News

February 21, 2007

European Nickel Becomes Tied Ever Tighter To BHP Billiton

By Rob Davies

Heap leaching is a technology that has been applied to gold and copper but not, so far, to other metals. That could be about to change once European Nickel gets its Caldag project in Turkey into operation next year. It took another step forward this week when it signed a take or pay offtake agreement with BHP Billiton for an initial seven years with an option to extend for a further 14 years. That gives some indication of the life the mine can expect. The JORC standard indicated and inferred resource stands at 37.9 million tonnes with a grade of 1.14% Ni and 0.05% Co, easily enough to support a two million tonne a year mining operation for the first part of that contract.

Nickel extraction at Caldag

Before the mine is built though Andrew Lindsay, finance director, points out that there are still two hurdles to be surmounted. The first is fairly trifling and involves the fine print of the US$175million debt package and the second concerns permits for forestry work to clear the site. Andrew groans when the subject is brought up not because it is a real problem, it is just Turkish bureaucracy, but it comes up so often.  With the resolution of these last two hurdles in sight construction...