Lunnon Metals and the Ngadju Native Title Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC have finalised a mining agreement for select sections of the Kambalda gold–nickel project in Western Australia.
The Ngadju Native Title Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC determination area extends in the southeast of WA, covering more than 310,798km2 and running south from Goddard Creek to Mount Ragged, Israelite Bay and Point Malcolm.
This new mining agreement outlines the terms in which the Ngadju People can benefit from Lunnon’s gold and nickel assets.
Benefits of the agreement for the Ngadju People includes royalties for future production, funding for education and cultural awareness programs and conservation initiatives.
The agreement has also secured renewals for Lunnon’s mining licences beyond the current term ending in December 2025.
Lunnon said while its tenements precede native title requirements, it pursued a collaborative framework with the Ngadju People on a proactive basis.
“Lunnon Metals is proud to have proactively engaged with the Ngadju People immediately following its (ASX) listing in June 2021,” Lunnon managing director Edmund Ainscough said.
“This agreement has taken over three years to finalise but embodies a shared commitment with the Ngadju People to progress our gold and nickel portfolio towards development and potential future production.
“It also incorporates a modern and pragmatic suite of procedures governing future heritage approvals, covering early-stage exploration right through to development and production, whilst recognising the significant historical mining and exploration that has occurred, especially at the Foster–Baker project, which in its day was a key nickel and gold production centre for past owners of the tenements.”
Lunnon currently holds the mineral rights for four nickel deposits within the Kambalda gold–nickel project: Baker, Foster, Silver Lake and Fisher.
The Kambalda gold–nickel project is surrounded by tenements owned by St Ives Gold Mining, a Gold Fields subsidiary. Gold Fields currently owns approximately 31 per cent of Lunnon.
The total Kambalda gold–nickel project comprises approximately 47km2 and is located 20km from BHP’s Nickel West nickel concentrator plant, which has been temporarily suspended due to the ongoing global nickel downturn.
Lunnon revealed in July 2024 that it was considering alternative processing options for potential future ore from Baker and Foster. As of now, there has been no update on these discussions.
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