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Sunday, July 06, 2014 2:52:09 PM
Nickel to outperform in global recovery
Friday, July 04, 2014 by Proactive Investors
Nickel prices have risen to their highest level in six weeks on strong U.S. jobs data that signalled that an economic recovery would spur demand in industrial metals.
U.S. employers had added 288,000 jobs in June, taking the unemployment rate to 6.1%, the lowest level since September 2008.
Nickel for delivery in three months rose 1.2% to US$19,875 a tonne after reaching a high of US$19,990. It had reached a high of US$21,625 in May.
Prices have risen more than 40% since Indonesia clamped down on exports of unprocessed ores in a bid to push domestic processing.
While Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) has estimated that the ban would remove about 450,000 tonnes of Indonesian nickel from the market, no shortages have emerged yet due to high levels of stock.
However, some analysts have estimated that refined inventories in China, the largest importer of nickel, could be depleted by the end of this year.
Adding to this likely supply crunch is the growth in nickel use of about 4% per year.
ASX Nickel Plays
As the nickel supply and demand story continues to improve, companies with a nickel focus or exposure to nickel projects would no doubt be on investor radars.
Here are some companies on the Australian Securities Exchange that may be worth a look.
Poseidon Nickel (ASX: POS) is taking steps to enable its Mt Windarra Nickel Mine in Western Australia to begin production later this year by restarting mine refurbishment activities and employing new personnel.
The company is confident that negotiations with one or more third parties on ore processing and offtake agreements would be successful.
It had in May raised $3.7 million for pre-production activities through the placement of approximately 46,708,000 shares priced at $0.08 each.
Poseidon had in 2013 completed a Definitive Feasibility Study into commencing production at Mt Windarra and processing the ore through a concentrator to be built at the site.
Approximately 61%, or 440,000tpa, of the annual nickel ore production for the project is planned to be mined from the existing underground mine at Mt Windarra.
The balance of the ore feed will come from the Cerberus underground mine that was discovered by Poseidon in 2008.
Cerberus has a total Indicated and Inferred resource of 4.55Mt at 1.51% for 68,600 tonnes of nickel including a Probable reserve of 1.22Mt at 1.3% for 15,880 tonnes of nickel. The mining cost had been estimated at $76 per tonne in the DFS.
Mining Projects Group (ASX: MPJ) has released preliminary results from the first stage Moving Loop Electro Magnetic Survey at its Fraser Range East and Dingo Range projects in Western Australia.
This recorded a broad anomaly in the mid-time response of the three westernmost lines over a strike-length of 800 metres, and is open in both directions.
Consultant geologists Newexco noted that more geological information could improve and constrain the interpretation, and assay results and interpretation of the MMI (Mobile Metal Ion) soil samples over the area are in progress.
The results also warrant follow up drilling at the project.
The company has received backing from renowned nickel prospectors Bill Amann and Adrian Black who have virtually written the "playbook" on making large nickel discoveries in Western Australia including being instrumental in Sirius' Nova nickel deposit in the Fraser Range.
Amann is overseeing the exploration work in conjunction with the company’s new director Neil Hutchison.
White Cliff Minerals (ASX: WCN) has identified a number of anomalies including a new high tenor 1.5 kilometre by 500 metre nickel in soil anomaly at its Merolia Nickel and Copper project in Western Australia’s Laverton region.
The company is now carrying out additional geochemical soil sampling program over the large anomaly as well as further infill geochemical sampling around other defined anomalies. Results are expected to be available in the coming weeks.
Merolia covers 771 square kilometres in the Merolia Greenstone belt, a region prospective for magmatic nickel and copper sulphides and orogenic gold deposits.
It has also intersected nickel mineralisation within the regolith profile at its Lake Johnston Project
Copper sulphides and quartz veining were also intersected at Conductor 2 with the results supporting further exploration for nickel and copper sulphides in the area.
Lake Johnston is 100% owned and covers 650 square kilometres in the Lake Johnston Greenstone Belt.
The belt includes nickel resources of 140,000 tonnes at the Emily Ann and Maggie Hayes nickel sulphide mines operated by Norlisk.
Amongst the companies with exposure to nickel projects is Legend Mining (ASX: LEG), which has been granted the 356 square kilometre E28/2342 exploration licence within the highly prospective Fraser Range Belt in Western Australia.
E28/2342 is considered to be prospective for Nova-style nickel-copper and Tropicana-style structurally controlled gold mineralisation.
Results of an aeromagnetic survey are now being analysed along with a review of successful exploration methodologies in the Fraser Range to enable considered exploration strategies for this project.
Coburn mineral sands developer Gunson Resources (ASX: GUN) holds the Fowlers Bay Nickel Project in South Australia where it had completed a gravity geophysical survey during the half year ended 31 December 2013.
Kibaran Resources (ASX: KNL), which is primarily focused on its Mahenge Graphite Project in Tanzania, also holds the underexplored Kagera Nickel Project that is located along strike of Xstrata's Kabanga nickel deposit.
Work is underway to better understand the true nickel-sulphide potential and financial value of the project, which covers an area of 864 square kilometres.
Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) had last year defined an initial Resource of 222,710 tonnes grading 2.92% nickel for the closed Blair Nickel Mine within its wholly-owned Golden Ridge Project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields.
It also holds a 75% interest in the Fairwater Project in the Albany Fraser that is 105 kilometres southwest of the Nova-Bollinger nickel discoveries.
Axiom Mining (ASX:AVQ) is waiting on a Solomon Islands High Court decision on its case against multi-billion dollar refining giant Sumitomo Metal Mining Company over the Isabel Nickel Project.
A judgement is expected to be delivered before the end of September 2014.
The Isabel Nickel Project is 80% owned by Axiom via local subsidiary Axiom KB Limited that includes the Kolosori and Bungusule tenements, which contain the largest nickel laterite deposits in the Pacific.
Previous operator Kaiser Engineering had concluded that the historic and non-JORC resources of159 million tonnes at 1.045% nickel and 0.07% cobalt were sufficient to operate a heap leach mine for 15 years at a process rate of 2,800 tonnes per day.
Axiom has previously indicated that they intend to evaluate the entire tenement at Kolosori to a depth of 20 to 30 metres and define a JORC resource.
http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/56069/nickel-to-outperform-in-global-recovery-56069.html
Friday, July 04, 2014 by Proactive Investors
Nickel prices have risen to their highest level in six weeks on strong U.S. jobs data that signalled that an economic recovery would spur demand in industrial metals.
U.S. employers had added 288,000 jobs in June, taking the unemployment rate to 6.1%, the lowest level since September 2008.
Nickel for delivery in three months rose 1.2% to US$19,875 a tonne after reaching a high of US$19,990. It had reached a high of US$21,625 in May.
Prices have risen more than 40% since Indonesia clamped down on exports of unprocessed ores in a bid to push domestic processing.
While Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) has estimated that the ban would remove about 450,000 tonnes of Indonesian nickel from the market, no shortages have emerged yet due to high levels of stock.
However, some analysts have estimated that refined inventories in China, the largest importer of nickel, could be depleted by the end of this year.
Adding to this likely supply crunch is the growth in nickel use of about 4% per year.
ASX Nickel Plays
As the nickel supply and demand story continues to improve, companies with a nickel focus or exposure to nickel projects would no doubt be on investor radars.
Here are some companies on the Australian Securities Exchange that may be worth a look.
Poseidon Nickel (ASX: POS) is taking steps to enable its Mt Windarra Nickel Mine in Western Australia to begin production later this year by restarting mine refurbishment activities and employing new personnel.
The company is confident that negotiations with one or more third parties on ore processing and offtake agreements would be successful.
It had in May raised $3.7 million for pre-production activities through the placement of approximately 46,708,000 shares priced at $0.08 each.
Poseidon had in 2013 completed a Definitive Feasibility Study into commencing production at Mt Windarra and processing the ore through a concentrator to be built at the site.
Approximately 61%, or 440,000tpa, of the annual nickel ore production for the project is planned to be mined from the existing underground mine at Mt Windarra.
The balance of the ore feed will come from the Cerberus underground mine that was discovered by Poseidon in 2008.
Cerberus has a total Indicated and Inferred resource of 4.55Mt at 1.51% for 68,600 tonnes of nickel including a Probable reserve of 1.22Mt at 1.3% for 15,880 tonnes of nickel. The mining cost had been estimated at $76 per tonne in the DFS.
Mining Projects Group (ASX: MPJ) has released preliminary results from the first stage Moving Loop Electro Magnetic Survey at its Fraser Range East and Dingo Range projects in Western Australia.
This recorded a broad anomaly in the mid-time response of the three westernmost lines over a strike-length of 800 metres, and is open in both directions.
Consultant geologists Newexco noted that more geological information could improve and constrain the interpretation, and assay results and interpretation of the MMI (Mobile Metal Ion) soil samples over the area are in progress.
The results also warrant follow up drilling at the project.
The company has received backing from renowned nickel prospectors Bill Amann and Adrian Black who have virtually written the "playbook" on making large nickel discoveries in Western Australia including being instrumental in Sirius' Nova nickel deposit in the Fraser Range.
Amann is overseeing the exploration work in conjunction with the company’s new director Neil Hutchison.
White Cliff Minerals (ASX: WCN) has identified a number of anomalies including a new high tenor 1.5 kilometre by 500 metre nickel in soil anomaly at its Merolia Nickel and Copper project in Western Australia’s Laverton region.
The company is now carrying out additional geochemical soil sampling program over the large anomaly as well as further infill geochemical sampling around other defined anomalies. Results are expected to be available in the coming weeks.
Merolia covers 771 square kilometres in the Merolia Greenstone belt, a region prospective for magmatic nickel and copper sulphides and orogenic gold deposits.
It has also intersected nickel mineralisation within the regolith profile at its Lake Johnston Project
Copper sulphides and quartz veining were also intersected at Conductor 2 with the results supporting further exploration for nickel and copper sulphides in the area.
Lake Johnston is 100% owned and covers 650 square kilometres in the Lake Johnston Greenstone Belt.
The belt includes nickel resources of 140,000 tonnes at the Emily Ann and Maggie Hayes nickel sulphide mines operated by Norlisk.
Amongst the companies with exposure to nickel projects is Legend Mining (ASX: LEG), which has been granted the 356 square kilometre E28/2342 exploration licence within the highly prospective Fraser Range Belt in Western Australia.
E28/2342 is considered to be prospective for Nova-style nickel-copper and Tropicana-style structurally controlled gold mineralisation.
Results of an aeromagnetic survey are now being analysed along with a review of successful exploration methodologies in the Fraser Range to enable considered exploration strategies for this project.
Coburn mineral sands developer Gunson Resources (ASX: GUN) holds the Fowlers Bay Nickel Project in South Australia where it had completed a gravity geophysical survey during the half year ended 31 December 2013.
Kibaran Resources (ASX: KNL), which is primarily focused on its Mahenge Graphite Project in Tanzania, also holds the underexplored Kagera Nickel Project that is located along strike of Xstrata's Kabanga nickel deposit.
Work is underway to better understand the true nickel-sulphide potential and financial value of the project, which covers an area of 864 square kilometres.
Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) had last year defined an initial Resource of 222,710 tonnes grading 2.92% nickel for the closed Blair Nickel Mine within its wholly-owned Golden Ridge Project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields.
It also holds a 75% interest in the Fairwater Project in the Albany Fraser that is 105 kilometres southwest of the Nova-Bollinger nickel discoveries.
Axiom Mining (ASX:AVQ) is waiting on a Solomon Islands High Court decision on its case against multi-billion dollar refining giant Sumitomo Metal Mining Company over the Isabel Nickel Project.
A judgement is expected to be delivered before the end of September 2014.
The Isabel Nickel Project is 80% owned by Axiom via local subsidiary Axiom KB Limited that includes the Kolosori and Bungusule tenements, which contain the largest nickel laterite deposits in the Pacific.
Previous operator Kaiser Engineering had concluded that the historic and non-JORC resources of159 million tonnes at 1.045% nickel and 0.07% cobalt were sufficient to operate a heap leach mine for 15 years at a process rate of 2,800 tonnes per day.
Axiom has previously indicated that they intend to evaluate the entire tenement at Kolosori to a depth of 20 to 30 metres and define a JORC resource.
http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/56069/nickel-to-outperform-in-global-recovery-56069.html
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