone Nickel-Copper-Cobalt project in WA’s Kimberley region.
Shares in Chalice Mining finished the day up 3.72 per cent to $7.52.
