New life for delayed project

摘要

An AIM-listed Australian-based company is looking to resurrect Preston Resources Ltd's Maryborough nickel laterite play in Queensland. Gladstone Pacific Nickel Ltd -- which raised pound 11 million on London's alternative market during March -- has already started a 20,000 metre infill drilling program on four of its 10 identified Marlborough ore bodies as part of the project's definitive feasibility work. The junior is planning to construct a 175 kilometre slurry pipeline between the mining operations and a high pressure acid leaching plant in the port city of Gladstone. Gladstone Pacific initially wants to produce 30,000 tonnes of nickel and l,400t of cobalt per annum during the first stage of production and is looking to increase these numbers during the next -- and possibly a third -- phase of the project's life. Speaking during the recent ALIA 2005 Nickel/Cobalt Conference in Western Australia, the company's Peter Matheson said the first step, to include the construction of the pipeline and refinery, had been estimated at US905 million dollars last September. However, he also acknowledged the chances were this figure had risen due to the "frenetic pace at which the construction industry was working." As it stands, Marlborough has JORC-defined proven resources of 13.3 million tonnes of ore at 0.89 percent nickel and 0.05 percent cobalt (for 145,200t and 8,300t of metal respectively) and probable resources of 56 Mt at 0.79 percent nickel and 0.06 percent cobalt (445,000tand31,900t). Meanwhile, it has total resources of 96.1 Mt at 0.79 percent nickel (for 763,300t) and 0.05 percent cobalt (52,200t).