reason for rise15 Oct 2009 19:15
Gladstone Pacific Nickel Ltd (GPNL) has signed an MOU with China Tianchen Engineering Corp to develop a heap leach project at Marlborough in Queensland, Australia, it announced Thursday (October 15).
The Marlborough ore resource, which is 100% owned by GPNL, holds 71 million tonnes of laterite nickel ore at 0.91% nickel and 0.06% cobalt, the Australian mine developer said.
It could produce up to 26,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of contained nickel and 1,700 tpa of contained cobalt in intermediate product, and would establish the company as a nickel producer, it said.
China Tianchen Engineering will assist with a targeted debt financing of 70% of the project, which is expected to be provided through Chinese banks. The two companies will work together to find Chinese investors to provide equity funding for the remainder.
The MOU is subject to the success of a feasibility study among other conditions.
Story provided by Business Financial Newswire