Name of the Mine
Nifty mine.

Location  
The western edge of the Great Sandy desert, in the north-eastern Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Mine Owner/s  
Cyprium Metals.

Brief Description  
Nifty is a past producing mine and one of Australia’s few brownfield copper operations with the potential to restart production in the foreseeable future.

The mine is uniquely positioned, boasting an updated mineral resource estimate of one-million tonnes contained copper, up to 17-million tonnes of stockpiled oxide ores accessible for near-term heap-leach processing, and infrastructure in an advanced state of readiness.

Brief History  
Nifty was discovered in 1981 and started operation in 1993 as an openpit oxide copper mine. From 2006, it transitioned to an underground sulphide mine, which operated until November 2019, when it was put on care and maintenance. Cyprium Metals acquired 100% of the Nifty mine in March 2021. 

Cyprium Metals is evaluating the opportunity to restart mining and processing operations for oxide and sulphide ores at the mine.

Primary Metals/Minerals  
Copper.

Secondary Metals/Minerals  
None stated.

Geology/Mineralisation  
The Nifty mineralisation is a strata-bound copper deposit, structurally controlled, with fresh mineralisation being chalcopyrite/quartz/dolomite replacement of carbonaceous and dolomitic shales within a folded sequence. 

Mineralisation is hosted within the folded late-Proterozoic Broadhurst formation, part of the Yeneena Group. The formation is between 1 000 m and 2 000 m thick and comprises a stacked series of carbonaceous shales, turbiditic sandstones, dolomite and limestone. 

The dominant structural feature is the Nifty syncline, which strikes south-east to north-west and plunges about 6° to 12° to the south-east. The bulk of the mined sulphide mineralisation is largely hosted within the keel and northern limb of the syncline. 

Weathering and oxidation extend down vertically to a maximum depth of 200 m. 

Oxide copper mineralisation is identified by the presence of azurite and malachite, as well as minor cuprite and native copper.
 
A lower saprolite zone is a subdomain of the oxide zone, where the rock mass has more than 20% altered minerals, but with identifiable remnant rock textures, which may contain oxide copper mineralisation. 

There is development of a subhorizontal chalcocite blanket within the transitional zone; the zone marks the gradual transition from chalcocite to fresh chalcopyrite mineralisation. Fresh mineralisation comprises chalcopyrite, with minor covellite and bornite.

Reserves  
Not stated.

Resources  
Total measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources were estimated at 125.02-million tonnes grading 0.83% copper as at March 14, 2024.

Type of Mine
Openpit (until 2006) and underground (until 2009).

Mining Method  
Previous underground mining was by open stoping with paste fill.

Major Infrastructure/Equipment  
Nifty includes a 2.8-million-tonne-a-year sulphide concentrator (on care and maintenance since November 2019); a 25 000 t/y copper cathode heap-leach solvent extraction electrowinning (SX-EW) facility (on care and maintenance since January 2009); a 21 MW gas turbine power station; full heavy-vehicle workshops and an accommodation village; and a fully sealed all-weather airstrip.

Prospects  
Over the past two years, Cyprium has invested considerable time and resources to refurbish the Nifty SX-EW plant and build a comprehensive understanding of the openpit potential of Nifty’s sulphide orebody. Cyprium intends to restart operations using heap-leach SX-EW to retreat the current heap-leach pads, and openpit oxide and transitional material. Concurrently, comprehensive metallurgical testwork is expected to determine the optimal pathway to unlock value from the openpit sulphide material.

Preliminary studies have underscored the viability of a long-life, large openpit mine at Nifty, particularly focusing on its sulphide mineralisation – the project’s primary resource.

Contact Details 
Cyprium Metals
Tel +61 8 6374 1550 
Email communications@cypriummetals.com

Sources
Cyprium Metals. Website: https://cypriummetals.com/