This presentation, presented at PDAC 2004, provides an insight into the nickel-sulphide industry of Australia in 2004 - a very dynamic and exciting time for the industry that is rapidly changing, through regular announcements of new discoveries, intersections, upgraded resources, and new mineralised provinces. Nickel-sulphide deposits in Australia are mainly associated with Archaean komatiites and Archaean Proterozoic mafic intrusions, but some unusual Phanerozoic deposits occur in eastern Australia. The majority of Australia's nickel production (~80%) is derived from komatiite deposits in the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia. The Eastern Goldfields Province of this craton hosts one of the greatest concentrations of Archaean komatiite-hosted nickel deposits in the world, several of which are world class (>1 Mt Ni). Exploration activities in Australia are currently focussed on mafic-ultramafic rocks in Late Archaean and Proterozoic provinces. Exploration has been stimulated by the discovery of new deposits (Flying Fox, Daybreak, Armstrong, Daltons, McEwen, Nebo-Babel), recognition of different styles of mineralisation (Avebury), and the protracted period of elevated nickel metal prices. There is considerable potential for finding new deposits associated with komatiites and mafic intrusions, particularly under shallow cover.
