Source : THE AGE NEWS
In what Ardea Resources insists is a shrewd value-improving move, the company has pushed back the completion timeline for its definitive feasibility study (DFS) at the globally significant Goongarrie Hub nickel-cobalt project near Kalgoorlie.
The comprehensive final report will now extend beyond the previously targeted 30 June milestone to incorporate a suite of key value-engineering opportunities, designed to enhance the project’s economics and long-term value.
Management says the strategic breather will give the joint venture partners time to squeeze more value from the project through a series of optimisation initiatives, while the asset’s world-class scale, strategic importance and underlying fundamentals remain firmly intact.
Funding for the mammoth DFS, up to $98.5 million, has been bankrolled by Japanese industrial heavyweights Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation, underscoring the strategic importance of Ardea’s giant Goongarrie Hub nickel-cobalt project.
‘We remain confident in the strength of the project and look forward to updating the market on the path forward in the coming months.’
Ardea Resources chief executive officer Andrew Penkethman
The study is being managed through Kalgoorlie Nickel Pty Ltd, an incorporated joint venture in which Ardea currently holds a 65 per cent interest, with the Japanese consortium holding the remaining 35 per cent and retaining the right to increase its stake over time.
So far, a hefty $84.5 million has already been spent on advancing the study. However, with a sizeable funding balance still available, the JV appears well placed to push through the final stages of optimisation work and deliver what many expect will be a pivotal blueprint for one of the world’s largest undeveloped nickel-cobalt projects.
The flagship Goongarrie Hub stands tall as the centrepiece of Ardea’s broader Kalgoorlie Nickel project, commanding an eye-watering regional mineral resource estimate of 854 million tonnes grading 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt.
Within that, the core footprint hosts 584 million tonnes of resources, of which 18 million tonnes are classified as measured, 277 million tonnes are in the indicated category, and 289 million tonnes are in the inferred class.
The total global inventory locks in 6.1 million tonnes of contained nickel and 386,000 tonnes of contained cobalt, securing its status as one of the largest developed nickel deposits on the planet.
Ardea Resources managing director Andrew Penkethman said: “The decision to revise the timeline reflects our shared commitment with the consortium to deliver a quality study. The Goongarrie Hub is a long-life, strategically significant asset, and we are committed to working with our consortium partners to ensure the DFS provides the strongest possible foundation for the project’s development.”
Geopolitically, the project attracts elite international backing, recently featuring in both the Australia-Japan joint formal statement and the Japan-United States Critical Minerals Project Cooperation.
It also holds major project status, inclusion in the Australian Government’s Investor Front Door initiative and conditional, non-binding funding support of up to A$1 billion from Export Finance Australia and the United States EXIM.
Beyond the primary Goongarrie footprint, Ardea maintains an unencumbered 100 per cent grip on the neighbouring Kalpini Hub, which holds a separate resource of 270 million tonnes containing 2.1 million tonnes of nickel.
Ardea is also keeping the drill bits turning across Western Australia’s renowned Eastern Goldfields, chasing new nickel sulphide discoveries at prospects such as Kalpini while advancing its hunt for high-value critical minerals including scandium and rare earth elements. The company says its broader exploration push gives it multiple shots at creating value beyond the flagship Goongarrie Hub development.
As part of its next steps to unlock maximum value, Ardea has kicked off a sole-funded scoping study to evaluate extracting valuable scandium and other associated critical minerals directly from its waste stream barren liquor solution generated from the proposed nickel processing plant.
While physical space for a scandium refining circuit is already locked in in the existing plant layout, this study will define the crucial economics ahead of its completion in September.
Armed with these fresh metrics, the joint venture expects to deliver a comprehensive development update to the market before the end of October.
With a debt-free balance sheet and a crisp $19.4 million sitting in its cash war chest, Ardea appears beautifully placed to finish this crucial optimisation work alongside its global partners. It looks as though a massive resource is getting the final premium technical polish it deserves.
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