The Avebury Nickel Mine in western Tasmania is back in operational mode, with its care and maintenance status lifted by Tasmanian regulatory bodies (Mineral Resources Tasmania, Worksafe Tasmania and EPA Tasmania).
Mallee Resources reports that the change comes after payment of the required environmental bond and the submission of the requisite operational plans.
The company is set to own the mine after the planned acquisition of Allegiance Mining.
All safety protocols for the operation of the underground mine are in place. Mining operations have commenced, with the first development cuts drilled and blasted.
Managing director and former Avebury general manager John Lamb said the return to operations had been a long time coming and the entire Avebury team was to be congratulated.
“The company is progressing well through the conditions precedent to the acquisition of Avebury. We are confident that the conditions will be satisfied on a timely basis,” he said.
“The Avebury Nickel Project is a very attractive project and we are very happy to have secured our interest in it pursuant to the competitive bidding process that resulted in the DOCA (deed of company arrangement) being entered into.”
Mallee Resources has also entered into a binding agreement with Zebs Minerals and D&B Mining to acquire an exploration licence close to Avebury.
It includes a Sandvik LH517 mine loader and “all the geological and mining data and information” held by the vendors in relation to both the Melba tenements and the Avebury Nickel Project.
Lamb said that upon completion, the company would more than double its ground-holding in the highly mineralised Melba Flats area, a region known for high grade mineralisation and small-scale historical mining.
