Wannaway

The Wannaway nickel deposit in the Kambalda Nickel District of Western Australia was discovered in the early 1980's. WMC Resources Limited mined the orebody from 1984 through to 1998 and during this period mined 553,000 tonnes of mineralised ore that graded at 2.3 percent nickel, producing 12,560 tonnes of nickel metal. Mining ceased at this original Wannaway deposit in 1998 when it became mined out. However, a second deposit was discovered by WMC Resources sitting alongside the original orebody that proved to be of a higher grade. WMC didn't mine the second
Wannaway nickel deposit and it was left idle until the operation was acquired by Mincor Resources NL in 2001.

Wannaway's Second Nickel Deposit Mined by Mincor Between 2001 and 2008
Mincor Resources NL began mining the second Wannaway nickel deposit soon after taking over the operation 2001 and by August 2008 this deposit also became mined out with all further mining operations at the mine being terminated. Mining of the second Wannaway nickel deposit produced a further 524,000 tonnes of nickel bearing ore that graded at 3.0 percent nickel, this ore was processed to realise 15,844 tonnes of contained nickel as well as 13,931 tonnes of nickel in concentrate.

Wannaway Mine Currently Placed on Care and Maintenance
Although two Wannaway nickel deposits have now been mined out, there still remains a significant nickel bearing orebody below that previously developed, there is also further exploration potential that has not yet been exhausted. However, the Wannaway mine is currently on care and maintenance awaiting an improvement in the global nickel price.

Wannaway Nickel Mine Part of the Greater Kambalda Nickel District
The Kambalda Nickel District in Western Australia, where the Wannaway nickel mine is located, is regarded as being one of the world's great nickel provinces. Since it was discovered in 1968 the district has produced more than 47 million tonnes of nickel bearing ore that contained over 1.4 million tonnes of nickel metal. The Kambalda Nickel District has averaged a nickel metal production rate of more than 35,000 tonnes each year of its operating life, other than for a short period in the latter part of the 1990's when nickel mining in the district was partially shut down.

Nickel Mining Resurgence at Kambalda Attributable to Mincor
Much of the revival of nickel mining in the Kambalda district since 2001can be attributable to the activity generated by Mincor, which is now the largest single nickel producer in the area. Mincor Resources NL started nickel mining at Kambalda when it began production at its Miitel Mine in early 2001. By the end of the 2011/2012 financial year the company had processed 143,000 tonnes of nickel metal in ore. Over the same period of time it has increased its nickel reserve in the district six fold. This has been achieved through sticking to an aggressive exploratory drilling campaign that has been able to more than replace nickel reserves as that have been mined out, as well as making the occasional acquisition.

Wannaway Ore Tol-Treated at BHP-Billiton Nickel West Concentrator Plant
Mincor currently operate the Miitel, Mariners and McMahon nickel mines along with a number of exploration projects and numerous resource level projects in the Kambalda Nickel District. All the mines are underground narrow vein mining operations and all are wholly owned by Mincor Resources. The ore mined from Mincor's Kambalda mining operations is toll-treated at the BHP-Billiton Nickel West Concentrator facility in Kambalda. All concentrate produced from the ore is purchased by BHP- Billiton under a long term off-take agreement between the two companies.
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