SALLY Malay Mining will deliver its first nickel concentrate to the Wyndham port for export next week following the successful commissioning of its $65 million namesake mine in the East Kimberley.
SALLY Malay Mining will deliver its first nickel concentrate to the Wyndham port for export next week following the successful commissioning of its $65 million namesake mine in the East Kimberley.
It is almost eight years since minerals have been exported from Wyndham, after zinc exports were relocated from the Lennard Shelf operations to the Derby port before ceasing late last year when two mines were mothballed.
In a recent statement Sally Malay says it has become the newest nickel sulphide producer in the world and currently the only nickel producer in the Kimberley.
It’s expected the Sally Malay mine will produce about 45,000 tonnes of nickel in concentrate. It will be shipped from Wyndham to China during the mine’s slated five-and-a-half year lifespan.
Ten to 12 shiploads are planned annually, each worth between $12 million and $15 million at today’s nickel price.
The mine’s entire nickel concentrate production has been purchased by China’s largest nickel and cobalt producer, Jinchuan Group.
Jinchuan, in conjunction with Chinese resource investment and trading company Sino Mining, has also financed about 10 per cent of the Sally Malay project.
Like most other Chinese mineral producers, Jinchuan has been snapping up these long-term mineral supply contracts to sustain its increased capacity, which has been significantly increased to meet the huge domestic demand in China for construction materials.
Jinchuan also has an off-take agreement with Pilbara nickel miner Fox Resources, which recently re-commissioned the Radio Hill mine.
In an effort to reduce freight costs, specialised Dutch shipping company Spliethoff Transport will first pick-up Fox’s nickel and copper concentrates at Karratha port and then Sally Malay’s combined nickel copper cobalt concentrate at Wyndham port before shipping both products to Xingang in China.
The concentrate produced at Sally Malay’s on site plant will be trucked 250 kilometres to Wyndham by Mitchell Logistics, where it will be stored in a refurbished storage shed that was previously part of the Lennard Shelf operations.
The storage shed has recently been refurbished by the WA Department of Planning and Infrastructure.
There is also a ship loader at the Wyndham port, but Sally Malay’s concentrate will be skip loaded.
The commencement of mining at Sally Malay is also an important milestone for the company’s own aspirations.
With its namesake mine now commissioned and the soon-to-be re-commissioned Lanfranchi Project in Kambalda, Sally Malay says it is on track to become Australia’s fifth largest nickel producer.
