Albidon discovers 1,500 tonnes of nickel at Munali

Albidon discovers 1,500 tonnes of nickel at Munali
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Thursday December 20, 2007 [03:00]

Albidon Limited has announced that the Munali Nickel project contains about 1,500 tonnes of nickel and 43,800 ounces of platinum. According to the statement obtained in Lusaka, the estimations follow the results for initial resource of its voyager deposits for its Munali project.

The statement further read that the total indicated and inferred resource for the Munali project has now been increased to over 10.3 metric tonnes of ore.

The company also stated that a scoping study for the Voyager resource would begin early in 2008 and that Voyager would add to either the current mine life of Munali or the production rate per annum.

Munali is one of the biggest new nickel sulphide mining projects currently under way and now looks as if it could be in production well ahead of schedule, although there are still some potential constraints on achieving the targeted start-up date.

According to Albidon Limited's own review of progress published recently, the project is now significantly advanced and is progressing ahead of the previously advised schedule.


A new revised schedule has been prepared following a review of the critical path items and progress to date on construction of the concentrator.

The updated schedule indicates that first ore into the concentrator is expected in the middle of the second quarter of 2008, several months in advance of the previous plan.

The project area comprises the enterprise deposit and a number of other nickel prospects in the Munali intrusion, the most advanced of which is the Voyager prospect.

A positive bankable feasibility study was completed in July 2006 and site works began in September, following government approvals.

A capital raising was completed in October to provide US $35 million of equity finance for the project. An off-take agreement was recently signed with the Jinchuan Group and final documentation on a funding package of US $20 million in subordinated debt and a US $5 million equity investment by Jinchuan was "well advanced", Albidon said.

The US $60 million financing was subject to completion of due diligence and detailed documentation, which Albidon expected to finalise before the middle of the year.