Possible new mine near Condobolin

[dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage)]

There has been some media coverage about a possible new mine near
Condobolin. A proposal has been put to the NSW government, but media
reports have been light on detail. I've done some digging.

Golden Cross Resources Ltd is proposing to open a new nickel and cobalt
mine at Fifield, 50km north of Condobolin. The deposit covers about 45 sq
km and extends from 200m to 1000m below the surface. While nickel and
cobalt are the main metals sought, there are economic concentrations of
other metals.

Up to 1 million tonnes of ore would be mined per year once the mine is in
full production, either for export as concentrate or for refining at a yet
to be built smelter. The mine would generate about 1400 jobs.

A railway has not been specifically mentioned, but 1 million tonnes pa
equates to roughly one 4000t train per day, or 160 trucks per day.

For the geologically inclined, the ore contains 1.2kg/t of copper, 1.1kg/t
of cobalt, 258g/t of nickel and 3.9g/t of gold. There are also concentrated 
trace inclusions of tin and platinum (think of these as choc chips).

Cheers
David