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(Facility) Yabulu Nickel-Cobalt Refinery

Plant in Queensland, Australia with commodities Cobalt, Nickel
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Nearby scientific data
  7. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  8. Ownership information
  9. Production statistics
  10. Links to other databases
  11. Bibliographic references
  12. General comments
  13. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10183109
MAS/MILS ID 6020352056
Record type Site
Current site name (Facility) Yabulu Nickel-Cobalt Refinery
Alternate or previous names Yarulu Refinery

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Town
Geographic coordinates: 145.53209, -19.19688 (WGS84)
Location accuracy 5000(meters)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Queensland(province)

Australia(country)

Australia(continent)

Land(continent)

Geographic areas

Country State
Australia Queensland

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Cobalt Critical Secondary
Nickel Critical Primary

Nearby scientific data

Town (1) 145.53209, -19.19688
ListMap

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Processing Plant
Development status Plant
Commodity type Metallic
Significant Yes
Plant type Refiner

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Queensland Government
    Interest 28
    Home office Australia
    Year 1991
  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Dullhold Nickel Management
    Interest 72
    Home office Australia
    Year 1991

Production statistics

  • Year 1990
    Description 23000 Tonnes/Year Contained Ni
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Nickel Nickel 23000mt
  • Year 1991
    Description Planned Production 23000 Tonnes/Year Contained Ni
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Nickel Nickel 23000mt

Comments on the production information

  • PRODUCT A,C ARE EXPRESSED IN UNITS OF TONNES OF NIO PRODUCT PER DAY, WHILE PRODUCTS B,D REPRESENTING COBALT PRODUCTION CAPACITY ARE EXPRESSED IN UNITS OF TONNES OF CONTAINED COBALT PER DAY.
  • YIELD GRADES FOR NICKEL PRODUCTS REFLECT THE TRUE PRODUCT GRADE, WHILE GRADES FOR COBALT PRODUCTS IMPLIES A PURE COBALT PRODUCT, WHICH MAY BE THE CASE DEPENDING ON THE YABULU FACILITY UPGRADE. COBALT GRADE IN A MIXED SULFIDE PRODUCT IS ESTIMATED TO BE 5%.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • PLANT REFINES NICKEL AND PRODUCES A COBALT SULFIDE CON FOR FURTHER REFINING FROM LATERITE ORES AT GREENVALE.

Comments on other economic factors

  • GREENVALE REPRESENTS APPROXIMATELY 33% OF THE REFINERY WHILE NEW CALEDONIA AND ANEKA TAMBANG TOGETHER REPRESENT 67%.
  • THE NEW CALEDONIAN AND INDONESIAN ORES ARE OF A SLIGHTLY HIGHER GRADE THAN THAN THAT OF THE GREENVALE MINE.
  • THE YABULU REFINERY RECEIVES ORE FROM THE AUSTRALIAN QUEENSLAND (GREENVALE) MINES AS WELL AS ANEKA TAMBANG IN INDONESIA AND SEVERAL UNNAMED MINES IN NEW CALEDONIA. CONCENTRATOR 1 REPRESENTS THE CURCUIT FOR GREENVALE ORE, AND CONCENTRATOR 2 REPRESENTS THE CIRCUIT FOR NEW CALEDONIAN AND ANEKA TAMBANG ORES. PRODUCTS A,C ARE NICKEL OXIDE BRIQUETTES, AND PRODUCTS B, D ARE COBALT IN MIXED SULPHIDES. IT IS LIKELY THAT QUEENSLAND NICKEL HAS UPGRADED ITS REFINERY TO PRODUCE COBALT METAL, THEREFORE, COBALT IS LISTED HERE IN TERMS OF CONTAINED COBALT METAL.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    *NICKEL NEWS, JAN. 9, 1993, ISSUE 2/52, P. 1.

  • Deposit

    NICKDATA, INC. A COMPREHENSIVE NICKEL INDUSTRY COST DATABASE

  • Deposit

    AND COSTING PROGRAM. 1991. ILMAR J. MARTENS,

  • Deposit

    THOMAS F. TORRIES.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit LATERITE ORE IS RECEIVED FROM GREENVALE MINE IN QUEENSLAND. FEED IS SUPPLIED BY LATERITES SHIPPED TO THE PLANT VIA THE PORT AT TOWNSVILLE FROM NEW CALEDONIA, PROBABLY INDONESIA, AND POSSIBLY THE PHILIPPINES SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE. GREENVALE MINE ONLY HAS ABOUT 2 OR 3 YEARS OF RESOURCE. UMLESS A NEW DOMESTIC RESOURCE IS DEVELOPED, THE YABULU REFINERY WILL BE DEPENDENT ON FOREIGN LATERITE IMPORTS. THERE ARE TENTATIVE PLANS TO EXPAND THE YABULU REFINERY BY ABOUT 50% AT A COST OF APPROXIMATELY $191 MILLION. (AUSTRALIA). OPERATION IS REPORTEDLY UNDER PRESSURE FROM ENVIRONMENTALISTS WHO DO NOT WANT ORES AND CONCENTRATES SHIPPED OVER THE GREAT BARRIER REEF NATIONAL PARK. THIS WOULD OCCUR IF HALIFAX BAY IS USED AS PLANNED. EXPANSION IF UNDERTAKEN, WOULD RESULT IN 30,000 TONNES/YEAR OF NICKEL AND 1,500 TONNES OF COBALT. AN 8 YEAR AGGREEMENT WAS SIGNED WITH THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT IN 1989 TO SUPPLY UP TO 1 MILLION TONNES OF ORE AS FEEDSTOCK FOR THE YABULU FACILITY. APPROXIMATELY 2,300 MT OF NICKEL AND 1,200 MT OF COBALT ARE RECOVERED FROM NI,CO SULFIDES. HIGHER OUTPUT IS EXPECTED FROM YABULU BASED ON HIGHER GRADE FEEDSTOCK FROM THE NEW BROLGA MINE AND INCREASED IMPORTS.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 23-DEC-1994 Bleiwas, Donald U.S. Bureau of Mines

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

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