I suppose this discussion should be on MCR pages, but it is relevant to POS.
Well wouldn't make sense for a listed company to close down for a period to build a new plant, but Wyloo have deep pockets so they may consider it. I don't think they would ship ore to Kwinana, but there is also the option to truck to Nova which doesn't have long life in front of it. And then what would BHP say if Wyloo made an offer for the Kambalda concentrator? Probably no at first, but it doesn't make that much sense for BHP to keep it apart from denying Wyloo the capability to produce its own concentrate. There are considerable closure issues associated with the concentrator and TSF. BHP couldn't sell previously because of they needed a buyer to take on the liability. Sure, that was when the nickel price was a fraction of what it is now, but BHP is a huge company and don't run small things well and they know that.
I also think the arsenic issue wasn't as much of a secret as you believe. It wasn't a public announcement until after the bid, but Kambalda must be the gosip capital of Australia. I'd be very surprised that Wyloo didn't at least know there was an issue even if they didn't know the scale of it.
POS Price at posting:
3.7¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)