Latest news with #Ravensthorpe
The Australian
7 days ago
- Business
- The Australian
MM8 on path to Ravensthorpe production
Medallion snags Forrestania Nickel Operation from IGO for 1.5% net smelter royalty on future gold production Deal preserves $29m war chest to progress work streams to facilitate Ravensthorpe development decision Resource upgrade and metallurgical work will feed into key feasibility study Special Report: Medallion Metals has executed an agreement to acquire IGO's Forrestania Nickel Operation, which will enable a fast-tracked pathway to gold and copper production from its Ravensthorpe project in WA. The agreement includes the existing Cosmic Boy processing plant and equipment, infrastructure, inventories and information including mineral rights other than nickel and lithium. This is a key plank in Medallion Metals' (ASX:MM8) plan to make a Ravensthorpe final investment decision in late 2025 that will transform it into WA's newest gold and copper producer. What makes the deal attractive is that there's no upfront or deferred cash consideration with the company granting IGO (ASX:IGO) a net smelter royalty of up to 1.5% on all future gold production from the tenements as consideration for the acquisition. It allows the company to preserve its circa $29m in cash reserves to progress multiple work streams such as testwork, feasibility studies and permitting activities to support the FID. IGO also retains the right to explore for, develop and mine nickel and lithium minerals over the tenements. 'The company now turns its focus to the development of a new gold and copper producer in Western Australia,' managing director Paul Bennett said. 'Bringing the established high-grade gold-copper resources at Ravensthorpe together with the Forrestania plant and infrastructure can unlock significant value in the short term, with a substantial option on future growth from the new discovery potential of the tenure at both Ravensthorpe and Forrestania. 'Study work is at an advanced stage, permitting is being progressed as a priority and discussions continue to advance positively with offtake and finance parties.' The acquisition is subject to several conditions including MM8 preparing and announcing a feasibility study, entering into a binding unconditional debt facility agreement and/or funding commitments, and reaching FID on the project. Ravensthorpe project The ~300km2 Ravensthorpe project is centred on the historical Kundip mining centre midway between the regional centres of Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun. It benefits from excellent infrastructure and is easily accessed by sealed roads with a sealed airstrip 10km to the south of the project. Resources currently stand at 19.2Mt grading 2.1g/t gold and 0.3% copper for contained resources of 1.3Moz gold and 56,000t copper. A scoping study completed in December 2024 estimated the project could produce 336,000oz of gold and 13,000t of copper from a production inventory of 2.7Mt grading 3.9g/t Au and 0.6% Cu, over a mine life of 5.5 years. This will generate pre-tax free cash flow of $498m using a base case assumed gold price of $3615/oz and copper price of $5.54/lb, which increases to $637m at a gold price of $4000/oz and copper price of $6.15/lb. The Forrestania Nickel Operations and Ravensthorpe gold project. Pic: Medallion Metals Given that gold prices currently stand at about US$3352/oz ($5177.44/oz) while copper is priced about US$4.40/lb ($6.80/lb), these figures can be considered to be fairly conservative. Forecast average all-in-sustaining cost is estimated at just $1845/oz of gold inclusive of net by-product credits while total pre-production capex is expected to be about $73m including mine establishment and process plant modifications. Pre-tax NPV and IRR is estimated at $329m and 129% respectively in the base case with payback expected within just 12 months Establishment of the proven, industry standard process route of gravity-flotation-CIL at Forrestania is expected to deliver high gold recovery of 98% and copper recovery of 80%. MM8 notes there's plenty of upside as the initial production inventory represents just 44% of existing sulphide resource (gold) with existing shallow drilling indicating the potential for further mineralisation at depth. There is also potential for commercialisation of its oxide and transitional resources (10.3Mt at 1.6g/t gold for 520,000oz of contained gold). Next steps The company is currently working with IGO to finalise ancillary agreements and progress towards transaction finalisation and closure. It expects to release an updated resource estimate in August that incorporates the results of the recently completed 17,000m drill program along with metallurgical recovery and metal deportment assumptions that will inform the feasibility study. MM8 has also materially progressed process engineering associated with planned modifications to the Cosmic Boy flotation plant. It will now begin placing orders for long lead time items inclusive of a secondary ball mill. Additionally, the company has submitted all additional information requested by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water following its determination that the project will be assessed under preliminary documentation following its referral under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Work has also started on submissions under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 while negotiations with potential offtake and finance parties are ongoing with MM8 expecting to mandate a preferred offtake and finance partner to work on an exclusive basis to establish binding concentrate offtake terms and finance terms. This article was developed in collaboration with Medallion Metals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
ABC News
06-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Lithium mine closure shines light on Ravensthorpe community's resilience
For the first time in almost a decade, Ravensthorpe is without a working mine. The start of the new financial year saw the lithium mine at Mt Cattlin, just north of the town and about 500 kilometres south-east of Perth, placed into care and maintenance. It was the another casualty of market volatility that claimed a number of mines across Western Australia, and triggered the loss of hundreds of jobs. It is the second hit Ravensthorpe has taken, with 300 local jobs lost when the town's nickel mine was shuttered last year. But disruption isn't unusual for the community. It's the second time in 15 years the lithium mine has been mothballed. Beyond the mine closure, there have been floods, fires, a plane crash and a sex scandal that engulfed the local council. Lifelong Ravensthorpe local and shire president Tom Major said the run of adversity highlighted the strength of people in the town. "Look, we are a resilient community and it's just another page in the chapter of where we live," he said. "We'll soldier on. The agricultural industry is going really well, we're having a reasonable season, and the tourists just keep coming, so that industry is doing well. This most recent mine closure hasn't come as a surprise, with former owners Arcadium Lithium flagging the project for care and maintenance in September last year. Mr Major said unlike previous project closures, which happened almost overnight, the extended process had allowed the council to assess its priorities. The long lead time has given about 110 workers time to look for other jobs, with many staying in the community thanks to an improvement in services like NBN. "There have been people leave the community and school numbers are down a little bit, so I wouldn't say we've come through unaffected," Mr Major said. "We've got some of the some of the best fibre-to-the-premise internet you can get. "So we are seeing people move here that can work remotely or have online businesses, that sort of thing." Cheap and available housing, strong agriculture and a burgeoning tourism sector are also keeping the local economy ticking along. The influx of new people and a move towards showing off the region's unique features is spurring on Sue Leighton, chair of the newly formed Ravensthorpe tourism advisory group. "The community is sort of used to mining coming and going … and we have been eased into this," Ms Leighton said. She said the tourism sector would be pivotal in ensuring the region's survival. The Hopetoun local said now there was no active mining in the region, there was a chance to re-focus, and that the community remained open to new possibilities. "There's always activity for mining, for exploration and research," Ms Leighton said. "The townspeople are very resilient and look if new new mine starts up, we'll welcome all those people to come into town. "Then if they go again, we'll be sad that they're gone, but we've made good friends." Community consultation over the shutdown began almost 12 months ago, before any announcement that the project would be placed on care and maintenance. Shortly after Arcadium Lithium announced the closure, the company was snapped up by mining giant Rio Tinto. While Rio Tinto's reputation in WA has suffered in recent years, its approach in Ravensthorpe has been hailed within the community and the company as best practice. "I haven't seen a relationship between a mine and a community as strong as the one that I've seen here between the Mt Cattlin mine and the town of Ravensthorpe," said Rio Tinto's general manager of technical services Leigh Slomp. While Mt Cattlin's operating future remains uncertain, Mr Slomp said they were proud of how they had worked with the community. "That strong community consultation group … that's the sort of thing we want to be doing while we're in operation, not just when we get to a point where we might have to make a difficult decision," he said. "We've always been very open with the community … we need to be as transparent as we can be and that transparency then is reciprocated because the community understands the situation." Mr Slomp said Rio Tinto would remain active in the community while the project was on care and maintenance, and other miners could benefit from a similarly transparent approach. "Not only just to gain that social licence to operate, it's because we're operating within the community," he said. "We we need to be working with the community, we're not separate to the community. "I think this exercise that we've gone through in this care and maintenance phase with the town of Ravensthorpe should be held up as a model for other companies."
ABC News
22-06-2025
- ABC News
Hopetoun on WA's south coast will stop free camping, citing rubbish complaints
A West Australian town will close its only free caravan and campervan campsite after complaints of visitors leaving rubbish and human waste behind. Hopetoun sits about 50 kilometres off Highway One, or South Coast Highway, on the state's south coast and is 555km south-east of Perth. The Shire of Ravensthorpe voted last week to close a free RV campsite in the town and instead work with a local caravan park to offer discounted $15 a night sites. The move, which follows similar changes in other towns across Australia, has been met with a mixed response with some fearing it will turn tourists away. Shire President Tom Major said the council wanted to move the existing 48-hour free site to next to one of the town's caravan parks as it was a better location. "We want to keep our RV-friendly status for the town, so we need a free, or low-cost option … there will be a low-cost option, but it may not necessarily be free," he said. Cr Major said the community had raised concerns about the location of the free camping area on a road joining the main street. Issues raised included safety with its proximity to traffic and rubbish dumping, including toilet paper and human waste left in the surrounding bushland. He said there was a risk the town might lose some visitors by removing Hopetoun's free campsite, but the council wanted to grow the number of visitors from low-cost budget travellers to higher-yielding visitors. "We have to strike a balance," Cr Major said. "I think this policy does the best to strike a balance between offering good options to travellers, supporting local businesses, and making it amenable for residents." The closest town is Ravensthorpe, 46km away, which will retain its free RV camping site. Grey Nomad Awards founding director Liz Rivers said in the case of other free camp closures, visitors had typically chosen to visit another area. "You might find that Ravensthorpe becomes more popular as a free camp, and therefore there'll be more benefit back to the local businesses [in Ravensthorpe]," Ms Rivers said. "Grey nomads want to be able to give back to the communities in which they stay, and so they tend to make sure they're spending money everywhere they stay. When ABC posted information on social media about the Shire of Raventhorpe's decision, it was shared on multiple caravan and backpacker pages within hours. Simon Flick runs a cafe and grocer in Hopetoun and said he was worried about the closure deterring tourists from visiting. "We do get a lot of people coming in saying they came off the main road to get free camping," he said. Mr Flick said he was concerned some travellers would bypass the town if there were no free camping sites. "A lot of caravaners are on Wikicamps, which promotes local businesses that look after caravaners and campers," he said. Hopetoun Beachside Caravan Park will operate the discount camping site next to its property. Coordinator Rachel Small said the fee of $15 a night would attract visitors. Ms Small said some visitors were using the existing free site poorly with human waste left in nearby bushland a common complaint. "I think $15 a night is a very small amount to ask people to contribute to cover the cost of their stay in town," she said."And the caravan park makes a huge effort to make sure that we refer travellers on to all of our local businesses and share the love around a little bit. "It's not only for our benefit, but for the benefit of all of our local businesses and residents as well." The free camping site will close once the new site is open in the coming months.
BBC News
15-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Bird flu outbreak confirmed in West Yorkshire poultry
A case of bird flu has been confirmed in poultry in West virus was discovered at a site near Ravensthorpe, near Mirfield, on 11 June, according to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).An almost two-mile (3km) protection zone and a six-mile (10km) surveillance zone cordon have been put in place around the said all the birds at the property would be humanely culled. It is the latest outbreak in the county of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 advised bird keepers to check on the interactive map, to see if they are impacted and read the housing measure declaration, which explains the December, all poultry and other captive birds in affected parts of England have had to be kept indoors to prevent the spread of bird virus, which affects poultry and wild birds, spreads through contaminated feed and water, or through birds' droppings and saliva. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bird flu outbreak in Yorkshire poultry
A case of bird flu has been confirmed in poultry in West Yorkshire. The virus was discovered at a site near Ravensthorpe, near Mirfield, on 11 June, according to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra). An almost two-mile (3km) protection zone and a six-mile (10km) surveillance zone cordon have been put in place around the premises. Defra said all the birds at the property would be humanely culled. It is the latest outbreak in the county of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus. Defra advised bird keepers to check on the interactive map, to see if they are impacted and read the housing measure declaration, which explains the requirements. Since December, all poultry and other captive birds in affected parts of England have had to be kept indoors to prevent the spread of bird flu. The virus, which affects poultry and wild birds, spreads through contaminated feed and water, or through birds' droppings and saliva. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. First case of bird flu in sheep found on UK farm What to do to stop the spread of bird flu Defra
