News

Raleigh Finlayson’s Genesis Minerals increases total resource at Leonora Gold Project

Super Pit dealmaker Raleigh Finlayson has hit the ground running at his new company Genesis Minerals, announcing an increase in the total mineral resource at the 100 per cent-owned Leonora Gold Project to two million ounces.  In a statement to the ASX on Tuesday, the company said the increase at the project formerly known as the Ulysses Gold Project represented a 25 per cent rise from 1.6Moz on March 31 last year.

Mr Finlayson said Genesis had now established genuine scale in the Leonora district.

“At the same time, Genesis is financially robust and we are building a leading team with extensive technical and corporate experience,” Mr Finlayson said.

“This combination gives us an enviable platform for both organic and inorganic growth.”

Genesis said following the Kookynie acquisition in June 2020, drilling had focused on Admiral, Orient Well and Puzzle, which were essentially “forgotten” opportunities with virtually no exploration for 20 years.

“As a result, there has been no drilling at Ulysses over this period and the Ulysses Resource is unchanged at 838,000oz (including a high-grade component of 363,000oz at 6.4g/t),” Genesis said.

“Ulysses remains open along strike and at depth; extensional drilling will resume in 2022.”

Mr Finlayson resigned as an executive director of Northern Star Resources to complete a six-month advanced management course with Harvard University in the US before taking up his position at Genesis.

PHARMACY A FINALIST IN NATIONAL AWARDS

Wizard Pharmacy Kalgoorlie Central was a finalist for Australia’s pharmacy of the year together with five other pharmacies, including the overall winner from the Australian Capital Territory.  Run by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Wizard Pharmacy Kalgoorlie Central competed against 6000 pharmacies across the nation for the award, presented at the Australian Pharmacy Professional Conference on the Gold Coast last week.

Wizard Pharmacy Kalgoorlie Central owner Elise Wheadon said being a finalist was a testament to her employees’ work in the community. The pharmacy of the year finalists were judged on three levels of criteria including business management, customer experience and excellence in professional innovation, with the latter category won by the Kalgoorlie-Boulder pharmacy in 2020.

Mrs Wheadon said the nomination came as a surprise to her after an anonymous customer nominated Wizard Pharmacy Kalgoorlie and Wizard Pharmacy Kalgoorlie Central. “This year they actually changed the nominations so you were nominated not by yourself, but by customers, so we were really humbled both stores were nominated,” she said. “It’s just a testament to the team and also to the community for their constant feedback on different things that we can do for them.”

Although Wizard Pharmacy Kalgoorlie Central did not take out the top prize, Mrs Wheadon said was honoured to be nominated.

Cheaper airfares on the horizon for Goldfields locals with flights to be capped at $199 one-way

After years of calls for cheaper airfares for Goldfields locals, the State Government has taken decisive action and will cap regional airfares at $199 one-way for Kalgoorlie-Boulder residents who buy return tickets.  Premier Mark McGowan visited Kalgoorlie-Boulder recently with Transport Minister Rita Saffioti to announce the three-year trial that will see Kalgoorlie-Boulder residents not pay more than $398 for a return flight to Perth.

The arrangement comes off the back of a 2017 State Government inquiry into regional airfares, and a 2020 draft State Aviation Strategy that warned the government could intervene if airlines did not keep prices in check.  With the cap forming part of Labor WA’s election campaign last year, the rollout is now the biggest move to combat the high price of regional WA airfares to date.

Mr McGowan said his Government was the first in the country to implement this type of airfare subsidy, which meant there would be both certainty and affordability for regional residents.

“We’ve known it’s been a big issue for many decades, and we’re the first government to do something significant about it,” he said.

“This program will mean that there are now more affordable airfares for people who live in regional WA. Wherever you are across the State, if you’re using regular air services, this arrangement will be in place.”

Regional residents can still access sale or lower fares below the cap prices if the airlines offer cheaper fares.

$1.6b generated for the Goldfields-Esperance region from the resources sector

A new survey has found the State’s resources sector contributed $1.63 billion directly to the Goldfields-Esperance economy in 2020-21, and provided more than 3300 fulltime local jobs.   The results of the WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy survey released on Sunday revealed the combined direct economic contributions of the 56 member companies involved was more than $61b in WA and more than $39b outside the State.

The report showed these benefited member companies employed 3379 people in the Goldfields-Esperance region, and paid them more than $444 million in wages.

CME policy and advocacy director Rob Carruthers said the funds generated by the mining sector not only benefited the wallets of local workers directly, but also supported other businesses in the region.

“Those member companies spent an additional $1.18b supporting 895 businesses, 131 community organisations in the region, and all 10 local governments in the Goldfields-Esperance region,” he said.

“Supply chain spending by those companies is estimated to create an additional 10,876 jobs in the Goldfields and generated more than $1.59b in indirect gross value add for local economies.

Mr Carruthers said the “total” figure was likely to be higher than $1.63b, with the survey only capturing a “snapshot” of their members’ direct impact.

Ardea wields major project status for nickel cobalt play

The Australian Federal Government has rolled out the red carpet for Ardea Resources by stamping major project status on its Kalgoorlie nickel and cobalt operation. The decision could help the developer haul its hefty bag of battery metals to market.

Notably, Ardea is eyeing an end product in the form of mixed hydroxide precipitate, or “MHP” that is the input of choice for the lithium-ion battery industry.  The company is pursuing a definitive feasibility study into the construction of a 3.5 million tonne per annum plant to produce the MHP from its sizeable resource.

The company boasts its Kalgoorlie nickel project as hosting the largest nickel-cobalt resource in the developed world, coming in at a supreme 830 million tonnes of ore grading 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.046 per cent cobalt.  Impressively, in tonnage and grade, the project even overshadows the Mt Keith deposit operated by the ASX’s largest market-capped company BHP.

To put the figures into perspective, the International Nickel Study Group forecasts the 2022 global demand for nickel will stand at about 3Mt. Alternatively, the company suggests it has enough nickel to produce 147 million electric vehicles.

The final bonus from major project status is that the company should expect to receive extra support, coordinated approvals and potential sources of funding to get the Kalgoorlie nickel project over the line.

Eight Goldfields-Esperance areas secure telecommunications power system upgrades

Eight Goldfields-Esperance areas will receive power system upgrades to improve resilience in WA’s telecommunications network after
the State Government secured 26 per cent of the national funding pool.  Kalgoorlie-Boulder and Esperance will each receive a portable generator, and Grass Patch will get a generator and power system  upgrade.

Gibson, Coomalbidgup East and Cascade will have their battery and power system upgraded, while Higginsville Mine and Salmon
Gums will receive a 12-hour battery upgrade.  The State Government secured 141 mobile tower upgrades of the 544 awarded nationally by committing $988,000 last year to co-fund the upgrades.

In round one of the program, WA secured 108 of the 467 sites funded nationally, or 23 per cent of total sites.  Regional Development
Minister Alannah MacTiernan said bushfires during summer reinforced the need to improve resilience in WA’s telecommunications
network.

“While telecommunications is a Federal responsibility, our Government’s funding contribution has ensured WA gets its fair share of this important program,” she said.  A spokesperson from Ms MacTiernan’s office said the upgrades were set to start in mid-2022.

Village at Leonora a step closer

Leonora’s $4.5 million independent living village is a step closer to construction, with Majstrovich Building Company awarded the tender for construction works.   The project, jointly funded by the State Government and Shire of Leonora, will deliver eight modern independent living units, as well as a community hall, communal gardens and barbecues.

The selected company, Majstrovich Building Company, has strong ties with Leonora, having completed the Northern Goldfields Regional Offices and Administration Centre in 2017.   With a track record of engaging with local contractors on previous projects, Majstrovich Building Company will again maximise local content in the Ageing in Place project to ensure that economic benefits are retained within the Goldfields region.

Member for Kalgoorlie Ali Kent said the units would help residents to live independently while accessing local and visiting support services.

Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan said she looked forward to work getting under way in coming months.

“This project will go a long way in assisting with the demand for independent living units in the Northern Goldfields,” she said.

“It will create a seniors’ hub where both residents and community members can actively participate in village life.”

CREDIT: Kalgoorlie Miner

Mincor Resources bullish on Kambalda drill results

Mincor Resources boss David Southam says recent high-grade drill results between its Long and Durkin North mines provide increased opportunity to extend the five-year minelife of its Kambalda nickel operations.  The company on Monday reported significant intersections of nickel immediately alongside its Long mine and close to recently installed underground infrastructure.

Mincor said two diamond drill rigs would continue operating in the area with the company targeting an initial mineral resource late in the June quarter.  Mr Southam said the definition of a seemingly large and high-grade new mineralised surface in such close proximity to existing mining activities at Long and Durkin North represented an outstanding opportunity for Mincor to drive growth and mine-life extensions.

He said the results also supported Mincor’s strategy of combining the Long and Durkin North infrastructure to unlock the potential of the previously untested zones between the two mines.  Mincor acquired Long from IGO in 2019 linking the mine with its existing Kambalda tenure for the first time since Western Mining Corporation split up its nickel empire in the region at the turn of the century.

The company is focused on delivering first nickel concentrate from its restarted Kambalda operations in the June quarter after sending its first ore to BHP’s Nickel West concentrator in February under an offtake agreement.

New tenders called for in precinct plan

Kalgoorlie-Boulder councillors have accepted new scope of works for the newly titled Boulder Tourism Precinct project, with new
request for tenders to be issued.  Councillors unanimously voted to accept the new scope of works for the proposed Loopline Railway and Museum Precinct, now renamed The Boulder Tourism Precinct, at their March 14 meeting.

A re-scoping workshop was held with the committee on January 31 which determined that a new request for tenders be issued for the
newly-titled project.  The scope of works for the new project include an action plan with detailed delivery schedule of asset improvement and enhancements in an area extending from Loopline Park to the Palace Theatre.  Also included was conducting due diligence, feasibility and land tenure investigations including consultation with stakeholders, conducting vision exercise for the precinct and developing precinct master plan.

The re-scoping session came after foreshadowed motion was moved by Cr Terrence Winner at the December 13 meeting which resolved to refuse all tenders until workshop was conducted to re-define the scope of works.  There is an opportunity to investigate asset ownership and potentially financial or in-kind contributions towards the project from
Northern Star, WA Museum and the Golden Mile Loopline Railway Society.

CREDIT – Kalgoorlie Miner

Kalgoorlie nickel refinery project

A proposed Kalgoorlie battery cathode active material refinery hub, developed in partnership by Poseidon Nickel (POS) and Pure Battery Technologies (PBT), has been awarded a $119.6 million Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI) grant from the Federal Government.  Nickel explorer Poseidon and Pure Battery Technologies submitted the joint application for the grant in September 2021.

The partnership believes that the support from the Federal Government is a “major step forward” for the proposed pCAM hub which would benefit Poseidon by maximising margins on concentrates supplied to the refinery and potentially be able to treat a broader range of nickel concentrate specifications. This would unlock significant additional value from Poseidon’s large nickel sulphide resource base near Kalgoorlie.

Poseidon and Pure Battery Technologies entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in October 2021, and have worked together to execute a definitive agreement that will detail how the parties can collaborate to fund and develop a regional supply chain from mine to concentrate.  Pure Battery Technologies plans to build a $60m nickel refinery in the Goldfields, on the back of demand from the electric vehicle market; the company’s chairman, Stephen Wilmot, says it will get started on the project very soon.