The Western Australian (WA) Government has granted Strategic Project status to Chalice Mining’s Gonneville PGE-Ni-Cu-Co Project, under its Lead Agency Framework.
This designation recognises the project's potential to contribute significantly to the state's economy and the global energy transition.
The Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (JTSI) will now provide enhanced support for regulatory approvals and infrastructure requirements.
Located 70km north-east of Perth, the Gonneville Project is poised to produce critical minerals essential for decarbonisation and urbanisation, including nickel, copper, cobalt, palladium, and platinum.
Currently in the pre-feasibility stage, the project is advancing through regulatory approvals.
The WA government's Lead Agency Framework has prioritised the project due to its strategic importance in advancing the state's economic diversification and decarbonisation goals.
The Green Energy Major Projects group within the JTSI will take on the Lead Agency role, streamlining the project's facilitation.
The Gonneville Project will also benefit from the Green Energy Assessment Unit's streamlined environmental approval process.
Covering Chalice-owned farmland, this project was staked in early 2018 as part of a global search for nickel sulphide opportunities.
The discovery of the Gonneville Resource in early 2020 by Chalice's geologists marked a significant find. The resource is a shallow, tier-one scale deposit of critical minerals necessary for the global shift towards greener technologies.
Chalice CEO and managing director Alex Dorsch said: “Chalice is pleased to receive this formal recognition and support from the Western Australian Government, demonstrating the strategic importance of Gonneville as the first major Platinum Group Element discovery in Australia, and one of the largest critical and strategic minerals projects in the state.
“It’s also pleasing that environmental approvals for the Gonneville Project will be supported by the Green Energy Assessment Unit, created as part of the streamlined approach to the assessment of Green Energy projects announced by Premier Cook late last year.”
In July 2024, Chalice sealed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Japan Mitsubishi to team up on the Gonneville project.
