The David Southam-led company revealed on Friday that ore delivered to Nickel West’s Kambalda concentrator by the end of next month would be converted to imputed concentrate production based on a grade recovery curve, resulting in first cashflow in June.
Mincor noted the prevailing spot price for nickel was $46,000 a tonne, more than double the price of $22,500/t assumed in its Match 2020 definitive feasibility study, which justified the restart of Kambalda.
Mr Southam said the revised terms of the company’s offtake agreement with Nickel West brought forward cashflow and removed technical risk.
He noted the company had delivered the restart of Kambalda during some of the most challenging times seen in the mining industry with a global pandemic and labour shortages dominating the past two years.
“Looking forward, Mincor will continue to ramp up ore production during the commissioning phase as we look to increase nickel concentrate production rates towards the end of the September 2022 quarter, at which time we intend to release inaugural financial year 2023 guidance,” he said.
As well as the restart of its historic northern operations near Kambalda, Mincor has also opened a new greenfields underground mining operation at Cassini near Widgiemooltha.
The company shuttered its Kambalda operations in 2016 after a sustained downturn in prices for the commodity which was then used predominantly in steel making.
The rising fortunes of the metal are linked to its growing use in electric vehicle batteries.
