[SMM Nickel Market Flash] Alliance Nickel Tests Vat Leach at NiWest to Cut Water Infrastructure Capex

Published: Jul 28, 2026 09:04

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ASX-listed Alliance Nickel has started vat leach testwork on a roughly 2-tonne bulk ore sample from its 100%-owned NiWest nickel-cobalt laterite project in Western Australia, adjacent to Glencore's Murrin Murrin. The work tests an alternative to the on/off heap leach flowsheet in the November 2024 DFS, which carried capital costs of about A$310 million with a large share tied to water infrastructure. Preliminary analysis suggests vat leaching could allow water to be sourced locally from the Mt Kilkenny tenement and may improve solution distribution, leach kinetics and cycle times. Testwork is due to finish in late Q3 2026 and positive results would feed into an updated feasibility assessment. NiWest targets about 20,000 t/y of contained nickel as battery-grade sulphate.

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