Associated News, page-2764

From the ABC.

Federal Resources MinisterMadeline King says she will put nickel on the critical minerals list, allowingnickel miners to apply to access a $4 billion fund.

The minister's announcement onFriday came after mining giant BHP revealed it was considering mothballing itsNickel West division, which could risk thousands of workers' jobs.

Ms King said the move would have"significant ramifications" on the state's nickel industry, withplummeting prices over the past year having already led to several mineclosures and hundreds of job losses.

"If Nickel West went intocare maintenance, which usually leads into permanent shutdowns, it would bevery difficult to restart this industry, so it is a very serious moment,"she told ABC Perth Radio.

Minersable to seek federal cash

Nickel's inclusion on thecritical minerals list is expected to make it easier for project proponents toapply for funding from the federal government's critical minerals facility.

The loan facility, managed bythe federal government's credit agency Export Finance Australia, aims tobolster and develop projects consistent with the Australian Critical Mineral'sStrategy.

What's behind thenickel and lithium downturn?

Plummetingcritical mineral prices have pushed WA's major industry players to mothballtheir mines, workers to lose jobs and the government to all but panic. What'sthe fallout and what comes next?

Last year, the facility's fund swelled from $2billion to $4 billion.

"This will now make surenickel can fall within that particular facility," Ms King said.

"The other thing it does isit helps with our international partners too that we move this onto thecritical minerals list, so that we can attract some of their investment fromtheir national financing bodies like Export-Import Bank."

The Association of Mining andExploration Companies was among the lobby groups that called for nickel to beput on the critical minerals list earlier this year.

Ms King said the industry was ina very different position now than it was several months ago.

"If you make everything apriority, nothing's a priority," she said.

"So that's what I had tobalance up and when we finalised the critical minerals list, nickel wasn't inthis position.

"What I did make sure Icould do, though, in developing this policy, was make sure I could very quicklymove something from the strategic materials to the critical mineralslist."

Crisistalks held

Last month Ms King held crisistalks with her WA counterpart David Michael, nickel producers, mining peakbodies and unions in Perth.

At the time, both Mr Micheal andMs King said all proposals — from royalty relief to sweeping royalty reforms —were on the table to support the industry.

Neither could put a timeline onthe plan of action but promised to fast-track it.

The meeting was prompted afterhundreds of job losses and mine curtailments for WA's Ravensthorpe nickeloperation and Kimberley nickel operator Panoramic Resources.

WA billionaire Andrew Forrest'sWyloo Metals was one of the biggest players to take a hit