Aeon Metals expects to release the pre-feasibility study in April for its Walford Creek copper-cobalt project and is actively engaging potential financiers for its development.

The study was expected to confirm the potential for Walford Creek to become a significant producer of high-quality battery metals, the company said.

“From the completion of the scoping study in June 2021, we set an aggressive timetable for completion of the PFS and we have largely tracked to this,” Aeon managing director and chief executive officer Fred Hess said.

“The travel restrictions, particularly for Western Australia, have posed some inconvenience and timing challenges given that all downstream metallurgical processing testwork has been undertaken in Perth.

“In saying that, these impacts have seen scheduled completion of the PFS deferred only a few weeks, now expected during April.”

Dr Hess said the key outcomes generated from the scoping study were expected to remain largely unchanged.

“Importantly, we have now expanded our detailed understanding of all the key project elements to deliver sufficient confidence, and supporting data, to actively engage with potential project financiers – a process that has now commenced,” he said.

“Pleasingly, our initial interactions with various levels of government have also provided encouragement and recognition that our mine development plans sit firmly within the sweet spot of the many government
policy initiatives designed to facilitate investment in both new and greener mining development.”

Aeon has applied for Coordinated Project status with the State Government and for Major Project status with the Commonwealth with respect to the Walford Creek project.

It is also eyeing the potential to attract federal support via the $2 billion Critical Minerals Fund (managed by Export Finance Australia) to facilitate new project development.

Aeon is targeting a mining rate of 3 Mtpa and will process the ore through bulk flotation followed by oxidative leaching to extract the key metals into solution. It will produce copper, cobalt, zinc and nickel.

The updated mineral resource estimate being finalised for Walford Creek is expected to deliver
significant increase in measured classification tonnage following infill drilling last year.

“The world needs far greater production of battery and electrification metals that underpin renewable
and efficient energy use in order to meet the global policy demands of achieving net zero emissions
by 2050,” Dr Hess said.

“The Walford Creek copper-cobalt project is being designed so as to be a major beneficiary of the shift towards renewable energy and also a major contributor to achieving carbon neutrality.

“The adoption of a relatively low-emissions process flowsheet that efficiently delivers high-quality final
metal products that can be used directly by manufacturers and end-users, in conjunction with targeted
high renewables penetration in the project energy mix, reflects the responsible future of mining
investment in the carbon neutral age.

“Walford Creek is targeted to be a vanguard green mining development providing Australia with much needed, and responsibly produced, cobalt, copper, nickel and zinc products.”