Chalice Mining has bolstered its leadership and financing strategy while advancing a Feasibility Study for its Gonneville palladium-nickel-copper project, amid improving market conditions and promising exploration results.
- Odin Partnership and Cutfield Freeman appointed as strategic and debt advisors
- Feasibility Study underway targeting Final Investment Decision in H1 2028
- Palladium and nickel prices reach multi-year highs, supporting project economics
- New copper-gold targets defined across WA and SA exploration portfolio
- Strong cash position funds development through to FID
Strategic Advisory Boosts Gonneville Project Execution
Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN) has enlisted heavyweight mining industry veterans to sharpen its execution edge on the Gonneville Palladium-Nickel-Copper Project. The appointment of Odin Partnership Limited, founded by former Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani CBE and Technical Director Tony O’Neill, brings unparalleled global expertise in base and precious metals sectors. Complementing this, Cutfield Freeman & Co has been engaged as debt advisors, signalling Chalice’s intent to underpin project finance with robust advisory support.
Cutifani’s track record of delivering operational and financial turnarounds at Anglo American and Vale, combined with O’Neill’s technical leadership, positions Chalice to navigate the complexities of advancing Gonneville from feasibility to construction. This strategic advisory boost aligns with the company’s goal to accelerate development timelines and optimise capital markets engagement.
Feasibility Study Progresses with Focus on De-Risking
Building on the December 2025 Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) that defined a two-stage, 23-year open-pit mine with a maiden Ore Reserve, Chalice has commenced a comprehensive Feasibility Study (FS). This study aims to fine-tune engineering designs, capital and operating cost estimates, and secure environmental approvals ahead of a targeted Final Investment Decision (FID) in the first half of 2028.
The FS is advancing across multiple fronts: geological modelling to refine resource confidence, metallurgical drilling to support an eight-week continuous pilot test of the full processing flowsheet, and infrastructure planning including power and water supply. Notably, the pilot test scheduled for H2 2026 is a critical step to de-risk the process flowsheet for financiers.
Chalice is also progressing environmental modelling and preparing draft Environmental Review Documents for submission in late 2026, with major regulatory approvals expected to be the critical path for FID. The company’s approach allows flexibility in construction staging, responsive to market and macroeconomic conditions.
Market Tailwinds Support Project Economics
The improving palladium, nickel, and copper markets provide a strong backdrop for Gonneville. Palladium prices hit a three-year peak of approximately US$2,160 per ounce in January 2026, while nickel trades near a two-year high of about US$19,500 per tonne. These gains have been bolstered by supply constraints, including a new 133% US tariff on Russian palladium imports, Russia accounts for 40% of global supply, alongside Indonesian production quotas and Chinese sulphuric acid export bans impacting nickel and copper supply chains.
Chalice’s PFS, based on conservative commodity price assumptions, projects pre-tax free cash flow of A$4.7 billion with a rapid payback of 2.7 years. The mine is expected to be the lowest cost platinum group metals (PGM) producer in the western world, with all-in sustaining costs averaging US$370 per ounce 3E (palladium, platinum, gold) over the open-pit life. These factors enhance the project’s attractiveness to financiers and offtake partners, with formal negotiations underway for copper and nickel concentrates.
Exploration Uncovers New High-Priority Targets
Beyond Gonneville, Chalice is ramping up exploration across its extensive Australian portfolio exceeding 6,500 square kilometres. A standout discovery is the Deep Blue target near Calingiri in Western Australia, where a 2.5-kilometre-long copper-molybdenum-silver soil anomaly has been defined. This anomaly, located about 15 kilometres southeast of Caravel Minerals’ copper resource, shows strong geochemical signatures consistent with a large hydrothermal system. Ground gravity surveys and drilling are planned imminently.
At the Callabonna Project in South Australia, Chalice entered an earn-in agreement with Red Metal Limited to explore multi-kilometre scale IOCG targets, with drilling scheduled for Q3 2026. In the Northern Territory, access agreements have been secured for Warrego North, enabling drilling of several untested IOCG targets later this year. These exploration advances complement the company’s disciplined capital allocation and portfolio rationalisation strategy.
Financial Position and Corporate Updates
Chalice closed the quarter with a robust cash balance of approximately A$56 million and an additional A$7 million in listed investments, positioning the company to fund ongoing feasibility and permitting activities through to FID. Operating cash outflows were around A$4.7 million for the quarter, reflecting steady investment in exploration and development.
Share capital movements included the issuance and exercise of performance rights and options, consistent with employee retention and incentive plans. Payments to related parties amounted to A$208,000, primarily remuneration to executives and directors.
Chalice also maintains a contingent payment of A$5 million linked to the Nyanzaga Project in Tanzania, operated by Perseus Mining, expected to commence production in early 2027.
With government engagement intensifying, including briefings with WA and Federal Ministers and collaboration with agencies such as Austrade and the WA Department of Energy and Economic Diversification, Chalice is positioning Gonneville as a strategic critical minerals project with strong sovereign support.
The company’s comprehensive update builds on its recent maiden Ore Reserve and strong financials and follows the PFS unveiling Gonneville as a low-cost critical minerals giant, reinforcing the project’s growing profile in the sector.
Bottom Line?
Chalice is methodically advancing Gonneville through feasibility and financing milestones, but commodity price volatility and regulatory timelines will remain key variables to watch.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the Feasibility Study confirm upside to the PFS mine plan amid improving commodity prices?
- How will the new strategic advisory team influence financing and project execution timelines?
- Can exploration success at Deep Blue and Callabonna translate into material resource growth?