Nickel & Copper (Sirius) Flashcards
Where are most of the copper deposits located?
Most of the world’s major copper deposits are located in Latin America. Chile is by far the world’s largest copper mine producer, accounting for just under a third of global supply.
Are copper concentrates traded internationally or smelted domestically?
Over 70% of custom concentrates are traded internationally, with the remainder sold to smelters within the same country
When did Indonesia implement a ban on exports of unprocessed mineral ores?
January 2014. However, the Indonesian government has recently announced that exports of copper concentrates containing greater than 15% copper will be allowed to continue until 2017
Why are traders needed by both buyers and sellers of concentrate?
In buying and selling concentrates, traders exploit a whole variety of variables between their buying and selling terms. In some circumstances, miners depend upon traders to place material which is particularly difficult to market because of quality. Meanwhile, custom smelters often rely upon the merchant to provide a mix of concentrate qualities, thereby facilitating the task of blending feed.
Why do laterite projects have higher capital costs than Sulphide projects?
Sulphide projects require only the development of a mine and the construction of a mill to produce a concentrate for sale. Laterite projects, require the construction of a smelter or hydrometallurgical treatment plant, both of which are far more costly (and risky) in development terms than a simple milling circuit.
What has higher operating costs, sulphide or laterite projects?
In terms of C1 cash costs, i.e. post by-product credits, this is on average true, as most sulphide operations produce varying amounts of copper, cobalt, gold, silver or PGM as by-products, and changes in the prices of these metals can therefore have a considerable influence on their nickel production costs. However, gross operating costs before by-product credits are much closer, and indeed at times have been lower for laterites than sulphides.
What are C1 cash costs?
Net Direct Cash Cost (C1) represents the cash cost incurred at each processing stage, from mining through to recoverable metal delivered to market, less net by-product credits (if any).
The M1 margin is defined as metal price received minus C1.
Direct Cash Costs cover:
- Mining, ore freight and milling costs.
- Ore purchase and freight costs from third parties in the case of custom smelters
or mills.
- Mine-site administration and general expenses.
- Concentrate freight, smelting and smelter general and administrative costs.
- Matte freight, refining and refinery general and administrative costs.
- Marketing costs (freight and selling).
What are C2 cash costs?
Production Cost (C2) is the sum of net direct cash
costs (C1) and depreciation, depletion and
amortisation. The M2 margin is defined as metal
price received minus C2.
What are C3 cash costs?
Fully Allocated Cost (C3) is the sum of the production
cost (C2), indirect costs and net interest charges. The
M3 margin is defined as metal price received minus
C3.
Indirect Costs are the cash costs for:
- The portion of corporate and divisional overhead costs attributable to the operation.
- Research and exploration attributable to the operation.
- Royalties and “front-end” taxes (excluding income and profit-related taxes).
- Extraordinary costs i.e. those incurred as a result of strikes, unexpected shutdowns etc.
- Interest charges include all interest paid, both directly attributable to the operation and any
corporate allocation (net of any interest received) on short-term loans, long-term loans,
corporate bonds, bank overdrafts etc.
What is the most likely smelter for Sirius?
Kalgoorlie (BHP Billiton, Australia) is currently the second largest consumer of third-party custom concentrate globally, and is forecast to have 14 kt of uncontracted demand for nickel in custom concentrate in 2016, increasing to nearly 100 ktpa by 2025. Given the large volumes required, and its proximity to Nova-Bollinger, the Kalgoorlie smelter would seem to clearly represent the most likely potential customer for Sirius Resources.
What is nickel used for?
About 65 per cent of nickel is used to manufacture stainless steels, and 20 per cent in other steel and non-ferrous (including “super”) alloys, often for highly specialized industrial, aerospace and military applications. About 9 per cent is used in plating and 6 per cent in other uses including coins and a variety of nickel chemicals.
Who has conducted the metallurgical testwork for Sirius?
Strategic Metallurgy
What is a mineral liberation study used for?
The textural relationships between minerals within an ore, and their relation to process selection requires the introduction of the concept of liberation size. This is the size to which an ore must be crushed or ground to produce separate particles of either value mineral or gangue that can be removed from the ore (as concentrate or tailings) with an acceptable efficiency by a commercial unit process. Liberation size does not imply pure mineral species, but rather an economic trade-off of grade and recovery.
What is the resulting size for Nova ore after the primary and secondary grinds.
106 microns after primary grinds and a secondary grind of 25 microns
What is the feed grade? What is the resulting concentrate grade for nickel? What is the estimated recovery from the processing of the concentrate?
Feed Grade: 2.5%
Nickel Grade: 13.5%
Recovery: 89%
