First nickel from Goro, 12 years after WA pioneers

Goro has offered Vale, and Inco before it, a raft of challenges. Over the years, the project’s capital cost has soared, necessitating various project reviews aimed at trimming fat. Elements of New Caledonia’s vocal citizenry have thrown up environmental hurdles. And nickel prices have soared, plunged and risen again against the backdrop of the China boom and GFC.
Against all that, Vale has kept plugging away with its innovative flowsheet of PAL, SX and product recovery, with Goro’s rich ore and excellent grades justifying the effort.
“The realization of first nickel is a significant accomplishment and everyone associated with the project should be very proud,” said Roger Agnelli, Vale president and chief executive.
“Our operation in New Caledonia has faced considerable challenges,” Agnelli said. “This milestone is a testament to the hard work and perseverance of our employees, and we congratulate them for their accomplishments.”
The company said that commissioning at the Goro plant is now almost complete. Remaining commissioning work will continue to take place over the next few months, with the refinery expected to be in production by the end of the year.
At full capacity, Goro will have output of around 58,000 tonnes of nickel per annum and 4,000 tonnes of cobalt as a by-product. The capital cost of the project is around US$4.3bn.
Goro’s first metal comes 12 years after leaching commenced at the Australian laterite trailblazer – Cawse. As the millennium dawned, that project, along with Bulong and Murrin Murrin sought early mover advantage in successfully treating the millions of tonnes of low grade nickel laterite ore scattered across Australia.
Unfortunately, all the projects ran in to technical and financing problems, with changes of ownership and disappointment the consequences.
More recently, BHP Billiton fell on its sword at Ravensthorpe, with the company unable to tame a processing circuit which used some atmospheric leaching. That project is now in the hands of First Quantum.
These disappointments notwithstanding, HPAL has proven its credentials at Moa Bay in Cuba, a project started in the 1950s, and more recently at Sumitomo’s Coral Bay Project in the Philippines, which commissioned in 2005.
While Goro’s grades are far superior to those BHP Billiton faced at Ravensthorpe, it will be a feather in the Big Brazilian’s cap if it can succeed where the Big Australian failed.

Informa is holding the 4th New Caledonian Nickel conference at Le Meridien in Noumea from 15 - 19 November, 2010. The event is recognised as the world's largest nickel conference and this year features a who's who of the New Caledonian and world nickel scenes. Speakers come from, amongst others, Vale, SMSP, Province Sud, SLN, Province Nord, Koniambo, with site visits to the Doniambo Smelter and Koniambo, amongst others. For more information, visit www.newcaledonianickel.com