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Rice fields are important wildlife habitats; however
intensive agricultural practices have reduced the population of farmland birds
the great egret (Ardea alba) serves as an indicator of the overall biodiversity of rice fields
little is known about the effects of farming methods on the feeding habitat selection of the great egret
we examined the influence of eco-friendly and conventional farming methods on prey characteristics and great egret feeding behavior in rice field ecosystems
We employed focal observations and trap-based sampling to quantify prey characteristics and great egret feeding behaviors in eco-friendly and conventional rice fields
Great egrets showed more hunting attempts per minute and a higher intake rate in conventional fields
they consumed larger loaches in eco-friendly fields than in conventional fields
Great egrets exhibited slower feeding behaviors in eco-friendly fields due to the increased handling time of larger prey
Eco-friendly fields supported a higher abundance of larger-sized loaches than conventional fields
indicating their potential for supporting a higher abundance of great egrets
Our findings highlight the importance of sustainable farming practices for the conservation of the great egret
we aimed to compare the effects of eco-friendly and conventional rice farming practices on prey characteristics and feeding behavior of the great egret in rice field ecosystems
the number of intakes per minute in conventional fields was two times higher than that in eco-friendly fields
Proportion of captured prey by type in eco-friendly (n = 64) and conventional (n = 61) fields.
Proportion of captured prey by size (large, medium, and small) in eco-friendly (n = 64) and conventional (n = 61) fields.
Multiple boxplots for comparing the median handling time (s) for each prey size in eco-friendly and conventional fields. The boxes represent the interquartile range of handling time, the horizontal line within the box is the median, and whiskers show the range within the upper and lower limits. The numbers above each box plot indicate sample sizes. N.S., not significant; ***, p < 0.001.
Box-and-whisker plots depict (a) loach abundance per trap and (b) length of individual loaches in eco-friendly and conventional fields
The interquartile range of both abundance and length is represented by the boxes
with the median indicated by the horizontal line within each box
The whiskers extend to the upper and lower limits
Sample sizes are denoted above each box plot
Our study also suggests that great egrets use eco-friendly fields more frequently than conventional fields
By analyzing the behavioral traits of great egrets in detail and understanding their relationships with specific food sources such as loaches within rice field ecosystems
our research further corroborates these findings
While we did not directly compare the energy gained from handling larger loaches versus smaller ones in this study
considering the energy expenditure for hunting smaller prey
acquiring larger loaches is likely more advantageous for great egrets
Enhanced energy acquisition enables great egrets to provide their chicks with high-energy prey
thereby potentially boosting reproductive success in eco-friendly fields
compared to the hunting methods in eco-friendly fields
it is believed that in conventional fields
they compensate for energy acquisition by easily handling smaller loaches and increasing hunting frequency
this results in increased movement for hunting
in which loaches are more abundant and hunting behavior does not need to involve extensive movement
are considered more beneficial in terms of net energy gain than conventional fields
Further research is needed to accurately compare the energy acquisition between these two types of fields
Addressing the challenges posed by these factors requires strategic policy interventions
Despite existing payment schemes in South Korea favoring individual farmers
future policies should consider additional incentives for larger areas
This strategic approach is critical in addressing evolving agricultural dynamics in response to demographic shifts
The map was created using Adobe Illustrator 2024
We employed a focal sampling method to quantify the feeding behavior
and prey sizes of great egrets using a camcorder (HMX-S16; SAMSUNG
South Korea) equipped with a 2.2× optical zoom
The feeding behavior of each individual was recorded for 5 min
We documented the feeding behavior by recording the number of steps per minute
it was observed that great egrets preyed only on invertebrates (Classes: Bivalvia
and Insecta) and fish such as loaches (Misgurnus mizolepis and Misgurnus anguillicaudatus); therefore
prey types were categorized as either invertebrates or loaches
A hunting attempt was defined as the act of capturing prey by dipping the beak into the water
and intake referred to swallowing prey through neck movement or rapid head lifting
Feeding efficiency was calculated by dividing the number of intakes per minute by the number of hunting attempts per minute
Prey handling time was defined as the time from capturing prey to swallowing
To minimize the effect of our presence on the behavior of great egrets
we waited for 10–15 min after our arrival before commencing videotaping
as higher water levels may also affect the behavior of great egrets
we selected individuals feeding at water levels of less than half the length of the tarsus
To mitigate the issue of pseudoreplication
we sampled only one individual per field to reduce repeated sampling of the same individual
We collected video recordings of the foraging behavior of 167 individuals (88 individuals in eco-friendly fields and 79 individuals in conventional fields)
Sampling points for potential food sources were randomly selected
Potential prey abundance was assessed exclusively in the transplanted fields
We quantified the potential prey abundance detected per sampling trap
Each loach trap measured 28 cm in length and 15 cm in diameter (inlet: 2.8 cm)
The Mondori trap was constructed by cutting off the inlet of a plastic bottle (2 L) and reattaching it upside down
and Insecta species can enter the Mondori trap but cannot easily find the exit
The traps were baited with fish meal (Gompyo; Gompyo Ddugbab
South Korea) and dried tubifex worms (Vitakraft
and all fieldwork procedures adhered to the guidelines of the Kyung Hee University Animal Ethics Committee
The study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Kyung Hee University
and mean values were compared using the Wilcoxon test (W)
Results are expressed as mean ± standard error
The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request
O’Bryan, C. J., Homyack, J. A., Baldwin, R. F., Kanno, Y. & Harrison, A. L. Novel habitat use supports population maintenance in a reconfigured landscape. Ecosphere 7, e01228. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1228 (2016)
Interacting effects of agriculture and landscape on breeding wader populations
Biodiversity conservation in rice paddies in China: toward ecological sustainability
Organic farming and associated management practices benefit multiple wildlife taxa: a large-scale field study in rice paddy landscapes
Distribution of waterbirds in rice fields and their use of foraging habitats
The value of rice fields as substitutes for natural wetlands for waterbirds in the Mediterranean region
Estimating shorebird populations during spring stopover in rice fields of the Louisiana and Texas gulf coastal plain
Analysis of avian research trends related to rice fields in South Korea using text mining
Herring, M. W., Robinson, W., Zander, K. K. & Garnett, S. T. Rice fields support the global stronghold for an endangered waterbird. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 284, 106599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2019.106599 (2019)
Predicting the distribution of released Oriental White Stork (Ciconia boyciana) in central Japan
Yoo, S. Y., Nam, H. K., Hwang, J. K., Yoo, J. C. & Kwon, I. K. Foraging strategy of black-faced spoonbill during breeding period in rice fields of Korea. Zool. Stud. 61, e35. https://doi.org/10.6620/ZS.2022.61-35 (2022)
Farmland biodiversity: is habitat heterogeneity the key
Further evidence of continent-wide impacts of agricultural intensification on European farmland birds
Choi, G., Do, M. S., Son, S. J. & Nam, H. K. Effect of different management techniques on bird taxonomic groups on rice fields in the Republic of Korea. Sci. Rep. 11, 22347. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-01870-7 (2021)
How agricultural intensification affects biodiversity and ecosystem services
Choi, S. H., Choi, G. & Nam, H. K. Impact of rice paddy agriculture on habitat usage of migratory shorebirds at the rice paddy scale in Korea. Sci. Rep. 12 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-09708-6 (2022)
Katuwal, H. B. et al. Seasonal variation and crop diversity shape the composition of bird communities in agricultural landscapes in Nepal. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 333, 107973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2022.107973 (2022)
Characteristics of the avifauna in a rice field dominated rural area
and habitat use by grassland birds in Western Hokkaido
The effects of organic agriculture on biodiversity and abundance: a meta-analysis
Do differences in food web structure between organic and conventional farms affect the ecosystem service of pest control
Influence on birds of rice field management practices during the growing season: a review and an experiment
Effects of pesticide use on the distributions of grey herons (Ardea cinerea) and Great Egrets (Ardea alba) in rice fields of the Republic of Korea
Rice fields support a large portion of herons breeding in the Mediterranean region
Foraging habitat preferences of herons and egrets
National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR)
Feeding efficiency of Great Egrets (Ardea alba modesta) in two different habitats
Biometry of growth and food habits of young of the Eastern Great White Egret
Influence of farming practices on weight-length relationship of the loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) population in rice paddy fields
drainage system and water management on spawning migration of mud loach
Landscape influence on the quality of heron and egret colony sites
Energetics of Great Egrets foraging in upland agricultural fields
Waterbird communities in managed wetlands of varying water depth
Application of random forest algorithm for studying habitat selection of colonial herons and egrets in human-influenced landscapes
Feeding behaviour and territoriality according to the prey types and habitats in the Little Egret Egretta garzetta
Mechanisms of selectivity in a nocturnal fish: a lack of active prey choice
Foraging: an overview in Foraging: behavior and ecology (eds Stephens
et al.) 1–28 (The University of Chicago Press
Planktivore prey selection: the reactive field volume model vs
Seasonal variation of waterbird prey in the Ebro Delta rice fields
The foraging ecology of egrets in rice fields in southern New South Wales
Do, M. S. et al. Anuran community patterns in the rice fields of the mid-western region of the Republic of Korea. Glob Ecol. Conserv. 26, e01448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01448 (2021)
Nestling diet of three sympatric egret species: rice fields support breeding egret populations in Korea
Effects of modern drainage systems on the spatial distribution of loach in rice ecosystems
in paddy fields and its implications for conservation in Sado Island
Monthly change of the length-weight relationship of the loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) population in paddy fields by farming practices
Variation in population size of mudfish by agricultural practices in paddy fields
Functional evaluation of small-scale pond at paddy field as a shelter for mudfish during midsummer drainage period
Study on respiratory system of Misgurnus mizolepis (Cobitidae) related to environmental change of rice fieldDoctoral dissertation
Macroinvertebrate communities as bioindicators of water quality in conventional and organic irrigated rice fields in Guanacaste
Effects of different management regimes on aquatic macroinvertebrate diversity in Australian rice fields
Can organic and conventional agricultural systems affect wetland macroinvertebrate taxa in rice fields
The effect of organic farming on food intake and abundance of egrets and herons in rice fields
Predation and prey size choice in a patchy environment
Prey selection and handling in two neotropical hover-gleaning birds
Prey handling relationships in captive ovenbirds
Prey preparation and the determinants of handling time
The relationship between prey size and handling time and prey size and capture success in 3 sympatric species of dasyurid marsupials
Fish fauna and ecological characteristics of dark chub (Zacco temminckii) population in the mid-upper region of Gam stream
Fish fauna and weight-length relationships for 9 fish species in Andong reservoir
Indirect positive effects of agricultural modernization on the abundance of Japanese tree frog tadpoles in rice fields through the release from predators
The development and characteristics of the environment-friendly agricultural policy in Korea
Development strategies for sustainability of environment-friendly agriculture based on farm awareness analysis
The impact of changes in irrigation practices on the distribution of foraging egrets and herons (Ardeidae) in the rice fields of central Japan
Spatial overlap between the intermediate egret Egretta intermedia and its aquatic prey at two spatiotemporal scales in a rice paddy landscape
R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing (2019)
Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4
Download references
We thank all the farmers who allowed us to conduct surveys at the study sites
This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR)
funded by the Ministry of Environment (MOE)
Republic of Korea [grant number NIBR202416101]
National Institute of Biological Resources
Writing - review & editing; Min Seock Do: Data curation
Writing - review & editing; Seok-Jun Son: Data curation
Writing - review & editing; Hyung-Kyu Nam: Conceptualization
All authors provided final approval for publication
The authors declare no competing interests
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
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Volume 11 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1197657
Increased anthropogenic pressure including intensification of agricultural activities leads to long-term decline of natural biotopes
with planted forests often considered as promising compensatory response
although reduced biodiversity and ecosystem stability represent their common drawbacks
Here we present a complex investigation of the impact of a large Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea L.) colony on soil biogeochemistry and vegetation in a planted Scots pine forest representing a natural in situ experiment on an engineered ecosystem
leading to the intensive deposition of nutrients with feces
food remains and feather thereby considerably altering the local soil biogeochemistry
10- and 2-fold higher concentrations of phosphorous and nitrogen
compared to the surrounding control forest area could be observed
Unaltered total organic carbon (Corg) suggests repressed vegetation
as also reflected in the vegetation indices obtained by remote sensing
reduced soil microbial diversity with considerable alternations in the relative abundance of Proteobacteria
The above alterations to the ecosystem also affected climate stress resilience of the trees indicated by their limited recovery from the major 2010 drought stress
in marked contrast to the surrounding forest (p = 3∙10−5)
The complex interplay between geographical
microbiological and dendrological characteristics
as well as their manifestation in the vegetation indices is explicitly reflected in the Bayesian network model
we have confirmed the predictability of biodiversity patterns and trees growth dynamics given the concentrations of keynote soil biogeochemical alternations with correlations R > 0.8 between observations and predictions
indicating the capability of risk assessment that could be further employed for an informed forest management
imposing major challenges for the engineered ecosystems management
a better understanding of the complex interplay between soil geochemistry
microbial biodiversity and flora vegetation dynamics that are inevitable components of the overall ecosystem stability and its adaptation capabilities is essential for overcoming the above challenges
terrestrial ornithogenic ecosystems are also of considerable interest
since they often represent long-term natural testbeds of locally altered environments
and thus provide significant information on the adaptability of local flora and fauna
that can be studied without introducing any additional anthropogenic invasion
these colonies could be viewed as long-term natural testbeds often contributing to the local environment over decades
where the endpoint of this multi-year natural experiment could be observed and analyzed here and now
Despite a large number of studies on the impact of bird colonies on soils and surrounding vegetation
many of them have limited focus either on soil geochemistry or on its microbiota or vegetation dynamics
we aimed at a better understanding of the complex interplay of various geographical
as well as their manifestation in the vegetation indices obtained by remote sensing observations in a Bayesian network statistical model representing the overall impact on the local environment
We consider a regularly planted pine forest area as a prominent testbed
where the emergence and the following 15-year long expansion of a Grey Heron colony could be viewed as a nearly perfect in situ natural experiment
with surrounding unaffected forest of initially the same age
composition and diversity representing a relevant control
We analyze how long-term deposition of nutrients from the bird colony altered the local soil biogeochemistry both under the current nesting sites and in the surrounding area
leading to major alterations in the local microbiota
these conditions affected the trees and other surrounding flora growth
that has been particularly reflected in their increased vulnerability to combined biogeochemical and climate stresses
as well as reduced adaptational capabilities indicated by their limited recovery from the major 2010 drought
we also propose a statistical model reflecting the complex interplay between various factors from initial biogeochemical contributions by the bird colony to their effect on the vegetation dynamics and its reflection in the multispectral vegetation indices
and show how this model could be potentially employed in a couple of prediction scenarios
The studied site is located near the southern edge of the Republic of Tatarstan
on the peninsula formed by the confluence of Volga
the largest and the longest river in Europe
ashore of a smaller river Myosha (a tributary of Kama) at 55.46885°N
The site is represented by a regular forest area planted in 1983 consisting solely of Scots pines
the average height of the trees was 13 m
and the average trunk diameter reached 22 cm
The nests (around 280) are located on the tops of the trees (A)
and two to four birds can be observed per nest (B) resulting in the colony size well above 500
(C) The colony overall view of the colony indicates a ring shape with no trees in the inner circle
E) show the sampling points in the study area
arrow shows the direction of view shown in (A)
coordinates correspond to the central sampling point within the inner circle
including (i) four red bullets in the circular area nested by the Grey Heron colony
(ii) five orange bullets in the inner circle
and (iii) eleven green bullets in the outer area
Asterisks denote Scots Pine trees where tree-ring data have been collected
including yellow in the presumably affected area and green outside
Soil samples were taken from a depth of 5–10 cm which is the most active zone for the plant roots. In total, 20 sampling sites arranged in a cross-shaped pattern with the crossover position coinciding with the center of the bird colony have been selected (Figures 1D, E)
Five sampling sites were located within the inner circle (one at the center and four at the half distance between the center and the current nesting sites)
ten in the surrounding forest presumably unaffected by the bird colony
with one single site outside the forest area at the edge of an agricultural cropland (barley field)
The selected soil samples were transported at +4C and stored at −80C until being subjected to a complex biogeochemical analysis
the following geochemical properties have been investigated: pH
Samples were dried in an oven at 105°C to constant mass
Soil pH was measured by adding 50 mL of distilled water to 10 g of dry soil
mixing over 3 min and keeping for another 5 min before recording pH with a pH meter (Hanna Instruments
The content of Corg was determined on Delta V Plus isotope mass spectrometer (ThermoFisher Scientific
Germany) with Flash HT attachment in constant flow mode
The other chemical elements were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) on iCAP Qc (Thermo Fisher Scientific
Germany) and by CHNS/O elemental analysis on vario EL cube (Elementar
Extraction and purification of soil DNA for metagenomic analysis was carried out using the Fast DNA®SPIN Kit for Soil (MP Biomedicals
United States) and a Fast Prep®24 homogenizer (MP Biomedicals
United States) according to the manufacturer’s instructions
To characterize the richness and evenness of the bacterial community
alpha diversity indices were calculated using Chao1
Raw reads are deposited in the SRA under Project ID PRJNA933899 in the fastq format (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra/PRJNA933899)
To evaluate trends in the tree ring width (TRW) data series, especially in the local time windows of length L, we followed the methodology described in (Bogachev et al., 2017) and performed linear regression analysis
and from the regression fits ri=bi+d obtained the magnitude of the local trend Δ=bL−1
as well as the fluctuations around the trend
characterized by the standard deviation σ=1/L∑i=1Lyi−ri21/2
The relevant quantity we are interested in is the relative trend
Since the observed relative trend may be due to the natural variability of the data series
we compared the observational trends x with the probability distribution Px;Ldx that a relative trend between x and x+dx occurs in simulated data series with the same persistence properties as the considered data series
where S is the probability that the relative trend in the natural record remains between −x and x
Since the observational records obtained in this study were too short to evaluate their persistence properties, we have followed a recently reported consensus model for TRW data that is a long-term correlated series with Hurst exponent H=1.0 (Ludescher et al., 2020; Büntgen et al., 2021), also in agreement with our recent analysis of 100 Scots pine TRW data in the same region (Bogachev et al., 2023)
We simulated 16 surrogate records of size 216
and calculated relative trends x in each local window
and further evaluated Sx95;L=0.95 that defines the upper and lower limits ± x95 of the 95% confidence interval that the observational trend is within the natural variability typical for long-term tree ring data series
and remote sensing based vegetation metrics have been first tested for the normality of observations at each of the three local areas (in the circular area surrounded by the nests directly affected by the bird colony
and in the outer area) using Shapiro-Wilk statistical test with significance threshold at p = 0.05
Since in each considered category of the data
at least some of the essential metrics indicated significant deviations from the Gaussian distribution (see section 3.1 for more details)
in the following we applied non-parametric methods
To reveal statistically significant discrepancies between these areas
we employed the one-way non-parametric ANOVA (Kruskal–Wallis) statistical test (or the Mann-Whitney U-test for pairwise comparisons) with significance threshold at p = 0.05
weights were taken inversely proportional to the logarithms of the distances between the locations of the sampling points and of the analyzed trees and renormalized for each sampling point
For the analysis of interrelations between multiple factors affecting the ecosystem, we employed Spearman’s rank correlation analysis and reconstructed a non-parametric Bayesian network interaction model (Hanea et al., 2015), following a methodology similar to (Paprotny and Morales-Nápoles, 2017; Koot et al., 2023)
The practical algorithm of the Bayesian network reconstruction based on rank correlations included the following steps
only those factors that exhibited statistically significant discrepancies according to the one-way non-parametric ANOVA (Kruskal–Wallis) test at p < 0.05 were included in further analysis
we calculated pairwise non-parametric Spearman’s cross-correlation coefficients for all possible pairs of the remaining factors and represented them in the form of the cross-correlation matrix
potentially plausible links have been selected by expert assessment
either impossible or highly improbable causal affects
impacts of the current vegetation indices (observed at the time of the field investigations) on the trends in the tree growth dynamics (accumulated over many years prior to the time of the field investigations)
have been excluded from the model by expert assessment due to the violation of the causality principle
while all potentially relevant links have been marked as feasible
to create a graph representing a Bayesian networks structure that is
the remaining loops were eliminated from the model
a simple procedure which implied finding any existing loop and eliminating the “weakest” link within that loop
as indicated by the pairwise rank cross-correlation coefficient
was repeated until the resulting graph appeared fully acyclic
In each considered category of the data (geographical
and remote sensing based vegetation indices) significant deviations from the Gaussian distribution have been revealed according to Shapiro-Wilk statistical test with significance threshold at p = 0.05
one-sided) distribution of the distances from sample points to the colony center
concentrations of some essential chemicals
including Mn and Fe in the inner and nests areas
as well as the majority of vegetation indices obtained by multispectral remote sensing
the abundance data for the majority of considered bacterial taxons
and the Simpson’s biodiversity index in the outer area
in the following we refer to the results of non-parametric statistical methods
such as Kruskal–Wallis or Mann-Whitney tests
Spearman’s correlation coefficient
and non-parametric Bayesian network (NPBN) graphs
Boxplots represent relevant soil geochemical properties (Ph and chemical elements) in the samples collected in the central circle (inner)
and in the surrounding unaffected forest (outer)
Significance of the differences according to one-way non-parametric ANOVA (Kruskal-Wallis test) is annotated by p-values
with p < 0.05 highlighted by red color
Comparison of microbiota structure from the soil samples in the central circle (inner)
in the nested area (nests) and in the unaffected forest (outer)
selection of some alternative index would not affect the interpretation significantly)
two specialized indices reflected a nearly reversed pattern
the Burn Area Index (BAI) commonly used to characterize marks of burns in wooden areas
a geological index commonly associated with the presence of iron oxide under the canopy
presumably reflecting considerable alterations in the soil geochemistry
as well as vegetation and geological indexes obtained by multispectral remote sensing in the central circle (inner)
Figure 5A shows the TRW data series from 1986 until 2021 (total duration 36y) obtained from Scots pines located within the circle area directly affected by the bird colony (n = 22) and outside of this area (n = 21) as a relevant control (total n = 43)
The figure shows that the TRW dynamics exhibits three different phases
the rapid growth rate of young trees is gradually declining approximately until 1995
when it is substituted by relatively flat rate growth in the second phase
that coincides with the emergence and early expansion of the bird colony
FIGURE 5. Tree ring width (TRW) data for the Scots Pine trees over 36-year time span (1986–2021) in the presumably impacted area (red curve) and outside (green curve), as denoted with in Figure 1 with asterisks
as well as their overall average (black dashed curve)
(B) the TRW deviations from the overall average
(C) Standardized summer (July-September) trends for temperatures (red) and precipitation (blue)
considering the emergence of the bird colony around 2006 and its further expansion as an experimental input
one can currently observe an engineered ecosystem with accumulated alterations in soil biogeochemistry and consequent impact on the trees and other surrounding vegetation as an endpoint of a 15-year long natural experiment
In order to select the keynote factors that govern the ecosystem changes, and thus could be used as indicators for predicting significant alterations in the environment, a cross-correlation matrix between them was obtained (Figure 6), that in turn allowed to design a non-parametric Bayesian network model (Figure 7) revealing the complex interplay between various ecosystem components
where the nodes are associated with particular geochemical
while the edges are characterized by their interrelations quantified by respective rank correlations R
In order to simplify the model by eliminating weak and often secondary effects
in its graphical representation we show only those correlations R exceeding an empirically chosen threshold 0.6
Spearman’s pairwise rank correlation coefficients between multiple factors: geographical (distance to either the center of the colony or the nesting sites from the sampling points)
dendrological and observational characteristics exhibiting significant differences between at least two out of the three areas—the central circle (inner)
the nested area (nests) and the unaffected surrounding forest (outer)
Graphical representation of the Bayesian network summarizing a combined model of complex interrelations between geographical
microbiological and dendrological characteristics as well as their manifestation in the vegetation indices obtained by remote sensing observations
indicating negative impact of the soil acidity on the pine trees growth
there are also positive correlations between the trees growth dynamics and microbial diversity represented by the Simpson’s index (R = 0.29)
suggesting that the repression of trees growth is associated with the reduction of the soil microbiota
the overall vegetation characterized by the MTVI2 index is positively correlated with pH
while demonstrating a weaker association than for the pine trees growth (R = 0.31 vs
since other types of vegetation appear to be less sensitive to soil acidity
Suppression of the vegetation, directly reflected in the measured vegetation indices MTVI2 and BAI obtained from multispectral remote sensing data, see Supplementary Figure S9 and Figure 4, is also in agreement with the tree-ring data indicating that the trees growth rates were considerably reduced in the inner circle and in the nesting areas. As one can see from Figure 5
there are pronounced discrepancies between the TRW dynamics in the affected and unaffected areas
in the year 2008 trees in the area affected by the bird colony exhibited higher growth rates than in the control areas
presumably due to the fertilizing effects of the bird manure containing excessive concentrations of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)
the growth rate altogether reduced in both areas continuously from 2008 until 2010 that coincides with the gradual enhancement of summer temperatures reaching its apogee in a major heatwave in 2010 accompanied by a flash drought indicated by a gradual PDSI decline
To further quantify the combined biogeochemical and climate stress resilience of the trees, we next consider the 10-year time span between 2010 and 2019 corresponding to the recovery from the prolonged drought prior and during the extreme 2010 heatwave. We find that about one-half of all TRW records in the control area indicated significantly positive trend, while only three records in the impacted area followed a significant recovery pattern, see Supplementary Figure S11B
five TRW records in the affected area demonstrated negative x estimates
including one statistically significant negative trend
indicating severely reduced ability to recover from the drought stress under concomitant impact from the biogeochemical alterations induced by the bird colony
The model reveals explicitly that the colony has a great impact on pH
which in turn affects all other indicators like trees growth rate (TRW)
microbial diversity (Simpson’s index) and some given bacteria
although they affect the microbiota structure
the concentration of Zn is linked with trees growth and vegetation indices BAI and MTVI2
and Mn were significantly reduced in the inner area compared to the nests and outer areas
only Mn was found to significantly correlate with microbial diversity
Fe and Ca are positively correlated with the microbial diversity (R = 0.32…0.48)
decrease in the inner area of the colony (R = 0.33 and 0.52
geochemical anomalies are reflected in the BAI index that is positively associated with the concentrations of N
while negatively correlated with pH (R = −0.43
although some associations appear relatively weak and thus are not shown in the network)
no data regarding its accumulation in bird tissues are available
only Gemmatimonadota is included in the final network based on the desired correlation threshold
While detailed investigation of the interconnections among various factors governing the local environment is essential for the understanding of their complex interplay represented by the graph in Figure 7
A more practical application scenario would be to employ the revealed association patterns for the risk assessment and prediction making in local environments based on selected measurements only
From the environmental management point of view
how a given natural (such as an emergence of a bird colony) and/or anthropogenic (such as introduction of a bird farm or another agricultural activity) invasions could impact similar ecosystems
Answering these questions would require simulation of different scenarios leading to the projected concentrations of nutrients and other chemicals introduced by the invasion and estimating potential impacts on the soil microbial diversity and vegetation dynamics for these scenarios
both characterized by correlation coefficients R > 0.8
We believe that the above result indicates the capability of the putative evaluation and prediction of future trends in ecosystem adaptation and environmental alterations based on the proposed approach
Graphical representation of the reduced model exemplifying the predictability of the Simpson’s biodiversity index and tree ring width dynamics for given concentrations of keynote soil chemicals: (A) matrix of Spearman’s correlation coefficients between model parameters; (B) non-parametric Bayesian network
with input parameters in the upper layer and predicted indicators in the lower layer; (C) linear regression analysis between observed and predicted Simpson’s index and TRW trend
this study investigated the complex impact of a major Grey Heron colony on a planted Scots pine forest viewing it as a natural in situ experiment on an engineered ecosystem with limited plant and microbial diversity
leading to its increased vulnerability to combined biogeochemical and climate stress
We have shown explicitly that the long-term deposition of nutrients from the bird colony starting from its initial location at the time of emergence around 2006 and further expansion over the surrounding area in the next 15 years considerably altered the local soil biogeochemistry
as well as nearly 10-fold higher concentrations of phosphorous and 2-fold higher concentrations of nitrogen in their maximum accumulation areas compared to the presumably unaffected surrounding forest area could be observed
contrasts in the soil microbial diversity with considerable discrepancies in the relative abundance of several bacterial genera (Chujaibacter
uncultured bacteria of Gaiellales and Acidobacteriales) has been observed both in the inner area of the colony and under the nested trees
in turn altogether affecting the trees growth and other surrounding flora vegetation
The latter is reflected in MTVI2 and BAI vegetation indices obtained by remote sensing
and apparently unravels the increased vulnerability of the forest ecosystem to combined biogeochemical and climate stress
as indicated by the limited recovery of the affected trees from the major 2010 drought stress
in marked contrast to the surrounding forest in terms of the annual growth rate (p = 3∙10−5
we proposed a combined non-parametric Bayesian network model reflecting the complex interplay between geographical
as well as their manifestation in the vegetation indices obtained by remote sensing observations
using the Bayesian inference approach with a bootstrap based validation scheme
we have shown that the NPBN is capable of predicting both Simpson’s diversity index and tree ring width trend from just a few input variables representing the concentrations of the keynote chemicals in the soil with correlation coefficient R between observations and model based predictions exceeding 0.8
The above result indicates the capability of the putative evaluation and prediction of environmental trends in the ecosystem status and could further facilitate an informed adjustment of the planted forest management by an early planning of possible intervention scenarios
The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found below: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
and AK contributed to the conceptualization and methodology of the study
and AK contributed to data analysis and interpretation of the results
ANS and AK performed overall project management and resource coordination
All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of this work by the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 22-76-10042), https://rscf.ru/project/22-76-10042/
Metagenomic analysis was performed with support from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in the framework of the state assignment in the sphere of research activities (project No
The authors would like to kindly acknowledge the opportunity to access the resources provided by the shared equipment use center at Kazan Federal University
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations
Any product that may be evaluated in this article
or claim that may be made by its manufacturer
is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1197657/full#supplementary-material
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Received: 31 March 2023; Accepted: 26 May 2023;Published: 08 June 2023
Copyright © 2023 Bogachev, Tishin, Gafurov, Gareev, Imaev, Kaplun, Markelova, Pyko, Pyko, Romanova, Safonova, Sinitca, Usmanov and Kayumov. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use
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Earlier this month the liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Elisa Ardea was delivered
The vessel is owned by France LNG Shipping
a joint venture between NYK and Geogas LNG
and under a long-term charter contract with EDF LNG Shipping
The vessel was built at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries
Elisa Ardea will be chartered to the EDF Group long-term (up to 20 years
including extension options) and will be engaged in LNG transportation under the ship management of Gazocean
dual-fuel slow-speed diesel engines4 manufactured by WinGD and features an advanced Turbo-Brayton refrigeration system developed by Air Liquide
which efficiently utilizes surplus boil-off gas
is constructed using high-performance insulating materials that reduce the vaporization rate
a power electronics provider for the marine industry
has won a contract to deliver the single drives for shaft…
Incat Hull 096 – the world’s largest battery-electric ship – has been officially launched in Tasmania
The offshore rig market recovery appears to have taken a pause
with demand tapering off and marketed utilization hitting…
Belgium-based offshore installation services company DEME has completed the acquisition Havfram
we excel in creating stunning illuminated yacht names and logos
and cutting-edge LED and fiber optic solutions
Maritime Reporter E-News is the maritime industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service
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Vision & Voice for the Advisory Community
30 London newspaper exposé.css-1sf3xto{padding-top:16px;padding-bottom:16px;}.css-13ibk4z{margin:0;font-family:"Lato",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:400;font-size:1rem;line-height:1.5;}The New York super-consultancy retained Ardea Partners
to suss out its options for the in-house wealth manager and hedge fund company
McKinsey
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2025 — 7:09 PM Another likely motivator here is McKinsey's Dec 13 2024
$650M settlement with the DOJ for McKinsey's role in the Purdue Pharma / Opioid issue
Presumably MIO is owned by the McK partnership and selling it off is a great way to raise the $650M vs
asking current partners to come out of pocket or take on debt...Post a comment.css-a0y2e3{height:0;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition:height 300ms cubic-bezier(0.4
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The New York City consulting giant quietly made the Orion founder and ex-CEO a McKinsey senior advisor two months after he stepped down last year.
Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world
The Elisa Ardea vessel, which recently docked at the Wheatstone LNG export project in western Australia, is signaling the Dunkirk port in France as its next location, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
BURSASGXHomeBy (From left) Majuperak Holdings Bhd group chief executive officer Muhammad Yazurin Sallij
group chief financial officer Saiful Azwan Ahasli
state financial officer Datuk Mohd Zaki Mahyudin
deputy secretary of the state of Perak (development) Halizah Sipun
state secretary Datuk Ahmad Suaidi Abdul Rahim
Perak State Development Corporation (PKNPk) chief executive Datuk Redza Rafiq Abdul Razak
state Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Sandrea Ng Shy Ching
PKNPk deputy chief executive (planning and development) Syed Omar Albar Syed Abdullah
and Jelapang state assemblyman Cheah Pou Hian at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the launch of Taman Tasik Ardea
KUALA LUMPUR (May 5): Majuperak Holdings Bhd (KL:MJPERAK) has launched Taman Tasik Ardea
a RM141 million residential development in Sungai Terap
offering 601 affordable homes across three phases
Majuperak group chief executive officer Muhammad Yazurin Sallij said
“Taman Tasik Ardea proves that Majuperak remains focused in delivering development that not only prioritises commercial value but also provides significant social impact to the local community
We are expecting the full completion of the development by [September] 2026
each unit is thoughtfully designed with careful considerations of the daily needs
current lifestyle and the financial affordability of the people.”
The launch was officiated by Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad
who said the project supports the state government’s goal to expand affordable and quality housing under the Flagship Prosperous Housing Programme (Program Flagship Perumahan Sejahtera)
within the framework of the Perak Sejahtera 2030 plan
“The state government consistently prioritises the provision of affordable and quality houses
and Taman Tasik Ardea is a clear manifestation of this effort
It is not merely a physical development project
but a long-term investment in building a more stable and comfortable life for the rakyat,” Saarani said
developed on 114 acres of land owned by Syarikat Majuperak Bhd
a subsidiary of Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Perak
will comprise single-storey terraced homes aimed at first-time buyers
young families and those seeking a nature-friendly environment
Unit prices range from RM90,000 for Rumah Perakku 1 to RM250,000 for Rumah Perakku 3
with built-ups between 1,075 sq ft and 1,275 sq ft offering three or four bedrooms
The homes will be developed in three phases
Visit the Randall Davey Audubon Center and Sanctuary in Santa Fe
I had the privilege of visiting a variety of regions
each with its own range of unique characteristics
I was always enamored by the constantly changing nature around me and had the urge to draw my surroundings
whether it be the sturdy saguaros of the desert or the sandy shores of the coasts
I filled my sketchbooks with life from different regions of the country
but amidst the ever-changing landscapes that filled my canvases one species remained constant: the Great Blue Heron.
Whether stalking through a pond or spreading its impressive wingspan across the shoreline
the Great Blue Heron has a presence that does not require an advanced birding experience to appreciate
Every time the Great Blue Heron emerges itself
I feel a frenzied urge to trace its feathered head and mark the memory to paper forever
Despite the Great Blue Heron being my favorite bird to paint
it is also the most difficult for me to capture
While other birds may flaunt vibrant colors or intricate patterns
the Great Blue Heron relies on subtle shades of gray and blue to blend seamlessly into its natural surroundings
There is something inherently artistic in the shape of the Great Blue Heron
each step creating a continuous line that curves through the neck and flows through its feathered chest
Such movements are due to a lightweight bone structure that allows the large Great Blue Heron to stand as tall as 52 inches and have a wingspan of almost 6 feet in length
Despite the enormous presence of the Great Blue Heron
capturing its likeness to paper requires light
ever-flowing brushstrokes that fade into the paper just as the bird’s feathering fades into its surroundings.
What I find most striking about the Great Blue Heron is its piercing gaze
Nestled between a bright orange beak and a noble navy feathering atop its head are burning amber eyes
The all-seeing heron has binocular vision about three times as detailed than a human’s
allowing it to zoom in on its prey and act with a lightning efficiency that conflicts with this giant’s seemingly gentle temperament
the Great Blue Heron is drawn to riparian ecosystems
where aquatic and terrestrial habitats collide
these diverse habitats provide refuge for both the Great Blue Heron and myself
often traveling alone to ecological sites to sit for hours at a time painting the landscape before me or tramping on treasure hunts to photograph elusive species
No matter what part of the world I have found myself in- from the Midwest to the Galapagos Islands- the Great Blue Heron has remained a constant in the whirlwind of life
In a world of fleeting moments and constantly evolving landscapes
the Great Blue Heron has planted itself as steady as a statue in my life and in my heart
calling me to preserve the bird both in memory but also in numbers.
As much as I cherish the Great Blue Heron
and shorelines- essential habitats for the heron- are incredibly sensitive to urban development and climate change
Our natural riparian ecosystems are disappearing
beloved species such as the Great Blue Heron
we can ensure that future generations can have the opportunity to experience the Great Blue Heron- whose presence has left a mark not only on myself
and issues that are affecting birds across the arid West
Help secure the future for birds at risk from climate change
advocacy and on-the-ground conservation efforts
Visit the Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center in Phoenix
Get updates about our conservation work and how to help birds
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Ardea Resources has secured a pivotal $4.6 million strategic placement from Japanese joint venture partner Sumitomo Metal Mining to progress its mammoth Kalgoorlie nickel project in Western Australia
The investment by the 430-year-old metal and mining dynasty strengthens the existing 50:50 alliance with Ardea at its Goongarrie Hub within the company’s Kalgoorlie project
The 430-year-old Japanese metal and mining company
has become a substantial holder in Ardea Resources and its massive Kalgoorlie nickel laterite project in the WA Goldfields
Ardea is finalising all-important feasibility studies for the project
ahead of it potentially becoming the next production hub in WA’s Goldfields region
Sumitomo has committed to becoming a substantial 5.1 per cent shareholder in Ardea
which represents an impressive 7.5 per cent premium on the ASX-listed junior’s last traded price
‘Sumitomo’s investment further demonstrates the ongoing strength of the partnership and the underlying value of Goongarrie...’
The cash injection will primarily fuel working capital to allow Ardea’s expert team to drive an ongoing $98.5M definitive feasibility study for Goongarrie
which is a cornerstone of its broader Kalgoorlie nickel project
The study is already fully funded by Sumitomo and consortium partner Mitsubishi Corporation are fully funding the critical study
which Ardea says is on track to deliver by the second half of this year
The capital raise at a premium is an impressive endorsement of Ardea and its project as the company paves the way for a final investment decision on development
Ardea Resources managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Penkethman said: “Sumitomo’s investment further demonstrates the ongoing strength of the partnership and the underlying value of Goongarrie as a large-scale
strategic source of nickel-cobalt in the tier one jurisdiction of Western Australia.”
Ardea’s Kalgoorlie project is Australia’s largest nickel-cobalt resource and one of the most significant globally
It has a staggering 854 million tonnes at 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt for 6.1Mt of contained nickel and 386,000 tonnes of contained cobalt
The company’s 2023 prefeasibility study for Goongarrie unveiled an exceptional $800M annual EBITDA sustained over a 40-year mine life
Management says it can produce 30,000t of nickel and 2000t of cobalt per year by leveraging a shallow
flat-lying laterite orebody with a strip ratio of just 1.5:1
Despite the recent downturn in nickel and cobalt prices
Ardea remains confident its upcoming definitive feasibility study can define a low operating cost for the life of the mine
allowing for a significant cash margin at the current nickel prices
Ardea is sharpening its focus on advanced-stage exploration across the Kalgoorlie project
targeting nickel sulphide and critical minerals such as scandium and rare earth elements
a compelling nickel sulphide prospect is emerging
complementing the company’s broader development strategy
Ardea has scoping studies for the projects in the works
With its coffers bolstered by $4.6M and a formidable Japanese consortium by its side
Ardea is well-positioned to navigate volatile markets and deliver on the promise of its biblical-scale nickel-cobalt resource
As the definitive feasibility study progresses
the company is laying the groundwork for a multi-decade operation that could redefine Australia’s role in the global critical minerals landscape
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
The investment by the 430-year-old metal and mining dynasty strengthens the existing 50:50 alliance with Ardea at its Goongarrie Hub within the company\\u2019s Kalgoorlie project
ahead of it potentially becoming the next production hub in WA\\u2019s Goldfields region
which represents an impressive 7.5 per cent premium on the ASX-listed junior\\u2019s last traded price
The cash injection will primarily fuel working capital to allow Ardea\\u2019s expert team to drive an ongoing $98.5M definitive feasibility study for Goongarrie
Ardea Resources managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Penkethman said: \\u201CSumitomo\\u2019s investment further demonstrates the ongoing strength of the partnership and the underlying value of Goongarrie as a large-scale
strategic source of nickel-cobalt in the tier one jurisdiction of Western Australia.\\u201D
Ardea\\u2019s Kalgoorlie project is Australia\\u2019s largest nickel-cobalt resource and one of the most significant globally
The company\\u2019s 2023 prefeasibility study for Goongarrie unveiled an exceptional $800M annual EBITDA sustained over a 40-year mine life
complementing the company\\u2019s broader development strategy
the company is laying the groundwork for a multi-decade operation that could redefine Australia\\u2019s role in the global critical minerals landscape
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting
\\u2018Sumitomo\\u2019s investment further demonstrates the ongoing strength of the partnership and the underlying value of Goongarrie...\\u2019
one of the nation’s largest independent wealth managers
according to sources with knowledge of the situation
Sources told Citywire that Mariner is looking to bring in a new minority investor
Kan.-based RIA has hired Ardea Partners to serve as its investment banker
according to a source with knowledge of the situation
Spokespeople for Mariner and Ardea Partners did not respond to requests for comment by press time
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Sydney-based bonds and derivatives bigwig Ardea Investment Management
in which the $4.45 billion Challenger Limited owns a minority stake
is battling the double whammy of restless investors and a restless co-founder
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Ardea Resources has completed a 287-hole infill reverse circulation drilling program to support potential resource classification upgrades at its vast Goongarrie Hub nickel project
5 kilometres south of Menzies in the Western Australian Goldfields region
The company drilled 186 reverse circulation holes at its Big Four prospect for 10,238 metres plus 101 holes for 6332m at Scotia Dam for a total campaign of 16,570m
The holes were sampled over their full depths at 2m intervals
showing outcropping at the company’s Kalgoorlie nickel project
which the company believes will sustain a world-class
The program was launched last July as part of Ardea’s management of its ongoing $98.5 million definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its Kalgoorlie nickel-Goongarrie Hub project through its subsidiary Kalgoorlie Nickel
The DFS is being funded by an international consortium comprising Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation
‘These drill results from the Big Four and Scotia Dam deposits highlight the high grade and continuity of the nickel-cobalt mineralisation at the Kalgoorlie nickel project (KNP)–Goongarrie Hub.’
The infill drilling campaign aims to upgrade the project’s shallow lateritic nickel-cobalt resources to a measured - or better – resource category in material slated for the open pit mining in the first five years that comprises the forecast project payback period
infill drilling was generally conducted on 40m hole intervals along lines
The recent lines were introduced between previous 80m-spaced lines - including previous drilling - to close the grid spacing to an overall 40m by 40m coverage
the top three results include 28m at 1.12 per cent nickel from 10m
including 16m at 1.33 per cent nickel from 16m
26m at 1.16 per cent nickel from 16m and 22m at 1.30 per cent nickel from 14m
including a 14m hit at 1.65 per cent nickel from 18m
237 significant intercepts above 0.5 per cent nickel over 2m or more were recorded in 167 holes
drilling nailed an impressive 32m at 1.17 per cent nickel from 18m
including 20m at 1.44 per cent nickel from 22m
50m at 1.01 per cent nickel from 28m and 38m at 1.04 per cent nickel from 20m
including an 18m hit at 1.33 per cent nickel from 38m
The drilling program at Scotia Dam yielded 107 significant intercepts in 85 holes
Ardea Resources managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Penkethman said: “These drill results from the Big Four and Scotia Dam deposits highlight the high grade and continuity of the nickel-cobalt mineralisation at the Kalgoorlie nickel project (KNP)–Goongarrie Hub
This drill program will support the KNPL team’s ongoing work to increase a measured mineral resource classification and develop a robust mining plan with maximum proven and probable ore reserves to underpin the project DFS
This is particularly important for the first five years of production.”
The two areas drilled are about 4.8km apart from either end of a 7.7km strike zone of intensive resource drilling area that extends south from the Goongarrie Hub processing site
The sites are in north-south trending olivine-pyroxene cumulate ultramafic volcanic rock
A protolith is the original or parent unmetamorphosed rock from which metamorphic rocks are formed
the rocks have been subject to intense deformation in association with the Bardoc Tectonic Zone
where less resistant rocks erode or weather more easily than surrounding
dished or hollowed-out receding surface compared with the surrounding
fracturing and shearing has opened a plumbing system that lets rain and surface waters from the ancient Goongarrie Lake system into the host rocks
The combined effects of the destruction of rock fabric
high temperatures and groundwater circulation over eons promoted intense leaching of silica and magnesia minerals from the protolith host
The process has resulted in areas of higher grade and more extensive nickel-cobalt mineralisation
eventually creating the Goongarrie project’s premium high-pressure acid leach feedstock
Ardea believes its latest drilling program has validated the company’s 2023 pre-feasibility study pit modelling at Big Four and Scotia Dam and points to the potential for pit optimisations to pick up more nickel mineralisation
partly from the deeper drilling that has consistently exceeded historic drill programs
The company has collected samples of a key mineralised neutraliser from the semi-weathered saprock zone – beneath the laterite - for bench-scale testwork in the hope it can be included in the planned pit optimisations in the study
The inclusion of the material is expected to yield additional nickel-cobalt mineralisation that may support deepening of the planned open pits
The company’s combined reverse circulation and core drilling programs have also assisted metallurgical assessment of the handling
flow characteristics and beneficiation upgrade factors of the plant feedstock and will contribute to Ardea’s DFS considerations
Ardea expects its resource definition drill testing will wind up in the June quarter
An additional confirmatory diamond drilling program required as part of the company’s planned resource classification upgrades began last October and should be finished at about the same time
Ardea is also running a reverse circulation drilling program at its Goongarrie South prospect
which has the Goongarrie Hub’s highest grade nickel resources
The company is also receiving a regular inflow of analyses from infill drill testing at its satellite Highway and Siberia North nickel-cobalt deposits
The Kalgoorlie nickel project and its sub-sets in the Goongarrie Hub make up a world-class nickel-cobalt and critical mineral deposits
which include the biggest lateritic nickel-cobalt resource in Australia
The 854 million tonne resources at 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt for 6.1Mt of contained nickel and 386kt of contained cobalt is also one of the world’s biggest
The program was launched last July as part of Ardea\\u2019s management of its ongoing $98.5 million definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its Kalgoorlie nickel-Goongarrie Hub project through its subsidiary Kalgoorlie Nickel
The infill drilling campaign aims to upgrade the project\\u2019s shallow lateritic nickel-cobalt resources to a measured - or better \\u2013 resource category in material slated for the open pit mining in the first five years that comprises the forecast project payback period
Ardea Resources managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Penkethman said: \\u201CThese drill results from the Big Four and Scotia Dam deposits highlight the high grade and continuity of the nickel-cobalt mineralisation at the Kalgoorlie nickel project (KNP)\\u2013Goongarrie Hub
This drill program will support the KNPL team\\u2019s ongoing work to increase a measured mineral resource classification and develop a robust mining plan with maximum proven and probable ore reserves to underpin the project DFS
This is particularly important for the first five years of production.\\u201D
known as the \\u2018Goongarrie Line\\u2019 protolith
eventually creating the Goongarrie project\\u2019s premium high-pressure acid leach feedstock
Ardea believes its latest drilling program has validated the company\\u2019s 2023 pre-feasibility study pit modelling at Big Four and Scotia Dam and points to the potential for pit optimisations to pick up more nickel mineralisation
The company has collected samples of a key mineralised neutraliser from the semi-weathered saprock zone \\u2013 beneath the laterite - for bench-scale testwork in the hope it can be included in the planned pit optimisations in the study
The company\\u2019s combined reverse circulation and core drilling programs have also assisted metallurgical assessment of the handling
flow characteristics and beneficiation upgrade factors of the plant feedstock and will contribute to Ardea\\u2019s DFS considerations
An additional confirmatory diamond drilling program required as part of the company\\u2019s planned resource classification upgrades began last October and should be finished at about the same time
which has the Goongarrie Hub\\u2019s highest grade nickel resources
The 854 million tonne resources at 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt for 6.1Mt of contained nickel and 386kt of contained cobalt is also one of the world\\u2019s biggest
\\u2018These drill results from the Big Four and Scotia Dam deposits highlight the high grade and continuity of the nickel-cobalt mineralisation at the Kalgoorlie nickel project (KNP)\\u2013Goongarrie Hub.\\u2019
Ardea Resources (ASX:ARL) is progressing a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project-Goongarrie Hub in Western Australia
which is being managed by privately held Kalgoorlie Nickel
aims to support the development of the KNP-Goongarrie Hub as a multi-decade
low operating cost nickel-cobalt producer.
which has a market capitalisation of $65.89 million
says the DFS is on schedule for completion in the second half of this year.
multiple contracts and work packages continue to be approved and awarded including several metallurgical testwork packages
water assessment works and pipeline layout
as well as the mining and tailings package.
Other contracts and awards include a hydrogeology technical supervision
The company will also provide an update in due course regarding the process plant and utilities.
Ardea notes the DFS will outline the potential viability of increasing the high pressure acid leach annual throughput from 3 million tonnes to 3.5 million tonnes per year
based on reducing the autoclave residence time from 70 minutes to 60 minutes.
The Kalgoorlie Nickel project and its sub-set Goongarrie Hub is a series of nickel-cobalt and critical mineral deposits which host 854 million tonnes @ 0.71% nickel and 0.045% cobalt for 6.1 million tonnes of contained nickel and 386,000 tonnes of contained cobalt.
Ardea Resources is a nickel developer in a joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining (TYO:5713) and Mitsubishi Corporation (TYO:8058) to build
and operate a more than 30,000-tonne-per-year multi-decade nickel operation.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
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Clayton Utz has coached Ardea Resources Limited as it inked a shareholders' agreement with a consortium comprising Mitsubishi Corporation and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co
The agreement involves Ardea’s Kalgoorlie Nickel Project – Goongarrie Hub
Clayton Utz described the agreement as a milestone move that reflects the fulfilment of the final conditions precedent and completion under the Cooperation Agreement
the Japanese Consortium can begin to fully fund the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project – Goongarrie Hub
The DFS is set to conclude by the second half of 2025
Ardea confirmed the condition precedent of Foreign Investment Review Board approval
Clayton Utz corporate partner Mark Paganin and special counsel Scott Girdler took the lead on this transaction
receiving support from senior associate Georgia Mazzega and lawyers Daniel Martinez and Ally Clark
the firm also advised Nippon Steel Corporation on an agreement to pick up a 20% stake in the Blackwater mine from Whitehaven Coal Limited
Nippon Steel Corporation’s acquisition is set to complete by Q1 next year
pending the fulfilment of certain conditions
The transaction also included the negotiation of JV arrangements with JFE Steel Corporation
which entered into an agreement to take a 10% interest in the mine
Clayton Utz’s team on this deal was helmed by Samy Mansour
A team from Allens represented Whitehaven Coal Limited, while Jones Day acted for JFE Steel Corporation
Nishimura & Asahi also advised Nippon Steel Corporation
Ardea Resources is making quick work of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) at its massive Goongarrie Hub nickel laterite project in WA’s Goldfields region
with four drill rigs active and several work contracts already awarded
Supported by mega joint venture partners Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation
the $98.5 million DFS is looking to prove up the economics of turning the project into a low-cost
multi-decade laterite nickel-cobalt producer
A diamond drill rig completes a previous RC hole for quality assurance and quality control assessment as part of the resource estimate update at Ardea Resources’ massive nickel laterite project in WA’s Goldfields
The on-site rigs are conducting the all-important resource definition
with a fifth rig set to join the operations next month
622 resource definition drill holes for 37,842 metres have been completed on a 40 by 40 metre spacing grid
Most of the assays are still pending however the company expects the trickle of results so far to turn into a flood across the next couple of months
Key personnel recruitment for the DFS is nearly complete
multiple contracts and work packages have now been awarded
Contractors are now also involved with critical equipment like autoclave agitators and flash vessels
the company is also looking at alternative processing flowsheets which could involve reducing the time material remains in the autoclave from 70 to 60 minutes which
would increase annual throughput in the high-pressure acid leach plant from 3 to 3.5 million tonnes
This would leave a mixed sulphide precipitate as a final product
the project is forecast to produce 30,000 tonnes of nickel and 2000 tonnes of cobalt per year for up to an eye-watering 40 years
flat-lying nickel laterite orebody with a low strip ratio of just 1.5:1
Ardea Resources managing director and CEO Andrew Penkethman said: “Ardea are pleased to see the strong progress being made on the DFS to advance the KNP – Goongarrie Hub toward production
Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation
The company says the DFS remains on track for completion in late 2025
with updates shortly expected to include a resource estimate together with the status of mining and environmental approvals
Operational updates will include any tweaks the company decides to make to its process plant design and hydrogeological findings
In a 50:50 joint venture deal inked four months ago
Sumitomo and Mitsubishi committed to jointly fund $98.5 million for the DFS
the JV will bankroll the front-end engineering design and financing discussions
leading to an eventual final investment decision
The Japanese consortium will then be able to earn up to 50 per cent of the biggest nickel-cobalt resource in Australia which hosts an 854 million tonne resource grading 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt
Both Sumitomo and Mitsubishi are enormous conglomerates who generally only have an appetite for massive projects
With a PFS projected annual EBITDA of $800 million a year for 40 years
Ardea’s Goongarrie Hub would appear to fit the bill well
Ardea Resources is making quick work of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) at its massive Goongarrie Hub nickel laterite project in WA\\u2019s Goldfields region
Ardea Resources managing director and CEO Andrew Penkethman said: \\u201CArdea are pleased to see the strong progress being made on the DFS to advance the KNP \\u2013 Goongarrie Hub toward production
DFS deliverables are set to accelerate.\\u201D
Ardea\\u2019s Goongarrie Hub would appear to fit the bill well
\\u2018DFS deliverables are set to accelerate.\\u2019
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The Golf Wire
the world’s largest owner and operator of private clubs
is pleased to announce a multimillion-dollar transformation of East Lake Woodland Club that touches every area of the Club
yielding a profound evolution in its journey that will enrich the Member experience in extraordinary ways
This process has led to the exciting rebranding of the Club
The new brand best positions it as a premier
family-first Club defined by unparalleled service and world-class amenities that will comprehensively reshape the Member experience
we are dedicated to providing premier experiences for our members
The new Ardea Country Club stands as a testament to this commitment,” said Invited CEO David Pillsbury
“The renovated North Course strikes a perfect balance between challenge and playability
racquet sports facilities renovation and the introduction of childcare services
Ardea is solidifying its position as a premier
The name Ardea pays homage to the beautiful marshlands and wildlife that are an essential part of the club’s story
“Ardea” is the Latin genus for “heron,” delivering a fresh take for the club’s time-honored mascot
will host its grand re-opening and ribbon cutting
along with the opening of the newly added Kid’s Club
“This project ultimately will transform the Club with an extensive reinvention touching every area and enhancing every amenity,” said Aaron Lucas
“Our exceptional Members are the heart and soul of our Club
and we couldn’t be more pleased to bring forward these spectacular improvements to keep their experience fresh and exciting.”
The new Ardea features a host of renovations
A top-flight golf experience – The tee boxes and greens of the North golf course have been completely revamped
creating a world-class golf experience for Members and guests alike
The greens now feature best-in-class Tif-Eagle Ultradwarf Bermuda grass
considered the gold standard for turf at the finest clubs in the country
while the tees now feature laser-leveled turf
the irrigation system for the North Course has been completely upgraded and overhauled
while a redesigned short game area will ensure Members are ready for their rounds
Fresh culinary experiences – Ardea’s dining room
has been expanded and fashioned into a reimagined
outside dining experiences allowing Members and guests to enjoy the Florida sunshine
while updates to the facility’s private event spaces can accommodate any gathering
Member-focused Club renovations – The newly completed Kid’s Club
located conveniently in the main clubhouse next to the fitness and dining areas
will provide an engaging space for families
There also will be a new slate of robust family and kids programming to better engage and serve Members
Premier racquet sports experience – Coming in 2024
the tennis facilities at Ardea will be renovated to usher in a new chapter for racquet sports at the club
Updated landscaping and new gathering areas will be inviting for Members
while new LED outdoor lighting will enhance the area’s aesthetics
there will be a host of renovations and improvements to the Club’s clay courts
New Multi-Club Membership Opportunity – Ardea Country Club recently introduced a new Cross Bay Premier Membership
This unique membership would give full family golf
Hunter’s Green and Tampa Palms with 14-day advance tee times
Current Ardea Members can add on the Cross Bay benefits to their existing membership
To access the fact sheet, new logos and brandmarks for Ardea, please click here
To take a virtual tour of our new restaurant, pro shop and kids club, please click here
Dallas-based Invited has operated with the mission of Building Relationships and Enriching Lives®
The leading owner-operator of private golf and country clubs
Invited is relentless in its pursuit of providing extraordinary experiences
and memorable moments for its more than 400,000 members
The company’s mission is supported by 20,000 peak-season employees and a portfolio of 200 owned or operated golf and country clubs
Invited creates communities and a lifestyle through its championship golf courses
In addition to Ardea, other marquee Invited properties include: Firestone Country Club (Akron, Ohio); Mission Hills Country Club (Rancho Mirage, California); The Woodlands Country Club (Houston, Texas); and The MetropolitanClub (Chicago
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Ardea Resources has hit a major milestone in the development of its Goongarrie Hub nickel-cobalt project in Western Australia after executing a binding agreement with a giant Japanese consortium
It now locks away a 50:50 joint venture (JV) with Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation in a deal where the consortium has committed to funding a $98.5 million definitive feasibility study (DFS) to earn into the project
Goongarrie hub is part of Ardea’s wider Kalgoorlie Nickel Project (KNP) that operates in WA’s Goldfields region
Ardea Resources management with Japanese consortium representatives at the Niihama Nickel Refinery in Japan
The signing of the new shareholders’ agreement
which sets up the “GH Nickel” vehicle that will allow the Japanese consortium to acquire its slice of the project
comes just a fortnight after Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) gave its approval for the union with Ardea
the JV will bankroll the front-end engineering design (FEED) and funding activities
leading to an eventual final investment decision (FID)
The Japanese consortium will then be able to claim its half-share of the Goongarrie Hub operation
‘This transaction represents a major critical minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan.’
Ardea believes the formation of the JV will not only facilitate the completion of the DFS and pave the way for the FID to be made
but it will also aid in securing project development funding for the project
which it says has the potential to be a multi-decade
globally-significant nickel-cobalt operation
The DFS into a 30,000 tonnes per annum operation out of Goongarrie Hub is already underway
The study will feature a subset of six deposits within the company’s wider KNP that features a resource of 854 million tonnes at a grade of 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt
for 6.1 million tonnes of contained nickel and 386,000 tonnes of contained cobalt
The company says those numbers make the KNP one of the biggest nickel-cobalt resources in the developed world
Ardea Resources managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Penkethman said: “This transaction represents a major critical minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan with the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project – Goongarrie Hub being advanced as Australia’s next large-scale
low-cost nickel-cobalt producer that meets the high ESG standards expected from modern society.”
The company recently revealed an 888-hole DFS drilling campaign for 51,745m at Goongarrie Hub
designed to lift the numbers for the measured component of its resource and firm up the project’s expected payback period
Management will be hoping its DFS can follow on from the monumental figures unveiled in its 2023 prefeasibility study (PFS) for the Goongarrie Hub
The PFS projected an extraordinary EBITDA of $800 million a year
which the company says could be sustained for a whopping 40 years
Production is modelled on 30,000 tonnes of nickel and 2000 tonnes of cobalt per year in an open-cut mining operation that will exploit the shallow
flat-lying nickel laterite orebody at the site with a strip ratio of just 1.5:1
Ardea says it plans to utilise high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) technology at its KNP and will feed 3 million tonnes per year of its laterite ore to a HPAL facility and 500,000 tonnes annually to an atmospheric leach (AL) circuit
Ardea remains confident that the DFS can define a low operating cost for the life of the mine
which will allow for what it says will be a significant cash margin at the current nickel prices
The significant binding agreement milestone for the company also denotes a major collaboration between Australia and Japan – a positive indication for the future of the critical minerals industry in Australia and the nation’s ability to supply the ongoing electrification transition
Goongarrie hub is part of Ardea\\u2019s wider Kalgoorlie Nickel Project (KNP) that operates in WA\\u2019s Goldfields region
The signing of the new shareholders\\u2019 agreement
which sets up the \\u201CGH Nickel\\u201D vehicle that will allow the Japanese consortium to acquire its slice of the project
comes just a fortnight after Australia\\u2019s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) gave its approval for the union with Ardea
The study will feature a subset of six deposits within the company\\u2019s wider KNP that features a resource of 854 million tonnes at a grade of 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt
Ardea Resources managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Penkethman said: \\u201CThis transaction represents a major critical minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan with the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project \\u2013 Goongarrie Hub being advanced as Australia\\u2019s next large-scale
low-cost nickel-cobalt producer that meets the high ESG standards expected from modern society.\\u201D
designed to lift the numbers for the measured component of its resource and firm up the project\\u2019s expected payback period
The significant binding agreement milestone for the company also denotes a major collaboration between Australia and Japan \\u2013 a positive indication for the future of the critical minerals industry in Australia and the nation\\u2019s ability to supply the ongoing electrification transition
\\u2018This transaction represents a major critical minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan.\\u2019
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We are committed to bringing you researched
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Genie Bouchard is a professional tennis player. Recently, she started playing professional pickleball. Bouchard recently advertised her pickleball clinic, the Ardea Pickleball Clinic
I'm hosting a pickleball clinic at Ardea Country Club this month in Tampa
Click the link to RSVP and I can't wait to see you all at Ardea very soon." How does she stay so fit
Read on to see 5 ways Genie Bouchard stays in shape and the photos that prove they work
Bouchard shared some of her fitness and health secrets with SELF. She says that she loves to cook eggs in the morning
Eggs are my go-to in the morning for some protein
You have to start your day off with that."
A post shared by Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard)
"We're not saying that swimming is easy (far from it!)
but swimming takes much less of a toll on your body than
That's because exercising in water lessens the impact of your body weight on your joints."
A post shared by Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard)
A post shared by Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard)
"Lifting heavy weights increases production of the hormone IGF-1
This hormone is related to the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)
which is a neurotransmitter responsible for stimulating the growth of new neural pathways in the brain along with enhancing communication between existing pathways
lifting heavy could make you smarter by enhancing cognitive function."
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Formerly known as North at East Lake Woodlands Golf & Country Club
I was visiting from out of town and decided to play here since a lot of reviews bragged about the north course
Tee boxes could use some love in places but fairways were in very good shape and greens rolled well
I was a single that could not join anyone unless I wanted to wait an hour
Got stuck behind a group of kids with no etiquette what so ever
Cart girl ignored me the 3 times I saw her
was too busy flirting with the kids in front of me
I may give it another shot if in the area but did not leave a lasting impression
Click the text box above to select the URL to share
The wife and I played the North course at 11:30 Sunday morning and had a great experience
The course was in fantastic shape with the greens rolling 10 plus on the stimp
Fairways were in decent shape for this early in the season
Nice blend of long and short holes as well as doglegs left and right
Lot of water on the course but much of it is lateral and not that many forced carries
If you like to hit a few drivers before your round,get there a little early
There is a “ short range” right near the pro shop which limits you to shots of 150 yards or less
The longer range is about a 5 minute cart ride away
I will definitely play this course again next trip to the Tampa area
There are two courses at East Lake Woodlands GCC
We didn't play the South but staff mentioned it was more wide open and generally easier to score there if that is your intention
My buddy and I were down there from Toronto Canada to play golf for a few days while the snow flew in Ontario
which is why we chose the North course (score be damned)
I've played a lot of courses in FLA and this was one of the most beautiful and memorable
through gorgeous FLA swamp and woodlands.Greens were in great shape and fairways as well
there were narrow and it's best to hit it straight but I'd suggest you play it regardless of your HC
simply for the natural beauty (some stunning homes back there too - wow)
Played the North Course on a warm and humid June morning
just a few days before they will aerify the greens
The biggest thing is you need to be able to hit it straight
I think 14 out of the 18 holes have water in play
the fairways are pretty skinny due to the number and proximity of trees
It's probably not much fun to play if you're hitting it crooked
First time on the course today.Course was in perfect condition for an early April day and the greens were consistent through the entire round.For a Western PA guy it always takes some time to get used to the lack of elevation changes and the slight lack of carry being at sea level but this course has bail out areas that take the sting out of the acclamation process.If I lived down here I'd be a member
or at least that is what it feels like golfing at East Lake Woodlands Country Club. This country club has an aristocratic flair
a caring and personal staff with attention to detail
This "Royal" atmosphere can easily be compare to a Kings' Court during the time of Camelot
The timeless elegance of East Lake Woodlands is experienced throughout the clubhouse
which includes a dedicated dining room with an executive chef
It also has two championship golf courses (North and South)
and the largest practice facilities in the Tampa area
East Lake Woodlands mission is to establish relationships
and a commitment to be the Best for its members and guest. The course was designed by Robert von Hagge and Bruce Devlin
Both are world renowned golf course designers having built courses like Doral Blue Monster
and El Conquistador in Puerto Rico to name a few
Their successful design of East Lake Woodlands as visually pleasing as it is playable. I played the North course at the East Lake Woodlands and it's the more difficult of the two courses
The day I played was sunny but had rained the night before and the temperature was in the mid 60's
I played the Blue tees which has a slope rating of 71.0/141 and measures 6241 yards
There are 5 sets of tee boxes and the Championship tee measures 6616 yards
The pristine beauty of the course is enhanced by the abundant wildlife such as wild turkeys
The course's excitement level is raised by the narrow but playable fairways lined with palm
Water canals and ponds run the length of the several fairways
Let's not forget the 80 well placed bunkers
and grassy mounds which add to the excitement level and maybe even your blood pressure
You get a eerie bewitching feeling or nightmare as if something is about to go wrong as you pay homage to this course
Grab that extra sleeve of balls before heading out just in case the course demons take a liking to you. Standing on the first tee box
and there are mounds that will accelerate the speed of your ball towards the hazard
The fairway snakes a little and just beyond the first cut of rough on the right side of the fairway are trees that line the rough and go the full distance of the hole
Grassy mounds are also on the right side of the fairway
You will also notice some well placed bunkers throughout the fairway and some protecting the green
Beyond the trees on the right is the cart path
Overshoot the fairway on the left and there's a good chance you are in the water
Missing the fairway right and landing in the trees leaves you with very few options to advance the ball
You definitely do not want to go out of bounds on this hole
so select a club you can hit 200 to 240 yards straight
From there the hole opens up for a better look at the green
Once on the green you will notice that they are true and fast
Being honest about the use of your driver will save you strokes and increase your enjoyment for the day. The signature holes are 3
The course is in excellent shape and a good value for the money
I have played this course a few times and I look forward to playing it again
I would recommend East Lake Woodlands Country Club to all golfers
One Happy GolferH Bell (Golf Enthusiast)
Finally received the opportunity to play this Tampa Bay Area course as a member's guest and I was not at all disappointed
the entire day was very comfortable and employees were simply there when you needed them
Practice facilities are well-maintained and the North course was also in very good condition
but certainly has its share of challenges that can be penal on errant or aggressive shots
Most holes vary in length enough to allow for use of multiple clubs and there are definitely birdie putts out there for quality ball striking
The finish is a rather difficult combination of doglegs...one left
that is literally a 90 degree angle Par 4 with trouble everywhere and the other turns right almost 90 degrees as a Par 5 with water swallowing any approach shots that come up just short of the green
but my experience was certainly worth inquiring about all my options to play here again
What is the address of Ardea Country Club - North Course
Ardea Country Club - North Course is located at 1055 E Lake Woodlands Pkwy
What year did Ardea Country Club - North Course open
Ardea Country Club - North Course was built in 1974
Who designed Ardea Country Club - North Course
Bruce Devlin (1974) and Robert von Hagge (1974) are the architects of Ardea Country Club - North Course
What type of grass does Ardea Country Club - North Course have
Ardea Country Club - North Course has 419 Bermuda Grass greens and TiftEagle Bermuda Grass fairways
What is the par of Ardea Country Club - North Course
The par of Ardea Country Club - North Course is 72
What is the length of Ardea Country Club - North Course
The length of Ardea Country Club - North Course is 6616 yards
What is the rating of Ardea Country Club - North Course
The rating of Ardea Country Club - North Course is 73.5
What is the slope of Ardea Country Club - North Course
The slope of Ardea Country Club - North Course is 146
What are the course conditions at Ardea Country Club - North Course
other golfers are saying that the course conditions at Ardea Country Club - North Course are excellent
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Lycopodium (ASX:LYL) has secured a Definitive Feasibility Study contract for the design engineering of the hydrogen sulphide plant for developing the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project – Goongarrie Hub in Western Australia
The Kalgoorlie Nickel Project – Goongarrie Hub is an asset of Ardea Resources’ (ASX:ARL) subsidiary Kalgoorlie Nickel
Ardea’s subsidiary is managing the DFS for a large-scale
which has a market capitalisation of $447.87 million
says the DFS is on schedule to be completed towards the end of H2 2025.
The company’s scope of services under the $5.4 million contract includes completing a capital cost estimate and designing the hydrogen sulphide plant.
The hydrogen sulphide gas will be used to precipitate a high-purity nickel and cobalt sulphide product called mixed sulphide precipitate (MSP)
MSP is a precursor for producing electrolytic nickel and cobalt
nickel powder and nickel sulphate for lithium-ion battery production.
Lycopodium Managing Director Peter De Leo says this is a strategic opportunity to support the development of Kalgoorlie Nickel’s asset
which is expected to become “one of the largest nickel-cobalt producers in Australia”
The Kalgoorlie Nickel Project – Goongarrie Hub is considered a series of nickel-cobalt and critical mineral deposits which hosts a large nickel-cobalt resource
Kalgoorlie Nickel’s resource totals 854 million tonnes @ 0.71% nickel and 0.045% cobalt for 6.1 million tonnes of contained nickel and 386,000 tonnes of contained cobalt
Goongarrie Hub’s resource totals 584 million tonnes @ 0.69% nickel and 0.043% cobalt for 4 million tonnes of contained nickel and 250,000 tonnes of contained cobalt.
Lycopodium provides integrated engineering construction and asset management solutions
The company is focused on delivering complex
multidisciplinary projects through to the provision of feasibility studies and advisory services.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has given its approval for a powerful Japanese consortium consisting of Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation to join forces with Ardea Resources for the development of the Goongarrie Hub operation within the latter’s giant Kalgoorlie Nickel Project (KNP) in Western Australia’s Goldfields region
It comes after a 50:50 joint-venture (JV) agreement was signed by Ardea and the consortium in April this year
Ardea Resources and a consortium of Japanese business giants are continuing to drill at the Goongarrie Hub nickel project in WA
Ardea confirmed this morning that it had been advised by the consortium that the FIRB has expressed “no objection” to the Japanese firms funding into the massive project
which management has described as the biggest nickel-cobalt resource in the developed world and a major critical minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan
‘The support from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board is a strong endorsement from the Australian Government for this major Critical Minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan.’
the consortium has committed to tipping in a whopping $98.5 million to fund a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Goongarrie Hub project that sits about 70km north-west of the famous gold mining town of Kalgoorlie
A further positive reveal was securing merger control clearance from Korea’s Fair Trade Commission
a condition that the consortium insisted be included on its must-have list in order to satisfy the JV agreement
Ardea Resources managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Penkethman said: “Ardea is pleased to see the conditions precedent are continuing to be satisfied to enable the joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co.
The support from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board is a strong endorsement from the Australian Government for this major Critical Minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan.”
The company says the FIRB approval and consent from the Korea Fair Trade Commission satisfies two of four important conditions precedent to the co-operation agreement that are required to propel the JV forward
Ardea and the consortium are vigorously working towards satisfying the remaining two conditions
initially through the incorporation of the consortium’s JV special-purpose-vehicle (SPV) business entity being undertaken in Australia
The consortium SPV is then required to agree to the co-operation agreement and the execution of a shareholder’s agreement
Both necessary conditions are anticipated to be satisfied by end of this year’s third quarter
Ardea notes work is continuing for the Goongarrie Hub JV using a $12 million funding line supplied by Sumitomo
with infill resource definition drilling at the proposed Big Four nickel-cobalt deposit and bench-scale metallurgical work
Funds are also being used to progress processing plant engineering studies
in addition to bore-field design work following the completion of hydrogeological exploration drilling and with further environmental approvals required
An interesting backdrop to the compelling mining hook-up is how an unsolicited email from Sumitomo to Ardea expressing initial interest in the project
in conjunction with an introduction between the latter and Mitsubishi originated from the Federal Government-owned Export Finance Australia
has resulted in the three parties linking arms to develop the world-class operation to help meet the market’s need for quality-grade critical minerals
The KNP contains a significant number of nickel-cobalt and critical mineral deposits and features a total resource of 854 million tonnes at 0.71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt for 6.1 million tonnes of contained nickel and 386,000 tonnes of cobalt
hosts a mineral resource of 584 million tonnes at 0.69 per cent nickel and 0.043 cobalt for 4 million tonnes of contained nickel and 250,000 tonnes of cobalt
Ardea also has its fingers in various advanced-stage exploration targets such as Kalpini
scandium and rare earths targets across its highly-prospective Eastern Goldfields nickel-gold province
But the FIRB approval is an important step in meeting the JV requirements for its flagship operation and provides invaluable support for a project that could bring a tremendous boost to the Kalgoorlie region
Australia\\u2019s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has given its approval for a powerful Japanese consortium consisting of Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation to join forces with Ardea Resources for the development of the Goongarrie Hub operation within the latter\\u2019s giant Kalgoorlie Nickel Project (KNP) in Western Australia\\u2019s Goldfields region
Ardea confirmed this morning that it had been advised by the consortium that the FIRB has expressed \\u201Cno objection\\u201D to the Japanese firms funding into the massive project
A further positive reveal was securing merger control clearance from Korea\\u2019s Fair Trade Commission
Ardea Resources managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Penkethman said: \\u201CArdea is pleased to see the conditions precedent are continuing to be satisfied to enable the joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co.
The support from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board is a strong endorsement from the Australian Government for this major Critical Minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan.\\u201D
initially through the incorporation of the consortium\\u2019s JV special-purpose-vehicle (SPV) business entity being undertaken in Australia
The consortium SPV is then required to agree to the co-operation agreement and the execution of a shareholder\\u2019s agreement
Both necessary conditions are anticipated to be satisfied by end of this year\\u2019s third quarter
has resulted in the three parties linking arms to develop the world-class operation to help meet the market\\u2019s need for quality-grade critical minerals
\\u2018The support from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board is a strong endorsement from the Australian Government for this major Critical Minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan.\\u2019
Ardea Resources (ASX:ARL) remains on track to deliver a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) at its Kalgoorlie Nickel Project (KNP) – Goongarrie Hub in H2 2025
Speaking to Mining.com.au on the sidelines of the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie
Penkethman says development of KNP and its sub-set the Goongarrie Hub is a globally significant series of nickel-cobalt and critical mineral deposits
which is being managed by Ardea’s wholly owned subsidiary Kalgoorlie Nickel (KNPL) and funded by Sumitomo Metal Mining Co (SMM) and Mitsubishi Corporation with a budget of $98.5 million
The consortium will have earnt a 35% KNPL interest upon the completion of the DFS and progressively earn a 50% interest in KNPL
The transaction is subject to conditions precedent
including Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval
The Hub DFS is the first critical minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan
with the project expected to be a multi decade nickel-cobalt operation
The collaboration will provide supply chain diversity
and will meet the high ESG standards expected from Australia and Japan
“We’re completing a large scale quality study and incorporating both the technical and financial strengths of both the consortium members and our wholly owned subsidiary
and the consortium are progressively earning a 50% interest,” Penkethman tells this news service
“It’s the largest nickel-cobalt project in Australia and one of the global top 10 nickel-cobalt resources
That’s very much a large scale strategic asset
and that’s one of the key points that’s appealed to the Japanese consortium along with our location
just 70 kilometres northwest of the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder
All that infrastructure and the unique attributes to the Goongarrie Hub that enable us to be a low cost
The CEO says since the DFS was launched Ardea has continued to ramp up the project with infield drilling currently taking place on site and metallurgical testwork underway
“We’re now up to 25 personnel to manage the DFS
We’ve awarded key contracts to export service providers such as Ausenco
Several Ardea executives have transferred across to KNPL on a full-time basis to manage the DFS
including Project Director Matt Read and General Manager Technical Services Mike Miller
The DFS has been separated into six key work packages – Process Plant and Process Plant Utilities
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Monday (May 5) for more than 3,200 seats on city councils
The prosecutor reported that Chase Jones was traveling at 112 mph when he crashed into the victims
Bob Ferguson says federal funds are needed to address $34 million in damage caused by the storm
Washington is one of the wealthiest counties in the country
making affordable housing oftentimes unattainable for seniors,” said Allen Dauterman
“We are so proud to introduce Ardea at Totem Lake to the community and provide seniors with an affordable place they can call home
one that is transit-oriented and built with their needs in mind.”
Ardea at Totem Lake also received public funding support from the City of Kirkland
King County and A Regional Coalition for Housing
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Indianapolis
TWG is a fully integrated real estate development company specializing in commercial
affordable and senior housing developments across the country
TWG has transacted over $1.9 billion in development costs and over 10,000 units nationwide
Ardea Resources has launched a $98.5 million definitive feasibility study (DFS)
fully funded by a powerhouse Japanese consortium
for its giant Goongarrie Hub nickel project that sits 70km north-west of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields region
The Goongarrie Hub is an integral part of the company’s Kalgoorlie nickel project (KNP) that embraces a collection of deposits combining to host what it says is the biggest nickel-cobalt resource in the developed world
Japanese giants Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation have agreed to stump up the DFS funding as part of a deal to claim a 50 per cent cut in the Goongarrie Hub operation
Ardea Resources is developing a world-class nickel-cobalt project in the WA’s Eastern Goldfields
with a strong focus on minimising its environmental footprint and rehabilitation
The global mineral resource estimate for the project sits at an eye-watering 854 million tonnes grading 71 per cent nickel and 0.045 per cent cobalt
containing 6.1 million tonnes of nickel and 386,000 tonnes of cobalt
The important measured component of the resource sits at 22 million tonnes at grades of 0.94 per cent nickel and 0.079 per cent cobalt
containing 207,000 tonnes of nickel and 17,000 tonnes of cobalt
‘The Goongarrie Hub DFS is the first Critical Minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan.’
the company revealed it had launched an 888-hole DFS drilling campaign at the Goongarrie Hub for 51,745m
to lift its numbers for the measured component in a bid to increase confidence in the resource and firm up on its expected payback period
Ardea Resources managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Penkethman said: “The Goongarrie Hub DFS is the first Critical Minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan
with the project expected to be a multi-decade nickel-cobalt operation that provides supply chain diversity
security and meets the high ESG standards expected from Australia and Japan.”
The agreement with the Japanese duo also includes a provision for it to use its considerable muscle to assist Ardea in sourcing debt financing for the project
the company and the consortium have agreed on funding support arrangements to enable DFS-related activity to continue into this year’s second quarter
Ardea says several of its executives have already been transferred to the KNP to manage the DFS
including project director Matt Read and technical services general manager Mike Miller
The DFS has been separated into six key work packages including process plant and process plant utilities
Leading global engineering and consulting firm Ausenco has been awarded the contract for the process plant and process plant utilities components
while other work packages are expected to be awarded in due course
Ausenco minerals and metals (APAC/Africa) president Reuben Joseph said the company had assembled a team with expertise across all aspects of nickel laterite process design and operation and which also featured project-phase experience spanning feasibility studies and extending through to detailed design
The DFS is slated to take up to 18 months to complete
ready for delivery in the second half of next year
for its giant Goongarrie Hub nickel project that sits 70km north-west of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia\\u2019s Eastern Goldfields region
The Goongarrie Hub is an integral part of the company\\u2019s Kalgoorlie nickel project (KNP) that embraces a collection of deposits combining to host what it says is the biggest nickel-cobalt resource in the developed world
Ardea Resources managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Penkethman said: \\u201CThe Goongarrie Hub DFS is the first Critical Minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan
security and meets the high ESG standards expected from Australia and Japan.\\u201D
the company and the consortium have agreed on funding support arrangements to enable DFS-related activity to continue into this year\\u2019s second quarter
\\u2018The Goongarrie Hub DFS is the first Critical Minerals collaboration between Australia and Japan.\\u2019
but the same female grey heron has visited the fields behind the house for the past three autumns
She is easily distinguishable from others of her Ardea cinerea ilk because of a wonky leg
and while male and female grey heron look almost identical
Big Bird is a bird of habit; she finds a likely place in the ditch
before suddenly stabbing her prey with her stiletto beak
Top of her present menu of the day are the field voles of the ditch bank
Since prey with fur is difficult to swallow
the explosion involved gas and water meter panels
A bomb exploded last night in front of a house in Ardea
when an explosion occurred in front of a house in via Trieste
the Ardea police and firefighters intervened on site
which was put out first by the owners with a water pump and then definitively by the firefighters
Traces of a rudimentary device were found at the site of the explosion
which is why the Carabinieri started investigations to reconstruct the event
including that of possible private disagreements
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Passionate captive breeding specialists from Japan and conservationists of Bhutan successfully hand-reared two chicks of White-bellied Herons in captivity
The critically endangered White-bellied Heron faces extinction due to habitat disturbance from human activities and predation
Professor Satoshi Shimano and his team from Hosei University
collaborated with the White-bellied Heron Conservation Center in Bhutan
to revive the species through direct intervention
With Japanese know-how and the uninterrupted support of Japanese experts
the major hurdle of successfully rearing chicks was overcome
bringing the total captive population to five
Title: For Reviving the White-bellied Heron: A Collaborative Ex Situ Conservation between the Japan Team and the Royal Society for Protection of Nature in Bhutan
is a symbolic bird for the people of Bhutan and also a typical ‘umbrella species’ that requires a habitat with a vast
the WBH’s habitat has been severely disturbed by human activities
and its population has decreased significantly
it is estimated that there are fewer than 45 WBHs in the world
The WBH is endemic to the Indian subcontinent
with approximately 25 individuals sighted in Bhutan
Conservation efforts for the species are limited and fragmented across the region
the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) in Bhutan decided to begin efforts to artificially breed WBH outside their natural habitat (ex situ conservation)
and the White-bellied Heron Conservation Center (WBHCC) was constructed and began operation in 2022
located in the mountainous areas of south-central Bhutan
a six-hour drive from Bhutan's capital
is supported by the Royal Government of Bhutan
The center maintains three WBHs in a large aviary on its grounds
Two of these birds were collected as chicks from wild nests
and the other was rescued as a wounded bird
The center plans to collect not only chicks but also eggs from wild nests to artificially hatch them in an incubator
This was because monkeys were observed eating WBH eggs during incubation in monkey-populated areas
Since WBH pairs build their nests on steep cliffs and high trees
collecting chicks and eggs is extremely dangerous
A single nest typically produces around four eggs
Only 3–4 WBH pairs have been confirmed in Bhutan
but this was a relatively large number compared to other countries
These efforts had been unsuccessful due to a limited number of well-trained staff and insufficiently developed hand-rearing techniques
the center collected and hatched three eggs
but all three chicks had to be euthanized due to genetic abnormalities resulting from inbreeding due to low population numbers
the RSPN planned to establish 16 founder populations (8 breeding pairs) by 2028 and release at least 50 herons in the wild by 2050 as part of the population restoration programs
Professor Satoshi Shimano from Hosei University
Having witnessed the extinction of the Japanese original strains of the Oriental Stork and the Japanese Crested Ibis
saying “I will do anything in my capacity to help
We must not let Bhutan make the same mistakes we made in Japan.” The story of conservation efforts that followed is nothing short of a fairytale
Professor Shimano contacted researchers he knew to discuss conserving the WBH
from the Okinawa Wildlife Federation and the WBH Conservation Team
They concluded that the chick deaths were likely due to hand-rearing techniques rather than genetic abnormalities
composed of experts from the Hyogo Park of the Oriental White Stork and several member associations affiliated with JAZA (Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums)
These experts had been involved in the captive breeding of Oriental Storks
The team visited the WBHCC twice in March and April 2024
They also provided continuous daily online support to Bhutan throughout the breeding season
Equipment and supplies were donated to the WBHCC
Leg abnormalities were known to occur frequently in Crested Ibises and Oriental Storks during growth
Similar leg abnormalities were observed in the WBH that died in 2023 and in those hatched in 2024
a veterinarian and senior researcher at the Hyogo Park of the Oriental White Stork
instructed that the bedding material be changed to twigs of a thickness that the chicks could easily grasp
one of the two chicks showed improvement in its legs and began to grow well
“There have been past cases where efforts to prevent the extinction of both the Crested Ibis and the Oriental Stork have failed
I hope that by providing the knowledge that Japan has
of the Yokohama City Preservation and Research Center
He has experience breeding rare heron species
it took more than twenty years to establish the artificial breeding technique for Crested Ibises and Oriental Storks
which knows the pain of having lost the endemic Japanese lineage and the subsequent efforts that followed
should be the one to make use of its own technique overseas
Everyone on the team is committed to supporting the WBH for the next 20 years.” They are hopeful that
when the captive population rises to around 30 individuals
Title: A White-bellied Heron chick hatched artificially in 2024
Title: One of the grown-up chicks of the White-bellied Heron
Professor Satoshi Shimano received his Ph.D
in Environmental Science from the Graduate School of Engineering at Yokohama National University
He has been a Professor at Hosei University since 2014
His main research interests are (mainly soil) arthropods
He has more than 180 publications and has received accolades for his work in zoology and protistology
Allstate’s choice of boutique investment bank Ardea Partners to advise on its $4bn acquisition of National General points to the rising importance of boutique advisors in insurance M&A
Heron Resources Limited (Heron or Company) is pleased to advise that its wholly owned subsidiary
has completed an independent Resource Statement for the cobalt-rich portions of the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project (KNP)
The KNP Cobalt Zone is a key element of Ardea’s IPO and listing on ASX
The new estimate for the KNP Cobalt Zone is 49.7Mt at 0.12% cobalt and 0.86% nickel
occurring within three separate KNP centres (Table 1)
The global cobalt resource for the full KNP remains unchanged at 805Mt at 0.05% cobalt and 0.7% nickel using a 0.5% Ni cut-off grade[1]
Ardea completed a review of the KNP in late 2016
concluding that the KNP as a whole comprises Australia’s and the developed world’s largest cobalt resource[2]
The KNP Cobalt Zone is located 50-150km north and northeast of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia (Figures 1 & 2)
a favoured investment jurisdiction with excellent infrastructure that can facilitate ethical cobalt production for green energy
Independent firm Ridley Mineral Resource Consulting Pty Limited (RMRC) has reported the following Mineral Resources within the five cobalt-rich prospect areas based on identified zones of continuous elevated cobalt mineralisation using a 0.08 % Co cut-off in these areas:
Table 1 – KNP Cobalt Zone – Resource Statement from RMRC
[1] See Annexures 1 and 2 for full KNP categories
The breakdown for the full KNP resource categories is as follows:
Source of data: SNL Metals & Mining database (www.snl.com)
Vale Inco[3] completed a $34.5 million Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) on the KNP in 2009 concluding that it is “one of the most prospective nickel laterite tenement packages in the world” and “the KNP tenements form one of the largest potential nickel laterite deposits in the world”
[3] Vale Inco has not consented to the use of the PFS in this announcement
RMRC has prepared the 2017 updated Resource Statement using modified reporting criteria for cobalt abundances in existing resource models that were previously prepared by Snowden Mining Industry Consultants (Snowden) and Heron
This update describes the current publicly reported Mineral Resources for five prospect areas within the KNP known to contain cobalt-rich mineralisation
formed part of Heron’s early assessment of the Scotia Dam and Black Range prospect areas
Estimates for the Goongarrie South and Big Four prospects were completed by Heron in 2009 as part of a KNP PFS update following an initial PFS completed by Vale Inco in 2009
The current estimate for Aubils was by Heron in 2008 as part of feasibility assessment of the Yerilla Nickel Project
The KNP Cobalt Zone is associated with a distinctive geo-metallurgical type defined as “Clay Upper Pyrolusitic”
gibbsite and cobaltian pyrolusite (strictly “asbolite” or “cobaltian wad”)
Each of the cobalt-rich zones typically occurs as a sub-horizontal body (Figure 4) at a palaeo-water table within the KNP (and developed as a late stage supergene enrichment)
This material is particularly well developed at Goongarrie South
which will be the focus area for Ardea’s cobalt development studies
Kalgoorlie Nickel Project showing KNP Cobalt Zones reviewed by RMRC
Project Locations showing KNP Cobalt Zones and regional infrastructure
Based on the contained cobalt metal within the deposit
the KNP is Australia’s largest cobalt deposit (Table 2
it is more than three times larger than Australia’s second largest cobalt deposit
The newly-defined cobalt resource from the high-grade KNP Cobalt Zone is a subset within the larger KNP resource
and the subset by itself is Australia’s fourth largest cobalt resource
The KNP Cobalt Zone also is amongst the highest cobalt grades in Australia (Tables 2 & 3)
the KNP is the premier resource within stable western jurisdictions
The updated resource reporting for cobalt-rich zones provides a basis for KNP remodelling work planned by Ardea that is focused on cobalt grade shells
Quantifying the cobalt-rich mineralisation at the KNP marks the first part of a refocussing for the KNP onto the cobalt component of the deposit
Forthcoming drilling and metallurgical studies will move the KNP towards a PFS focussing on cobalt-nickel-manganese feedstocks for the lithium ion battery industry (Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide - LiNiMnCoO2 or NMC)
ASX-listed companies ranked by contained cobalt metal
KNP Goongarrie South showing “Pamela Jean Deeps”
Selected High-Grade Drill Intercepts of Pyrolusitic Mineralisation
COMPLIANCE STATEMENT (JORC 2012 and NI 43-101)
A competent person’s statement for the purposes of Listing Rule 5.22 has previously been announced by the Company for:
The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects information included in previous announcements
and all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates continue to apply and have not materially changed
All projects will be subject to new work programs following the listing of Ardea
metallurgy and JORC Code 2012 resource estimation as applicable
The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results is based on information originally compiled by previous and current full time employees of Heron Resources Limited
The Exploration Results and data collection processes have been reviewed and verified by Mr Ian Buchhorn who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and currently a full-time employee of Heron Resources Limited
Mr Buchhorn has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the exploration activities undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results
Mr Buchhorn consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his information in the form and context that it appears
The information in this report that relates to Mineral Resources for the Goongarrie South
Big Four and Aubils Prospects is based on information originally compiled by Mr James Ridley in 2008 and 2009 when employed as a Senior Resource Geologist with Heron Resources Limited
The information in this report that relates to Mineral Resources for the Scotia and Black Range Prospects is based on information originally compiled by Snowden Mining Industry Consultants on behalf of Heron in 2004
The Mineral Resource estimates for all five prospect areas have been reviewed and validated by James Ridley who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
Mr Ridley is now a full-time employee of Ridley Mineral Resource Consulting Pty Limited and has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the resource estimation activity that he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results
Mr Ridley consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his information in the form and context that it appears
Note that Mineral Resources that are not Ore Reserves do not have demonstrated viability
The exploration and industry benchmarking summaries are based on information reviewed by Mr Ian Buchhorn
who is a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
Mr Buchhorn is a full-time employee of Heron Resources Limited and has sufficient experience
which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results
Mr Buchhorn has reviewed this press release and consents to the inclusion in this report of the information in the form and context in which it appears
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Australian and Canadian securities laws
estimates and projections as of the date of this news release
forecasts and statements as to management’s expectations with respect to
the timing and ability to complete the Ardea spin-out
the timing and amount of funding required to execute the Company’s exploration
the effect on the Company of any changes to existing legislation or policy
government regulation of mining operations
the length of time required to obtain permits
demand and market outlook for precious metals and the prices thereof
progress in development of mineral properties
the Company’s ability to raise funding privately or on a public market in the future
“may” and similar expressions have been used to identify such forward-looking information
Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is given
and on information available to management at such time
Forward-looking information involves significant risks
assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results
performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking information
the ability to complete the Ardea spin-out on the basis of the proposed terms and timing or at all
the ability of the Company to access sufficient capital on favourable terms or at all
changes in national and local government legislation
political or economic developments in Canada
Australia or other countries in which the Company does business or may carry on business in the future
operational or technical difficulties in connection with exploration or development activities
the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development
diminishing quantities and grades of mineral reserves
especially title to undeveloped properties
the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties
the uncertainties involved in interpreting drill results and other geological data
limitations of insurance coverage and the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses
Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can affect the Company’s actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by
Prospective investors should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking information
Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what management believes
the Company cannot assure prospective purchasers that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information
as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated
and neither the Company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such forward-looking information
to update or revise any such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances
securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained in this news release
REPORT and RESOURCE STATEMENT – KALGOORLIE NICKEL PROJECT
Please refer to Ridley Mineral Resource Consulting Pty Limited Memorandum dated 5 January 2017 available on SEDAR www.sedar.com and titled
“Updated Mineral Resource Reporting for Regions of Continuous Cobalt Rich Mineralisation in the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project”
RESOURCE STATEMENT – KALGOORLIE NICKEL PROJECT
Ardea Resources Limited Prospectus dated 9 November 2016
Please refer to KNP Mineral Resources (JORC 2012) available on SEDAR www.sedar.com
The transaction is expected to be finalised before the end of the third quarter (Q3) of 2024
Ardea Resources has entered into a binding cooperation agreement with Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi (together known as the consortium) to establish a 50:50 joint venture (JV) for the development of the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project (KNP)–Goongarrie Hub in Western Australia
This incorporated JV vehicle will be named Kalgoorlie Nickel Pty Ltd (KNPL)
The agreement outlines the collaboration between the consortium
Ardea and KNPL to fund and conduct the definitive feasibility study (DFS)
front-end engineering design (FEED) and pre-commitment activities (PCA) will be undertaken
leading to a final investment decision (FID) on the KNP–Goongarrie Hub
with the consortium offering 100% of the funding for the DFS up to a budget of around A$98.5m ($63.98m) through staged equity contributions over approximately 18 months
Technical and commercial input into the DFS will be provided by Ardea and the consortium
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the consortium will hold a 35% stake in KNPL
with an option to increase this to 50% following a positive FID
The specifics of the FEED and PCA will be determined during the DFS
Ardea MD and CEO Andrew Penkethman said: “The Ardea team have been focused on aligning the company with the best possible strategic partners to assist in realising the full potential of the Kalgoorlie nickel project – Goongarrie Hub
“Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corporation are high-quality partners that can bring leading expertise to continue to drive the project forward.”
The DFS is slated to begin in the first half of 2024 and be completed by the second half of 2025
The transaction is expected to be finalised before the end of Q3 2024
is poised to become one of Australia’s largest sources of nickel and cobalt
The Kalgoorlie project boasts a significant resource of 854 million tonnes (mt) at 0.71% nickel and 0.045% cobalt for 6.1mt of contained nickel and 386,000t of contained cobalt
located 70km north-west of Kalgoorlie-Boulder city
holds resources of 584mt at 0.69% nickel and 0.043% cobalt for 4mt of contained nickel and 250,000t of contained cobalt
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Private equity firm Estancia Capital Partners is pursuing a sale of Snowden Lane Partners
a serial recruiter of wirehouse brokers with roughly $10bn in assets under management and advisement
Sources told Citywire that Estancia has retained Ardea Partners to serve as the investment banker for the sale process
Ardea has already contacted potential buyers
A Snowden Lane spokesman declined to comment
Ardea Partners partner Brad Siegert did not respond to a request for comment
Ardea Resources said on Monday it signed a binding deal with Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi Corp to develop the Kalgoorlie nickel project
sending the Australian nickel miner’s shares more than 11% higher
the companies will form a joint venture and fund and conduct a definitive feasibility study to arrive at a final investment decision for the Kalgoorlie nickel project (KNP) – Goongarrie hub
The consortium of Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsubishi will fund A$98.5 million ($64.42 million) for the costs of the study
thereby earning a 50% stake in the joint venture
Ardea will own the remaining stake in the venture
the Kalgoorlie nickel project – Goongarrie hub is expected to be one of the largest nickel-cobalt producers in Australia,” Ardea CEO Andrew Penkethman said
Ardea shares were trading 9.4% higher at A$0.93 as of 0010 GMT
(By Sameer Manekar; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
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Gruyere gold mine joint venture partners Gold Fields and Gold Road Resources reach agreement on a friendly deal to consolidate ownership.
The initiative will be delivered through the regional joint venture established by Fleet Space Technologies and Tahreez.
The US central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady in this meeting.
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Armstrong Williams takes on the news of the week and asks the questions you want answered. Don’t miss our weekly town hall.
Renters say someone is repeatedly dropping explosives from Oregon high-rise apartmentby GENEVIEVE REAUME | KATU Staff
say someone is dropping explosives from a high-rise apartment complex
These neighbors now want the person to be immediately evicted
Neighbors atArdea Apartments on the South Waterfront tell KATU it first happened on the Fourth of July and then again Friday night around 10:15 p.m
A woman who works nearby saw the explosion and said the scene was chaotic
She also said dozens of teenagers were streaming into the complex before the explosion
She pointed out some of the damage left behind
Residents said the Friday night incident was scary and loud
as many people were outside enjoying the start of the weekend
One resident said he heard the boom from blocks away
Another resident said it shook their windows 22 stories up
M80sare illegal unless you have a specific permit or license
The ATF says they can cause hand and eye damage
He's completely changed his dog walking route to avoid the pathway beneath the unit of concern
"I’ve become afraid just to walk through here," Bulicz said
Mark Julius used to live in The Ardea but now lives a few blocks away
He said he heard the explosion from his home
I want to be able to walk down the street at night," Julius said
"I don’t wanna be woken up at 2 o’clock and 5 o’clock
I don’t want to be sitting having a baguette and then have a M80 fall and hit me on the head."
Julius said police told him the complex was working on evicting the tenant
Portland police also told KATU the matter was being handled civilly
also noting that because no one was hurt they likely wouldn't do any further investigating
police say they have no proof the explosives were M80s
Bulicz worries the eviction is taking too long
there are multiple reasons why a landlord can evict someone on 24-hour notice
The law says someone can be kicked out in one day if what they're doing threatens or actually inflicts substantial personal injury to someone
It also says if the tenant recklessly endangers someone
creating a serious risk of substantial personal injury
they too can get kicked out nearly immediately
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ChemosphereCitation Excerpt :POPs have also been detected in several bird species dwelling in the area
and HCHs have been reported in eggs of purple heron (Huertas et al.
2016) and also in gull species (Morales et al.
Other studies have also reported mercury (Pereira et al.
2019) and new emerging contaminants such as dechloranes in gull eggs (Ayala-Cabrera et al.
PFR concentrations were also calculated on a molar basis
which is the most correct way when compounds have variable masses (Thuresson et al.
The values of one-half LOD were assigned to samples with concentrations below LOD in statistical evaluation (Huertas et al.
Ecotoxicology and Environmental SafetyCitation Excerpt :Moreover
DDE and DDTs have also been reported in sediments from downstream areas
confirming the transport of pollutants to the lower part of the River (Bosch et al.
significant amounts of OCs and Hg have been reported in biota from Flix and downstream (Lavado et al.
Biomarkers have been successfully applied in Mediterranean rivers to monitor the environmental status and the potential effects of pollutants in aquatic organisms (Colin et al.
Science of the Total EnvironmentCitation Excerpt :For example
112,050 and 16,122 ng g− 1 lw in seabird eggs from Norway (Verreault et al.
all of which were much higher than the results in the present study
and hepta-PCBs were predominant in all samples (Fig
which was similar to many other studies (Huertas et al.
−153 and −180) accounted for 79.4% of the ∑ PCBs in egg
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