Ardea Resources Extends Kalgoorlie Nickel Project DFS Timeline

Ardea Resources (ASX: ARL) has advised that completion of the definitive feasibility study (DFS) final report for the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project Goongarrie Hub will extend beyond the previously flagged 30 June timeline.

The company and its consortium partners continue to discuss the path forward for the project, including opportunities for DFS optimisation and value enhancement.

The DFS remains fully funded by the consortium under an agreed $98.5m budget, with approximately $84.5m spent to date.

Ardea previously expected completion of the draft DFS report in the first half of calendar 2026.

DFS Review Continues

The DFS is being managed by Kalgoorlie Nickel, the incorporated joint venture company owned 65% by Ardea and 35% by GH Nickel—a joint venture between Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation.

The revised timeline follows value engineering opportunities identified during the March quarter, which may require additional input before the DFS can be finalised.

Chief executive officer Andrew Penkethman said the revised schedule reflected the joint venture’s focus on study quality.

"The Goongarrie Hub is a long-life, strategically significant asset, and we are committed to working with our Consortium partners to ensure the DFS provides the strongest possible foundation for the Project’s development and ongoing shareholder returns,” he said.

“We remain confident in the strength of the project and look forward to updating the market on the path forward in the coming months."

Project Fundamentals Unchanged

The Kalgoorlie project includes the Goongarrie Hub, where the consortium has the right to earn 50%, and the Kalpini Hub, which remains 100%-owned by Ardea.

Ardea said the Goongarrie Hub project fundamentals, scope, and strategic positioning remain unchanged.

The project remains included in the Australia-Japan joint statement, the Japan-US Critical Minerals Project Cooperation framework, Major Project Status, Investor Front Door, and conditional $1 billion equivalent funding support from Export Finance Australia and US EXIM—support reflecting its strategic global importance.

Goongarrie hosts a mineral resource of 584 million tonnes for 4.0Mt of contained nickel, while the broader Kalgoorlie project hosts 854Mt at 0.71% nickel and 0.045% cobalt for 6.1Mt of contained nickel and 386,000t of contained cobalt.

Scandium Study Underway

Ardea has started a sole-funded scoping study to review the recovery of scandium and other associated critical minerals from barren liquor waste stream solution.

The work sits outside the current DFS base case, which focuses on nickel and cobalt pay-metals, and is expected to be completed by September.

The DFS mineral resource estimate is expected to include scandium reporting and the process plant layout includes space for a scandium refining circuit.

However, dedicated metallurgical test work and process design for scandium recovery have not been included in the current DFS program and budget.

Ardea is also advancing exploration across nickel sulphide and critical minerals targets throughout the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project area in the Eastern Goldfields.