On March 27, Canadian
mining and exploration company First Nickel Inc. announced its financial and operational results for 2011.
Accordingly, in 2011
production restarted at Lockerby, with first ore being shipped to Swiss-headquartered global
mining company Xstrata in September. For the year, Lockerby shipped 23,924 mt of ore to Xstrata at an average nickel grade of 1.71 percent, resulting in 901,657 pounds of payable nickel. Average ore
production rates were 433 mt per day in November, and 209 mt per day in December.
The company noted that December
production was hampered by the site's loss of a six-yard scoop tram that is scheduled to be replaced in the first quarter of 2012.
Production rates are expected to ramp up over the course of 2012 with commercial
production expected to be achieved by mid-2012 and full
production expected to be achieved by the end of 2012 at an expected rate of 800 mt per day. Once in full
production, the mine is expected to produce approximately 10 million pounds (4,536 mt) of nickel annually.
The company also announced on March 23 that its board of directors has approved an increase in its exploration budget from C$1.9 million to C$3.4 million for work being conducted in 2012.