Latest news with #KNP
West Australian
21-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Ardea banks $1.2M research rebate to fuel WA nickel development
Ardea Resources has received a significant $1.18 million research and development (R&D) tax incentive rebate from the Australian government for pioneering work on its Kalgoorlie Nickel Project (KNP) in Western Australia's Goldfields region. The timely cash injection for last year's cutting-edge nickel research will boost Ardea's commitment to advancing its globally significant nickel-cobalt resource. The rebate follows a $4.6M strategic placement from Japanese joint venture partner Sumitomo Metal Mining in April, bolstering Ardea's robust cash balance of $12M at last quarter's end. Ardea's R&D efforts have centred on its breakthrough mineralised neutraliser process, a novel approach to nickel-cobalt extraction that has led to an international patent application. The process leverages magnesite saprock at the base of its Goongarrie nickel hub's laterite deposits, segregating it into fines for processing and magnesite scats for neutralising leach discharge solutions. The company says its innovation promises to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of nickel-cobalt production, aligning with global demand for responsibly sourced critical minerals. The KNP is Australia's largest nickel-cobalt resource and has an impressive 854 million tonnes at 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt for a contained 6.1Mt of nickel and 386,000t of cobalt. The Goongarrie hub alone hosts 584Mt of ore, with 4Mt of contained nickel, and is being developed in a 50:50 joint venture with Sumitomo and Mitsubishi. The Japanese consortium is fully funding a $98.5M definitive feasibility study, which Ardea says is on track for completion in the second half of this year, paving the way for a final investment decision by 2027. Ardea's innovative process is a cornerstone of its strategy to establish a low-cost, multi-decade operation. The company's 2023 prefeasibility study projected an extraordinary $800M annual EBITDA over a 40-year mine life, producing 30,000t of nickel and 2000t of cobalt annually from a shallow, flat-lying orebody. The rebate will further support Ardea's ongoing exploration at its advanced project, currently targeting nickel sulphide and critical minerals such as scandium and rare earth elements at its Kalpini hub just next door. With a formidable Japanese consortium in tow and a strengthened balance sheet, Ardea will look to navigate volatile global nickel markets and deliver on its vision of becoming a leading supplier of critical minerals by 2030. As work on the definitive feasibility study progresses, the company continues to lay the groundwork for a potential world class operation that could restore nickel to Australia critical minerals ensemble. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
ABC News
20-05-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Kosciuszko wild horse numbers less than 6,000 triggering reproductive strategy
The NSW Environment Minister says she will turn to focus on managing current populations of feral horses in the Snowy Mountains after "large efforts" to reduce numbers in the past 18 months. The 2024 Kosciuszko National Park wild horse population survey, released publicly on Wednesday morning, has estimated between 1,766 and 5,717 horses are left in the park. The figures are "really reduced" compared to a 2023 survey estimate that around 17,000 horses remained in the park. The state government is legally required to reduce the number to 3,000 by mid-2027 to preserve the environment of Kosciuszko National Park (KNP). "We were hopeful that it would go well," Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said. "We've obviously reduced the number of horses in the park by a large number. The peer-reviewed survey, the fourth of its kind since 2020, this time tested multiple survey methods across four priority KNP management areas. "There's been a lot of interest in the way in which we count the horses and there's been a lot of conjecture about that," Ms Sharpe said. "For us [it's] about constantly refining and improving the way in which we can get as accurate a count as we can. "But also trying to compare year on year so that we're looking at the same method over a period of time." Its usual "standard distance sampling" method, which captures horse activity from two aerial observers attached to an aircraft, estimated from 1,766 to 4,050 horses remained in the park's retention zones. This time around another method called the "mark recapture distance sampling method" was also trialled. It added a third aerial observer at the front of the aircraft and estimated that the population in the same areas to lie between 2,373 and 5,717. A thermal imaging survey was also conducted but is still undergoing an extensive peer-review process. Ms Sharpe admitted it was difficult to get a single number best estimate of the population and hoped the range could be narrowed in coming years. "Trying to get an accurate number, particularly in the kind of terrain that is Kosciuszko National Park, is really challenging," she said. "I think we will always have a range and we'll keep going with that as we improve survey methods, particularly as the horses are mostly in the retention areas rather than spread out across the park." More than 9,000 horses were removed from the park between 2021 and April 30, 2025, with two-thirds of those killed by aerial shooting, a method adopted in October 2023. "But the large efforts … of the last 12 to 18 months is not going to be needed anymore because the numbers have come down." Aerial shooting is currently on pause and environment minister did not confirm when the method would recommence. She said the state government would now focus on stabilising the population that included looking into a reproductive control trial. "National Parks [and Wildlife Service] is beginning to be able to look at this, about how we would trial this and really start to test it," she said. "We're not there yet, but the preparatory work is being done on that and I'm pleased."
The Citizen
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
KNP: Monkey business in Satara Rest Camp
Less than a minute Bertus de Bruyn Less than a minute Annemarie du Plessis shared this video with Lowvelder. According to her, the monkeys entertained campers for hours after they discovered a hammock on Workers' Day, Thursday, May 1. ALSO READ: UPDATE: SANParks helicopter rescues two men stranded in Komati River Du Plessis is a professional photographer and is renowned for capturing exclusive wildlife photos in the KNP. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
