Australian company Chalice Mining will collaborate with Japanese major Mitsubishi on the Gonneville platinum group element (PGE)/nickel/copper/cobalt project, in Western Australia.

In terms of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), Chalice and Mitsubishi will explore the possibility of a potential binding partnership following the completion of a prefeasibility study (PFS) next year.

Chalice MD and CEO Alex Dorsch says Mitsubishi’s involvement in the Gonneville project followed extensive due diligence and discussions over the past 12 months.

In the context of key ongoing PFS workstreams and optimisations, he says the MoU structure is favourable, as it provides a framework for collaboration for both parties during the PFS and allows for the progression and derisking of the project prior to having good faith discussions around a potential joint arrangement and investment following the completion of the PFS by mid-2025.

Gonneville project has the potential to be a large-scale, globally significant critical minerals asset, says Dorsch. “Its US Inflation Reduction Act-qualifying suite of metals could have a strategic importance for Japan in the future.”

Gonneville is located on Chalice-owned farmland, about 70 km north-east of Perth in Western Australia. The greenfield project was staked in early 2018 as part of Chalice’s global search for high-potential nickel sulphide exploration opportunities.

The project has a total mineral resource estimate of 660-million tonnes, at 0.79 g/t 3E PGE, 0.15 g/t nickel, 0.083 g/t copper and 0.015 g/t cobalt. It is estimated to contain 17-million ounces of 3E, 950 000 t of nickel, 540 000 t of copper and 96 000 t of cobalt.

Chalice points out that large-scale resources like Gonneville are very rare in the Western world and therefore have high strategic value, as current production of PGEs and nickel is dominated by Russia, South Africa and Indonesia.

Mitsubishi is one of the leading natural resources investors in the mining industry, with significant long-term investments and joint ventures in tier-one assets globally.