Direct Nickel Limited March 2012 abr Emerging Global Nickel - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Emerging Global Nickel Producer with Lowest Cost Processing

Direct Nickel Limited

March 2012 abr

Mambare 2011/12 program discovers high-grade nickel

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• 20km north of Kokoda

District, Oro Province

• ~ 100km2 target

20 km long, 5-7km wide

• max. elevation 1200m
• Exploration licence

area EL1390 ~242km2 Kododa township 

EL 1390  Mambare Plateau: In 1999 Ananconda Nickel Limited identified ~5Mt contained Ni in limonite alone

Mambare 2011/12 program discovers high grade nickel

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Mambare 2011 program discovers high-grade nickel

Area 1: MAM-KK-0051 – 19.40m from 10.00m at 1.7% Ni 0.06% Co, including 5.80m at 2.82% Ni 0.12% Co from 13.35m, with a peak Ni value of 1m at 3.28% Ni 0.12% Co from 15.95m Area 2: MAM-KK-0077A – 31.15m from 10.00m at 1.12% Ni 0.06% Co, including 6.9m @1.74% Ni 0.05% Co from 28.10m, including 2.30m at 2.10% Ni 0.07% Co from 28.10m MAM-KK-0018 – 22.87m at 1.42% Ni 0.06% Co from 7.73m, including 9.33m at 2.04% Ni 0.05% Co from 16.02m Area 3: MAM-KK-0026 – 35.60m at 0.99% Ni 0.09% Co from 1.3m MAM-KK-0080 – 22.69m at 1.38% Ni 0.06% Co from 11.61m, including 5.05m at 2.23% Ni 0.04% Co from 24.55m

N I C K E L

Mambare Nickel Project PNG (50% JV, DNi operator)

Mambare

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• One of the world’s great deposits, Anaconda Nickel

Limited estimated 5 Mt of contained nickel metal

• 1 Mt of nickel metal has an in-ground value of

~US$20 billion

• Jan 2012 JV partner Regency Mines plc

announcement of high-grade saprolite discovery

• 735 holes drilled, current 135 hole drill program

completed, maiden JORC resource Q1/12

• Transport - 120km flat and mostly sealed road to

Oro Bay deep water port – a rare advantage 60m wharf, water depth 10.1m, can take 40,000dwt, 180m Handymax class ships

Limonite – iron rich layer Saprolite – magnesium rich layer Weathered Source rock

Breakaway exposure of full laterite profile at the Pequizeiro deposit, Araguaia Brazil

Nickel

• re zone

What are nickel laterites?

• Formed by weathering of a relatively

common rock type

• Abundant
• Iron and magnesium-rich layers

straddled by the nickel ore zone

• Flat-lying, layered deposits amenable

to low cost mining and rehabilitation

• Easy to discover and drill out
• Soft ore with low grinding cost
• Prolific in SE Asia

Laterites – the future supply in nickel

• These 10 countries hold 89% of world laterite nickel
• The highest typical grades are in Indonesia and PNG
• Australia and South East Asia offer the best potential

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Recovers much more nickel from the same deposit…

• One flowsheet for the entire laterite ore

profile

• Atmospheric pressure, tank leach, 304

stainless plant construction

• Recovers 90-95% of nickel in 1 - 4 hours

residence time

• Much lower technical intensity than HPAL

and smelting

• Recycles reagent (+95%), environmentally

friendly tailings and low emissions

• Fully scalable and profitable from 5,000tpa

nickel size (under $200m capex)

• Produces Mixed Hydroxide Product

MHP (40% nickel)

Direct Nickel Process

An elegant and robust flowsheet

• Uses nitric

instead of sulphuric acid

• Patents and

comprehensive IP protection

• Acid

consumption of 20-30kg per tonne of ore vs. 500-1,000 kg per tonne using sulphuric

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MHP contains Ni 40 - 45 % Co 2 – 4 %

Fe2O3

Mag Oxide High value nickel product: Mixed hydroxide product (MHP)

MHP is a marketable product, also haematite iron and mag

• xide co-products. Nickel metal can also be produced

100 years of stainless steel – mankind’s favourite alloy

New Delhi bus shelter 5% goes into sinks Whitegoods Industrial Food areas Building cladding

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• Nitric acid is a very effective reagent for digesting ore but its

neutral products readily become benign

• Recycling the reagent removes the need to dispose of spent,

single-use sulphur chemicals to landfill

• Less waste of inputs generated in high opex processes
• Residual nitrates can fertilise plant growth during

rehabilitation

• Direct Nickel process tailings contain low level nitrates that

go on to to rejoin the nitrogen cycle

• During a lightning flash temperatures reach 30,000°C

reacting nitrogen and oxygen to make dilute nitric acid

Nitrogen compounds are a building block of life

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Direct Nickel tailings are growing peas in these trials

DNi Tailings neutralised with DNi mag oxide

100% mulch 50% mulch 50% tailings 100% tailings

Capex

$25 US$ per pound of annual capacity

$12.50 DNi

$35

Opex

$1.83/lb DNi

All DNi costs independently produced by Aker Solutions (now Jacobs Engineering). Note comparisons show DNi Process to MHP paying at ~75% of LME. Excludes mining costs.

$8.00/lb other processes $35+ Others

The breakthrough in capital and operating costs

Direct Nickel Process test plant at CSIRO Perth WA

Direct Nickel is an emerging producer: Our strategy is to

• Run Perth test plant with 150 tonne ore bulk samples
• Accumulate nickel resources in the ground
• Only licensing nickel laterites projects where DNi has a share
• Build the JORC resource at Mambare JV (50%)
• Build a major nickel producer

Dual growth ‘turbines’ to build valuation

• 1. Accumulating nickel inventory by farm-in and outright acquisition
• 2. Major revaluation of the Direct Nickel Process by achieving global

acceptance of the Direct Nickel Process

Resources + Process = Production

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Quality partnerships & further CSIRO equity investment

• 2005 Direct Nickel Pty Ltd founded
• 2007 Teck & Oz Minerals invest
• 2009 positive Aker Solutions PFS2
• 2010 CSIRO 1st equity investment
• 2010 successful commercial scale

recycle trial in Charlotte NC

• 2010 JV with Regency Mines (50/50) in

Mambare Nickel Project

• 2012 High grade results from Mambare
• 2012 Jan Construction of Perth Test

Plant

• 2012 Feb CSIRO decides to invest a

further $2.3m in equity

• Commitment to RTO and ASX listing

(The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is globally recognised as Australia’s pre-eminent commercial science body and is technical partner to Direct Nickel)

The DNi Management Team – experienced in innovation

Julian Malnic – Executive Chairman

Professional geologist and experienced company builder who founded Nautilus Minerals Inc. (A$450m market cap, TSX-V & AIM listed ). Chairman of the Sydney Mining Club.

Russell Debney – CEO

Has worked in resources since 1975 as a commercial & corporate lawyer in the resources

• space. In 1997 Russell joined Julian in building Nautilus Minerals Inc. and remains a director

Graham Brock – CTO & Project Manager

A metallurgist with over 40 yrs. experience and a track record of managing large scale nickel projects and processes. Graham is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy

Richard Carlton – COO

Richard is an experienced professional mining engineer who has operated an array of complex mining projects. Richard also has strengths in community liaison and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

Ian Bain – Corporate Development Head

Formerly Global Head of Mining and Metals Corporate Finance for ABN AMRO Bank NV. 30 years experience with strengths in corporate & banking sectors in mining, metals, oil & gas

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Projected Nickel Production Projected Revenue & Income Based on long term nickel price

• f US$8.0 / lb

Multi-billion dollar growth path

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Direct Nickel - well-developed and market ready

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Growing nickel resources

• Mambare, PNG
• Indonesia PT DNi
• More

Proven people

• Continuing track

record in major value creation

Powerful new process

• Exclusive process
• wnership
• Test plant ready

Momentum

Direct Nickel Limited

Julian Malnic Executive Chairman Russell Debney CEO

Emerging Global Nickel Producer with Lowest Cost Processing

Graham Brock Project Manager