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Andrew Todd
Ardea Resources has locked in up to a whopping $1 billion in financing support from two government-backed agencies to develop its globally significant Goongarrie nickel hub outside Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
The company’s Goongarrie joint venture has attracted a conditional letter of support from Export Finance Australia (EFA), flagging potential funding of up to a cool $500 million. It has also received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for up to US$350 million, taking total indicative backing to roughly A$1 billion.
The strong endorsement of Ardea’s project has come through the Single Point of Entry for Critical Minerals program. The initiative is a streamlined collaboration between EFA and EXIM, designed to fast-track referrals and joint financing for eligible critical mineral ventures. It underlines just how closely Goongarrie aligns with shared Australian and US priorities to strengthen critical minerals supply chains.
The support remains subject to meeting eligibility standards, including comprehensive due diligence on environmental, social and financial fronts – all standard conditions in an agreement of this magnitude.
The company’s vast Goongarrie Hub clearly stood out to the government-backed instos as a strategically substantial nickel-cobalt deposit. Positioned 70 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie, Ardea says its project, with multi-million tonnes of contained nickel, stands ready to supply long-term feedstock to the steel industry while also addressing the surging demand for electrification and the need for a socially responsible cobalt source.
The company is now eagerly awaiting its comprehensive definitive feasibility study (DFS), which is being funded up to $98.5 million in costs by a Japanese consortium of majors, Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation.
‘The strong interest from these government-backed institutions reinforces the global strategic significance of the Goongarrie.’
Ardea Resources managing director and CEO Andrew Penkethman
The study will incorporate the latest design optimisations, including a reconfigured shift to a simplified 3.5 million tonnes per annum high-pressure acid leach flowsheet and a focus on higher-grade near-plant ore in the early mining years.
In large-scale projects like this, modest refinements can drive outsized gains and Ardea’s already standout margins over conventional sulphide nickel operations are clearly grabbing the attention of global governments.
The report is set to drop by the first half of this year, meaning the funding and final investment decision (FID) could accelerate shortly thereafter, placing the project centre stage for development in 2027.
Ardea Resources managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Penkethman said: “The receipt of support from both EFA and EXIM for up to A$1 billion equivalent (in aggregate) represents a major milestone in advancing the Goongarrie Hub toward development. The strong interest from these government-backed institutions reinforces the global strategic significance of the Goongarrie Hub in meeting both traditional nickel demand in stainless steel and the rapidly increasing requirements of EV and energy storage battery markets.”
Once the DFS is handed down, the Japanese partners stand to increase their stake in the Goongarrie JV to 35 per cent, with a further path to 50 per cent on the back of a final investment decision.
Ardea’s broader Kalgoorlie nickel project ranks as Australia’s largest nickel-cobalt resource and among the most substantial worldwide in established mining regions. It carries an enormous 854-million-tonne resource grading 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt, which equates to 6.1 million tonnes of contained nickel and 386,000 tonnes of contained cobalt.
The overall resource is divided across two key centres, with the Goongarrie Hub hosting 584 million tonnes containing 4 million tonnes of nickel, while the Kalpini Hub contributes a further 270 million tonnes for 2.1 million tonnes of nickel.
A 2023 prefeasibility study outlined a remarkable 40-year mine life, delivering around 30,000 tonnes of nickel and 2000 tonnes of cobalt annually, drawing on a shallow, flat-lying laterite orebody with a low strip ratio.
The company has been particularly blessed by its partnership with Japanese powerhouses Sumitomo and Mitsubishi, which has allowed the project to progress through a decided downturn in nickel prices, bringing funding and technical capabilities to the otherwise unloved sleeping giant.
With this fresh wave of international financial backing, a solid Japanese consortium partnership and a DFS on the march, Ardea looks set to steer the Goongarrie Hub towards becoming a cornerstone supplier of battery-grade nickel and cobalt, just as global efforts to diversify Western supply chains intensify.
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