NICKEL MINES AND MINING – WESTERN AUSTRALIA

BHP pegs Venus as nickel’s rising star

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 20 : 6-Aug-19

Eddy Haegel, the head of BHP’s Nickel West division, addressed the annual Diggers and Dealers conference on 5 August. He says Nickel West’s future still depends on the outlook for the battery market, but BHP is positioning itself to capitalise on what he describes as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity". BHP has commenced mining at its Venus nickel deposit in Western Australia, while it is undertaking further exploration near its existing nickel operations in the state.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, NICKEL WEST, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM

Electric cars lift nickel mines

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 : 26-Apr-19

Several nickel producers may resume production at mothballed mines in Western Australia amid growing demand for ethically-sourced cobalt. The Democratic Republic of the Congo accounted for nearly 55 per cent of global supply of cobalt – a byproduct of nickel mining in WA – in 2016. However, BMW has signalled that its next generation of electric cars will only use cobalt from Australia or Morocco. The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s mining industry has been widely criticised for unsafe working conditions and the use of forced labour.

CORPORATES
BMW AG, FIRST QUANTUM MINERALS LIMITED, PANORAMIC RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX PAN, INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL – ASX IGO, GLENCORE PLC, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES, INDUSTRY REGULATION AND SAFETY, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, HONDA MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED, PANASONIC

Jobs shock as mine to close

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Original article by Nick Evans
The West Australian – Page: 1 : 10-Aug-17

First Quantum Minerals has advised that its Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia is likely to be placed in "care and maintenance" mode by October. The low price of nickel prompted the decision to mothball the mine, which the Canada-based group is believed to have been trying to sell since 2016. The mine has a workforce of about 500 employees and contractors.

CORPORATES
FIRST QUANTUM MINERALS LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF MINES AND PETROLEUM

Nova set to return more than nickel and dimes as prices rise

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 22 : 15-Dec-16

Independence Group has made the first shipment of nickel concentrate from the Nova mine in Western Australia, which it acquired in the 2015 takeover of Sirius Resources. Independence CEO Peter Bradford notes that the commencement of construction work at the Nova deposit coincided with a downturn in the mining industry, which in turn reduce the cost of developing the project. He adds that Independence is now looking at potential acquisitions, including gold assets.

CORPORATES
INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL – ASX IGO, SIRIUS RESOURCES NL

Atlas Iron lifts, nickel miners slump

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 11-Sep-15

Atlas Iron has reported higher margins for August 2015, while it has achieved its full-year iron ore production target four months ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, the sharp downturn in the nickel price over the last year has weighed heavily on smaller Western Australia-focused nickel producers. Some have scaled back production or closed mines, while there is speculation that others will do so as well.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL – ASX IGO, PANORAMIC RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX PAN, MINCOR RESOURCES NL – ASX MCR, POSEIDON NICKEL LIMITED – ASX POS, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, GMP SECURITY PTY LTD, SIRIUS RESOURCES NL, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, NICKEL WEST, McALEESE LIMITED – ASX MCS, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, MACA LIMITED – ASX MLD, PATERSONS SECURITIES LIMITED, WESTERN AREAS LIMITED – ASX WSA

Queue for mining jobs shows the industry’s pain

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Original article by Angus Grigg
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 25-Mar-15

Sirius Resources’ Nova nickel mine in Western Australia is slated to cost $A443m and will commence production in 2016. CEO Mark Bennett notes it would have cost about $A650m to build the mine during the resources boom’s peak. He adds that it is now also much easier to secure workers than three years ago, and each job Sirius advertises now attracts about 300 applicants

CORPORATES
SIRIUS RESOURCES NL – ASX SIR, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

BHP pulls Nickel West sale as no buyer found

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 20 : 13-Nov-14

BHP Billiton has abandoned its efforts to divest the Nickel West mining and smelting assets, as it was unable to find a buyer willing to pay a suitable price. The operations had been excluded from the non-core divisions to be hived off into a new listed entity by BHP as it concentrates on iron ore, copper, petroleum and coal. Analysts’ valuations for Nickel West had fluctuated wildly between $A250m and $A1bn, and the sale was hampered by a drop in the commodity’s price from $US21,000 a tonne in May 2014 to $US15,451 in November

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTERN AREAS LIMITED – ASX WSA, INDEPENDENCE GROUP NL – ASX IGO, MINCOR RESOURCES NL – ASX MCR, PANORAMIC RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX PAN, NICKEL WEST, GLENCORE PLC, JINCHUAN NON-FERROUS METALS IMPORT AND EXPORT COMPANY