The Cawse mine is a mothballed laterite nickel mine near Ora Banda in Western Australia. Cawse has a remnant Proven Reserve of 3.757 million tonnes of ore grading 0.65% nickel for 24,400 tonnes of nickel, as of 31 December 2009.[1]
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Cawse mine Location in Western Australia | |
| Location | Ora Banda |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 30°22′54″S 121°09′34″E / 30.38167°S 121.15944°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Nickel, cobalt |
| History | |
| Opened | 1999 |
| Closed | 2008 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Wingstar Investments Pty Ltd |
| Year of acquisition | 2014 |
 | |
The mine, opened in 1999, was Australia's first high pressure acid leaching operation to mine and treat laterite nickel ore to produce nickel metal on site.[2] It was closed in October 2008, due to depressed metal prices.[3]
Cawse was developed by Centaur Mining & Exploration, with an annual capacity of 9,000 tonnes of nickel and up to 2,000 tonnes of cobalt.[4]
In 2001 it was sold to OM Group, and subsequently in 2007 was sold to Norilsk Nickel. In 2014 Norilsk Nickel, having placed the mine and plant on care-and-maintenance in 2008, sold it to Wingstar Investments for an undisclosed amount.[5][6][7]
References edit
- ^ "Reserves of nickel". nornik.ru. 2013. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ Cahill, Casey (13 May 1999). "Opening of the Cawse nickel mine near Kalgoorlie". Media Statements. Perth, WA: Government of Western Australia, Department of the Premier and Cabinet. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ Scott, Jason (11 April 2009). "Xstrata to close WA nickel mine". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ Elias, M. (2013). "Overview of the Australian Nickel-Cobalt Industry". In Rankin, W.J. (ed.). Overview of the Australian Nickel-Cobalt Industry. Carlton, Vic.: The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. ISBN 9781921522802.
- ^ Budrys, Aleksandras (20 January 2007). "Norilsk buys OM Group nickel business for $408 mln". Reuters. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ Evans, Nick (23 May 2014). "Gardner buys Cawse, Avalon". The West Australian. Perth, WA. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "Cawse". PorterGeo Database. Porter GeoConsultancy. 2004. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
External links edit
- Cawse Historic Nickel Mine (Central and Extended) Deposit Summary Report
- Cawse Extended (TNG - Norilsk) Deposit Summary Report
- Cawse
- MINEDEX website: Cawse Database of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
- Cawse Nickel Project Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia