NICKEL PRODUCTION – Activox Plant Operating in Botswana

BOTSWANA - LIONORE MINING INTERNATIONAL of Toronto has become the first nickel metal producer in this country, with the successful commissioning of its Activox hydrometallurgical demonstration plant. It is located at LionOre's Tati mine and is believed to be the first of its kind in the world.

The US$11.5-million plant was completed on budget and on schedule last July. It includes ultra-fine grinding mills, an autoclave, a counter-current decantation circuit and electrowinning cells. It produces nickel and copper metal and a cobalt carbonate product. The plant treats only 8 tonnes/day of nickel sulphide concentrate, but produces 300 kg/day of nickel cathodes and 150 kg/day of copper cathodes. A commercial plant capable of producing 20,000 tonnes/year of nickel is planned.

Visit www.LionOre.com to learn more about the Activox plant.

LionOre subsidiary WESTERN MINERALS TECHNOLOGY of Australia designed and built the demonstration plant. Its efforts won it the overall winner and small company awards at the 2004 Western Australia Engineering Excellence Awards earlier in September.