avebury
nickel mine
The Avebury nickel sulphide project is wholly owned by Mallee and is the company’s flagship project. Avebury is located approximately 8km west of the town of Zeehan, within a known mining district on Tasmania’s western coast. The site hosts a substantial nickel sulphide Mineral Resource, established underground mine, a processing plant and associated mine infrastructure. Avebury is fully permitted for mining operations which has allowed for an accelerated re-start to mining operations.
An established underground mine with a 900,000 tonne per annum processing plant
Clear path to
near-term
production
Substantial nickel sulphide Mineral Resources of 29.3 Mt at 0.9% Ni (264 Kt contained Ni) (JORC 2012)
About the Project
The Avebury nickel deposit was discovered in 1997. Five years later a maiden Mineral Resource estimate was declared. In 2004 work began on the underground portal and decline. By 2006 underground mining had commenced utilising a combination of transverse and longitudinal stoping. A total of 8,500 metres of underground development was completed up to 2009, including ventilation shafts, an escapeway, five levels of development drives and an extension of the decline to the western Viking lode.
Commissioning of the Avebury processing plant occurred in 2008 during the global financial crisis, 9 months later the plant and mine were placed on care and maintenance while nickel prices remained low. No mining or processing activities have occurred since 2009 however the underground mine, processing plant and mine infrastructure remain in good condition.
Mallee gained ownership of Avebury and its associated assets in 2022 through a company administration process.
Geology
The Avebury nickel deposit is hosted in an ultramafic body located within a sedimentary sequence comprising volcaniclastic turbidites. Mineralisation at Avebury consists of veins and coarse-grained disseminations of sulphides that can be hosted by both serpentinised ultramafic rocks and skarn-altered rocks.
Avebury Mineral Resource estimate, reported from all blocks within Ni > 0.4 % envelope
| JORC Classification | Tonnage (Mt) | Ni (%) | Co (ppm) | As (ppm) | Contained Ni (kt) | Contained Co (kt) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicated | 8.7 | 1.0 | 244 | 378 | 87 | 2 |
| Inferred | 20.7 | 0.8 | 223 | 297 | 166 | 5 |
| TOTAL | 29.3 | 0.9 | 229 | 321 | 264 | 7 |
Notes: The Mineral Resource estimate including JORC Table 1, sections 1, 2 and 3 and the competent persons statement has been previously reported by the Company in accordance with the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’ (JORC Code) on 8 April 2022 and is publicly available at https://bit.ly/3jifzlM. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the relevant market announcement and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates continue to apply and have not materially changed.
Mining and Processing
A total of 8,500 metres of underground development was completed up to 2009. The underground workings include ventilation shafts, an escapeway, five levels of development drives and an extension of the decline to the western Viking lode.
The Avebury processing plant and site infrastructure was established around 2007. The plant operated for 9 months during 2008 and 2009 and has been on care and maintenance since this time. No mineral processing has occurred since 2009 and the plant and site infrastructure remains in good condition.
Exploration
Only 12% of the Avebury Arc (ultramafic host rock) has been tested. There is extensive source host rock and there remains excellent potential for further Avebury-style deposits along strike.
Mallee’s exploration licences in the Melba Flats area host high grade nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group mineralisation close to surface and also include numerous small-scale history mining workings. Testing of Melba Flats mineralisation at depth is limited. The licences include a significant aeromagnetic anomaly which could represent a mafic-ultramafic complex, the ultimate source of the nickel sulphides discovered at Melba Flats.