Cosmos Nickel Mine
{{Short description|Former nickel mine in Western Australia}}
{{Use Australian English|date=March 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox mine
| name = Cosmos Nickel Mine
| image =
| width =
| caption =
| pushpin_map = Western Australia
| pushpin_label = Cosmos Nickel Mine
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Western Australia
| coordinates ={{coord|-27.589491|120.581398|region:AU|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| place =Leinster
| subdivision_type =State
| state/province =Western Australia
| country =Australia
| owner = IGO Limited
| official website = [https://www.igo.com.au/site/content/ IGO website]
| acquisition year = 2022
| products =Nickel
| financial year =
| amount =
| opening year = 2000
| active years = 2000–2012
| closing year =
| module = {{Infobox mapframe
|stroke-colour=#C60C30
|stroke-width=3
|marker=industrial
|marker-colour=#1F2F57
|zoom=12
}}
}}
File:STS112-E-5440 - View of Western Australia.jpg
Cosmos Nickel Mine is a currently inactive surface and underground nickel mine {{convert|38|km|abbr=on}} north-north-west of Leinster, Western Australia, along the Goldfields Highway.
The traditional owners of the land the mine is located on are the Tjiwarl people.{{cn|date=January 2025}}
History
The Cosmos nickel deposit was discovered in 1997 by Jubilee Gold Mines NL, originally a gold explorer which had switched to nickel exploration the previous year. The Cosmos deposit stood out for its high-grade nickel ore, averaging between five and twelve percent where most other nickel mines in Western Australia operate at a one to three percent grade.{{Citation | author1=B. Craven | author2=T. Rovira | author3=T. Grammer | author4=M. Styles | title=The role of geophysics in the discovery and delineation of the Cosmos Nickel Sulphide Deposit, Leinster area, Western Australia | journal=Exploration Geophysics | publication-date=2000-06-01 | publisher=CSIRO PUBLISHING | volume=31 | issue=2 | pages=201 - 209 | issn=1834-7533}}{{cite web |title=Cosmos Project, Leinster, Leonora Shire, Western Australia, Australia |url=https://www.mindat.org/loc-268674.html |website=www.mindat.org |publisher=Mindat.org |accessdate=21 March 2023}}
Jubilee Gold planned to invest A$52 million in the project, of which A$38 would go towards the construction of a concentrator. In 1998, the company estimated an initial mine life of three years and a production of 30,000 tonnes of nickel in this time.{{cite web |title=Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 1998–99 |url=http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Documents/About-Us-Careers/AboutUs-StatisticsDigest_1998-99.pdf |website=www.dmp.wa.gov.au |date= |publisher=Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety |accessdate=22 March 2023}} While mining was initially envisioned to be surface only, an expansion to potential underground mining was announced in the following year.{{cite web |title=Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 1999–00 |url=http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Documents/About-Us-Careers/AboutUs-StatisticsDigest_1999-00.pdf |website=www.dmp.wa.gov.au |date= |publisher=Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety |accessdate=22 March 2023}}
Mining at Cosmos commenced in 2000 and, in 2004–05, the mine transitioned from a surface to an underground mining operation.{{cite web |title=Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2004–05 |url=http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Documents/About-Us-Careers/AboutUs-StatisticsDigest_2004-05.pdf |website=www.dmp.wa.gov.au |date= |publisher=Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety |accessdate=22 March 2023}} In 2007, Jubilee Gold, and thereby the mine, were acquired by Xstrata for A$3.1 billion,{{cite news |url=https://thewest.com.au/business/mining/western-areas-looks-to-crank-up-cosmos-again-ng-b88431212z |title=Western Areas looks to crank-up Cosmos again |newspaper=The West Australian |author=Stuart McKinnon |date=30 March 2017 |accessdate=21 March 2023 }} at a time when nickel prices had surged. Shortly after the purchase by Xstrata, nickel prices crashed and, in 2012, the mine was placed in care and maintenance. During its twelve years of operation, the Cosmos Nickel Mine produced 127,000 tonnes of nickel in concentrate at a grade of 4.8 percent.{{cite news |url=https://www.australianmining.com.au/gr-engineering-to-concentrate-on-cosmos-nickel/ |title=GR Engineering to concentrate on Cosmos nickel |newspaper=Australian Mining |author=Henry Ballard |date=1 November 2021 |accessdate=21 March 2023 }} At its peak, in 2011, the mine employed over 300 people,{{cite web |title=Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2011–12 |url=http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Documents/About-Us-Careers/AboutUs-StatisticsDigest_2011-12.pdf |website=www.dmp.wa.gov.au |date= |publisher=Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety |accessdate=22 March 2023}} compare to just four in 2014, when in care and maintenance.{{cite web |title=Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2013–14 |url=http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/Documents/About-Us-Careers/AboutUs-StatisticsDigest_2013-14.pdf |website=www.dmp.wa.gov.au |date= |publisher=Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety |accessdate=22 March 2023}}
Xstrata was taken over by Glencore in 2015, which soon after sold the mine to Western Areas for A$24.5 million.
Western Areas, in turn, was taken over by IGO Limited at a cost of A$1.26 billion in 2022.{{cite news |url=https://www.kalminer.com.au/news/kalgoorlie-miner/igos-cosmos-nickel-project-to-cost-up-to-825-million-more-than-double-the-original-estimate-c-8722190 |title=IGO’s Cosmos nickel project to cost up to $825 million, almost three times the original estimate |newspaper=Kalgoorlie Miner |author=Neil Watkinson |date=3 November 2022 |accessdate=21 March 2023 }} Of this, IGO financed A$900 million through loans and the remainder through its own capital. Apart from Cosmos, the acquisition also included Western Areas' Forrestania nickel operations in addition to its own Nova nickel-copper-cobalt operation.{{cite news |url=https://www.mining.com/igo-to-buy-western-areas-for-a1-1bn-amid-soaring-nickel-demand/ |title=IGO to buy Western Areas for A$1.1bn amid soaring nickel demand |newspaper=Mining.com |author=Cecilia Jamasmin |date=16 December 2021 |accessdate=21 March 2023 }}
Shortly after the purchase, IGO announced that, to restart the operation and increase the concentrator size at Cosmos from 750,000 to one million tonnes per annum, an A$825 million investment was needed, three times the original estimate by the previous owner. At the time, IGO estimated that nickel production at Cosmos would recommence in 2024.
Mining at Cosmos is planned to be centred around the Odysseus mine, which is expected to have a mine life of ten years and to produce over 10,000 tonnes of nickel per annum.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://portal.ga.gov.au/deposit-report/minerals/cosmos/333803 Deposit Summary Report]
- [https://portergeo.com.au/database/mineinfo.asp?mineid=mn965 Cosmos, Prospero, Alec Mairs, Tapinos, Odysseus, Mt Goode]
- [https://www.igo.com.au/site/content/ IGO Limited website]
- [https://minedex.dmirs.wa.gov.au/Web/projects/details/53696cdf-8ab5-483c-a177-4f5794f21fb2 MINEDEX website: Cosmos] Database of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
{{Nickel mining in Western Australia}}
Category:Nickel mines in Western Australia
Category:Surface mines in Australia