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Since the first high grade ore was extracted in the late 1880s, the Koniambo massif has been periodically mined to supply SLN, then a newly established company. Since the 1960s, the potential of the Koniambo deposit to supply a world class operation has awaited the requisite combination of technological development, political circumstances and market demand. When Falconbridge signed a partnership agreement with SMSP in April 1998, it became the industrial partner specified under the terms of the Bercy Accord and the Koniambo project was officially born. In collaboration with its partner Xstrata Nickel and through the intermediary joint venture company Koniambo Nickel SAS (KNS) placed under the leadership of Denis LACHANCE, the SMSP Group has set in 2012 as the year for starting up the pyrometallurgical ferronickel process plant with an annual production capacity of 60,000 tons of nickel metal. Under the terms of the partnership, the industrial operator has a 49% stake and the SMSP Group a 51% stake in the joint venture.
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Geographic situation
The Koniambo massif forms part of a string of mountain massifs stretching along the West Coast of New Caledonia’s Main Island. The massif rises from a narrow coastal plain to reach a height of 930 metres above sea level. It forms a dramatic backdrop to Koohnê (Koné), the North Province capital located 270 km north west of Noumea. The Pacific Ocean ringing the Main Island is environmentally significant because it encompasses the world’s second largest barrier reef after the Australian Great Barrier Reef. This coral barrier reef encircles the world’s largest lagoon, home to an incomparable wealth and diversity of coral and marine wildlife. The project site is served by a network of roads and is capable of supplying enough freshwater to meet mining and metallurgical requirements. It is also located near a deepwater coastal area suitable for development as a port facility.
Developping the massif
Ore to be used in the production of ferronickel will be extracted from the Koniambo massif saprolite orebody, assessed as a mixed grade resource totalling 280 millions tonnes of saprolite ore with an average grade of 2.18% corresponding to 6.1 million tonnes of nickel metal. This global resource includes an estimated measured and indicated resource of 76 million tonnes grading 2.47% Ni. The Koniambo massif is 20 km long and 5 km wide and includes an area of high grade nickel laterite mineralisation measuring around 21 km². The laterite profile of the orebody can be described as presenting a thin iron-rich duricrust over a layer of limonite which covers a transitional zone finally leading to a layer of saprolite ore. The quality of the nickel, cobalt, iron and various oxidised ores varies according to depth. The laterite material with economic potential mainly occurs along the ridge of the massif and, occasionally, in scattered pockets on isolated terraces extending in a westerly direction. Apart from 4 large plateaux, the limonite covering is generally less than 5 metres deep and its surface is often broken by outcroppings of workable saprolite.
Mining operations
Small-scale equipment will be used to ensure quality control by rejecting surrounding sterile rock and limonite while minimising any wastage and dilution of saprolite ore. 5.6 m3 backdiggers will be used to load 50 tonne dumper trucks. The very rough terrain and the need to work on several faces simultaneously to ensure optimal control of plant feed materials make it impossible to use the larger equipment usually preferred to reduce operating cost. The uneven terrain, the vast extent of the orebody and the rigorous environmental management targets mean that the design of tailings piles and ore stockpiles is a key aspect of planning. The environmental management program will meet or exceed New Caledonian and international requirements and will include water drainage and catchment systems in compliance with environmental standards. To ensure haulage safety and minimise erosion caused by surface runoff, haulage tracks will be 20m wide with a maximum slope of 10%. A GPS tracking system will ensure performance monitoring of all equipment. Routine maintenance will be carried out in a workshop on the massif.
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Project summary
The Koniambo project complex comprises a series of opencast mines, an ore preparation plant, an overland conveyor and mine access road and an NST (Nickel Smelting Technology) process plant including drying, calcining and smelting units. The ferronickel is then processed through refining, granulation and packing systems. The complex includes all necessary ancillary facilities (a coal-fired power plant, a port and dredged access channel, freshwater supplies, coal stockpile and diesel fuel storage yards and all necessary support structures).
Process technology
Ferronickel will be produced using a standard pyrometallurgy process combined with a new technology developed by Xstrata Nickel R&D teams. The Nickel Smelting Technology process employs modern technology widely proven and utilized in other heavy industry contexts, which eliminates most of the problems associated with traditional ferronickel plants. It is specifically designed to confine dust and therefore to deliver cutting-edge environmentally responsible performance. The process is very largely drawn from the cement industry which has in recent years introduced process gas recovery and recycling techniques to save energy. The need for fines processing led to a choice of continuous current electric furnaces. As in steelworks, furnace covers are fully water-cooled. The furnaces are highly versatile and deliver mechanical and metallurgical simplicity. The outcome is a semi-continuous process characterised by a high degree of automation and efficient use of labour.
Infrastructures
Electricity requirement is 210 megawatts, mainly to provide the power needed to smelt ore at around 1600 degrees. It will be produced by two coal-fired 132 megawatt power plants (circulating fluidised bed boilers) with two diesel-fired 40 megawatt combustion turbines as back-up power supply. Freshwater supplies will be ensured by inverse osmosis desalination plants. A port will be built to meet operating requirements both in terms of imports of combustibles, consumables, equipment and spare parts and exports of ferronickel product.
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Environmental protection
Through their joint venture company KNS, SMSP and Xstrata Nickel are committed to implementing a project which places environmental management at the forefront of corporate concerns. 2004 and 2005 were dedicated to completing the environmental impact study designed to assess Koniambo Project repercussions on the surrounding environment. Particularly close attention was paid to impact reduction, control and attenuation measures. Information and discussion sessions were organised in local municipalities and in Noumea to obtain feedback on community concerns. Issues raised at these public meetings were incorporated into the final document. An environmental chart provided for the setting up of an environmental committee bringing civil society players together.
Execution strategy
SMSP and Xstrata Nickel via KNS their jointventure, will continue to adhere to the disciplined, prudent approach that it has emphasized from the outset of the Koniambo Project following a renewal phase. The individual Board of Directors of each Partner met to review and endorse the conclusions of the final renewal report. On the 17 October Xstrata Plc approved Koniambo Nickel Project which will entail investment of $3,8 billion to be funded by both parners.
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The construction phase as of mid June 2010
On the Vavouto site, works proceed on, involving more than 2000 workers. The channel has been dredged, without any reported incident. The plant's large earthworks, the power station and the storage installations are also progressing on. The main wharf's construction is almost completed and has entered in operation. The arrival of the first modules is schedule for Auguste this year and the modules' assembling is planned for this second semester 2010. At the peak of the construction's activities, the labourforce will be comprised of 4,000, then 6300 workers on the site. The introduction of the first ore in the first blast furnace is scheduled for 2012.
In China, the Company of Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC) which gathers several building construction sites is currently manufacturing the modules for the Koniambo foundry. It is the largest building site of manufacture in China, of a surface of approximately one million square metres. Once finished, the foundry's modules will be dispatched on the Vavouto site for assembing. As of mid June 2010, the cumulative progress is 55.7%, that of the engineering and mod yar 92%.
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Timetable
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KNS 
