Australian exploration company Thundelarra said nearly 12,000t of nickel sulphide ore from its Copernicus mine has been processed at Panoramic Resources‘ Savannah facility.

The ore is near surface material mined from the open pit in late 2008 and has been categorised as partly oxidised or transitional.

A complete reconciliation will not be finished until the end of the month.

The ore was estimated to grade 0.05% cobalt, 0.8% copper and 1.5% nickel based on mill sampling.

Nearly 60% nickel recovery was attained, which is regarded as satisfactory for this material.

The Copernicus nickel mine in Western Australia is a 40:60 joint venture between Thundelarra and Panoramic Resources.