From the Ambassador: "The global transition to net zero presents tremendous opportunities for critical minerals, resources and the energy sector. As two mineral rich countries that are embedded in global supply chains, Australia and Vietnam can play a key role in this transition. The Ta Khao project can play a critical role in this transition and the Australian Government is happy to support Blackstone in the advancement of their project".
There does seem to be a solution available for the Australian nickel industry's current dilemma of difficulty competing with cheap, dirty Indonesian nickel. Clean, green, IRA compliant nickel sulphide concentrate mined in Australia, shipped to the low operating cost (competitive with Indonesia on costs) jurisdiction of Vietnam for processing into the worlds cleanest, greenest battery cathode precursor products at the Ta Khao refinery. If the industry and Australian Government want a downstream battery industry this is a viable option. If Andrew Forrest is serious about green nickel he should be looking deeply into partnering with BSX instead of placing his mines on care and maintenance. The same goes for BHP and their facilities at Kambalda. Why would you write down billions of dollars in value of mining assets and forgo profit when the solution is right in front of your face? Reading between the lines of the Ambassadors comment above and it appears this solution is at least being considered by the Government, in my opinion. BSX and Vietnam can compete with Indonesia, in fact likely blowing them out of the water with the greenest nickel which competes on cost
