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the cost. Introduced in 2013, mining companies were required to pay around one percent of their profits into a mining rehabilitation fund, which was only accessible once it reached a sum of A$ 500 million. In 2016, this was estimated to be 20 years away and therefore not able to cover the estimated state-wide cost of A$ 60 million to rehabilitate mines like Bulong.
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was also used at the Cawse Nickel Mine, which suffered a similar fate, and the Murrin Murrin Nickel Mine, which survived because of its much larger size of deposit. Reasons for the mine's lack of operational success where Bulong's nickel grade, which was comparatively low at one percent average while, at the same time, the deposit suffered from
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underperformed in production and finances, reaching a low point of an almost A$ 250 million loss in 2000–01. Losses were greatly reduced the following year at just under A$ 10 million but, despite this, in August 2002, Preston
Resources was forced to sell its complete stake in the project, which was taken over by the bondholders and
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Clean-up of the mining legacy at Bulong was reported in April 2016 to cost as much as A$ 6.8 million. At this point, A$ 6 million in clean-up cost had already been accumulated by the mine. A A$ 1.12 million bond had been collected from the former owners of the mine, which proved insufficient to cover
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impurities of approximately five percent. To remove the magnesium impurities, up to 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of sulphuric acid were required per tonne of ore, considerably higher than the comparable Cawse operation, which used 350 kilograms (770 lb) per tonne. The nickel deposit itself was
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In 1998, Resolute
Resources sold the Bulong deposit for A$ 319 million to Preston Resources. The transaction was not seen as favorable for Preston, who had committed to a A$ 10 million penalty should the deal not go ahead, despite having only A$ 2 million in funds available. While Resolute Resources
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in 1978 but not considered viable to be mined. WMC sold the deposit to
Resolution Mining in 1987. At the start of its development in the 1990s, the Bulong nickel deposit was hailed as the potential starting point of another nickel boom in Western Australia, similar to the late 1960s and early 1970s.
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was required to make the process work, to a degree that the mine exhausted the available supply in the state. This, combined with a grade as low as one percent and the excessive use of acid damaging the process plant eventually forced
Preston Resources into near-financial collapse. The same process
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WMC re-acquired a 70 percent interest in the project in
October 1990, forming a joint-venture with Resolute Resources by investing A$ 1 million in cash and a commitment to carry out a feasibility study and to manage the proposed project as well as covering the first A$ 10 million of it. WMC had a
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At the point of sale, Preston had accumulated A$ 700 million in debt, which it cleared through the sale. Despite this, the company's two-year suspension from the
Australian securities exchange remained in place because of a lack of funds. Preston Resources survived its financial difficulties and
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test pit excavated in 1992 to gather data for the potential project, at a cost of A$ 450,000. Resolute transferred a further 15 percent of the project to Energy Oil and Gas Ltd in 1992–93. In early 1994, WMC withdrew from the joint-venture again, after assessing the cost and the risks involved.
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Preston envisioned the cost to develop the mine to be A$ 320 million, which was to be raised through debt and equity raising, but the project received only limited interest, forcing
Resolute Resources, as the underwriter, to make a substantial financial contribution. The mine subsequently
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praised the project and its owner, Resolute
Resources, and stated that it "the project was typical of the new generation of nickel mines in WA". Bulong was one of three similar projects under development at the time, together with the
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The mine operated for only four years and was a financial failure. Despite its short operation period, it left a legacy of environmental pollution. Because of impurities in the ore, the mine used up to 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) of
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Less than a year after the sale by
Preston, the operation went into receivership in May 2003, and mining operations were suspended. In 2005, the mining infrastructure was purchased by Lionore, which did not intend to use it for
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Because of local concern over the state of the abandoned tailings storage facility and evaporation ponds, the mining lease having expired in 2013, and its impact on near-by Lake
Yindarlgooda, the Western Australian
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by 2008–09, now under the name of Avalon-Bulong with just 13 people employed there. In 2014, the mine was purchased at an undisclosed sum by privately owned Wingstar Investments, alongside the Cawse mine.
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One of the key reasons for the mine's failure was that the process plant of the mine was designed to extract nickel through a pressure acid leach process, developed in
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faced the same penalty should their board reject the sale, it had A$ 64 million available, leaving Preston Resources in the weaker position in the transaction.
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When commenting on the laying of the foundation stone of the project in August 1997, then-Resources Development Minister
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originally was a gold mining location, with gold being discovered there in 1893 and mined until 1908. The nickel and
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build-up in the pipes of the process circuits which had to be removed, causing partial plant shut downs.
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in the 1950s, which turned out to be unsuitable for Western Australian conditions. Addition of
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commissioned an investigation which resulted in a 900-page report published in 2021.
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789:"Greens say WA taxpayers could be left liable for $ 60 million mine clean-up bill"
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suspension and, after a number of name changes, became Pantoro Limited in 2015.
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Detailed Site Investigation: Former Bulong Mine Site, Bulong Road, Bulong, WA
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398:"Bulong Goldfield, Kalgoorlie-Boulder Shire, Western Australia, Australia"
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deposits instead, while the mining tenements went to Heron Resources.
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728:"Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2008–09"
696:"Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2003–04"
638:"Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2002–03"
518:"Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 1998–99"
286:, with all three suffering similar difficulties and similar delays.
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deposit at Bulong were discovered by the exploration department of
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Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia
488:"Foundation laying ceremony for Bulong nickel project"
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Group Historical Information: Bulong Laterite Project
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Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
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Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
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Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
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Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
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Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
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Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
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Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
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854:Bulong, Goongarrie, Siberia, Kalpini, Ghost Rocks
787:Sam Tomlin and Jasmine Bamford (14 April 2016).
586:"Preston concedes nickel project to escape debt"
346:The process plant passed into the ownership of
339:nickel production but for the more commonplace
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444:– via National Library of Australia.
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16:Former nickel mine in Western Australia
868:Bulong Nickel Cobalt Laterite Project
230:, 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of
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429:Gilbert M. Ralph (9 November 1994).
1112:2003 disestablishments in Australia
674:Australian Broadcasting Corporation
670:"Big plans for Bulong nickel plant"
912:Nickel mining in Western Australia
558:"For sale: plagued nickel project"
378:Nickel mining in Western Australia
242:per tonne of ore to remove those.
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1092:Cobalt mines in Western Australia
1087:Nickel mines in Western Australia
234:, adjacent to Lake Yindarlgooda.
1107:1998 establishments in Australia
494:. 28 August 1997. Archived from
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563:The Australian Financial Review
492:Government of Western Australia
1:
849:Bulong Deposit Summary Report
57:Location in Western Australia
1028:Kambalda Nickel Concentrator
761:"Gardner buys Cawse, Avalon"
1052:Mining in Western Australia
1128:
1102:City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder
1097:Surface mines in Australia
759:Nick Evans (23 May 2014).
373:List of mines in Australia
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1023:Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter
1002:Emily Ann and Maggie Hays
584:Pierpont (16 July 2002).
327:found in the clay caused
284:Murrin Murrin Nickel Mine
202:
31:
556:Pierpont (6 June 2003).
119:30.687239°S 121.815941°E
1033:Kwinana Nickel Refinery
859:MINEDEX website: Avalon
617:www.investogain.com.au
124:-30.687239; 121.815941
190:Wingstar Investments
766:The West Australian
195:Year of acquisition
115: /
23:
1016:Process facilities
209:Bulong Nickel Mine
51:Bulong Nickel Mine
22:Bulong Nickel Mine
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820:www.dmp.wa.gov.au
735:www.dmp.wa.gov.au
703:www.dmp.wa.gov.au
645:www.dmp.wa.gov.au
613:"Pantoro Limited"
525:www.dmp.wa.gov.au
280:Cawse Nickel Mine
228:Western Australia
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82:Western Australia
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1046:Related articles
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498:on 20 March 2023
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463:"Bulong Ni Mine"
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250:The area around
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1065:Poseidon bubble
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348:Norilsk Nickel
311:sulphuric acid
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240:sulphuric acid
211:was a surface
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1058:Nickel Queen
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919:Active mines
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941:Mount Keith
926:Forrestania
319:located in
122: /
110:121°48′57″E
98:Coordinates
1081:Categories
982:Black Swan
433:(Report).
406:Mindat.org
384:References
232:Kalgoorlie
135:Production
107:30°41′14″S
977:Beta Hunt
316:magnesium
169:1998–2003
92:Australia
1007:Windarra
961:Savannah
936:Leinster
931:Kambalda
830:20 March
816:"Bulong"
800:20 March
772:21 March
744:20 March
712:20 March
680:20 March
654:20 March
622:20 March
597:20 March
569:20 March
534:20 March
502:20 March
472:20 March
440:21 March
411:21 March
367:See also
341:sulphide
337:laterite
296:Barclays
282:and the
259:laterite
140:Products
66:Location
27:Location
591:The Age
329:calcium
246:History
187:Company
153:History
88:Country
997:Cosmos
987:Bulong
325:gypsum
256:cobalt
252:Bulong
224:Bulong
217:cobalt
213:nickel
174:Closed
166:Active
158:Opened
147:Cobalt
144:Nickel
70:Bulong
992:Cawse
731:(PDF)
699:(PDF)
641:(PDF)
521:(PDF)
222:near
182:Owner
77:State
951:Nova
832:2023
802:2023
774:2023
746:2023
714:2023
682:2023
656:2023
624:2023
599:2023
571:2023
536:2023
504:2023
474:2023
442:2023
413:2023
321:clay
307:Cuba
220:mine
215:and
198:2014
177:2003
161:1998
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
