Speaking at the Diggers and Dealers Forum in Kalgoorlie, Harmanis said preliminary investigations had shown that the Cosmos Deeps discovery appeared to be bigger than the Cosmos find itself and the orebody remained open ended along strike and down dip.
The company’s most recent hole (JCD117) returned a stunning 14.1% nickel over 12.1m from a depth of 615.4m.
Harmanis said drilling would be stepped-out over the next quarter within and along the mineralised trend in order to produce an initial geological resource, which should be announced to the ASX in September or October.
“Our studies indicate that in order for Cosmos Deeps to follow Cosmos sequentially [at the same mining rate of 150,000 tonnes per annum] we are likely to have the underground project financed with a decision to go-ahead in the first quarter of 2001,” Harmanis said.
Jubilee currently is well cashed-up having made a share placement to Inco Limited of Canada in the last financial quarter to raise $5.2 million. Inco has agreed to purchase the first 30,000 tonnes of nickel from the new Deeps project on the same terms as the original Cosmos offtake agreement.
The company’s next shipment of concentrate is scheduled to leave the port of Esperance in Western Australia late this month. The ship will transport 8500 tonnes of concentrate containing 16% nickel. This is significantly better than the 5,500t at 15% Ni originally forecast.
Jubilee’s blossoming cash flow position gives it flexibility in terms of financing options for the Cosmos Deeps expansion. Early predictions are that the project will take $17-22 million to develop. This is significantly cheaper than the $37.7 million it took to get Cosmos underway.
About the only downside for Jubilee at the moment is dewatering issues in the Cosmos pit. MiningNews.net understands that large pumping units have been installed at the mine to cope with the rapid influx of water which at times has made mining conditions boggy and difficult. Management is currently working on a long-term water management strategy.
