They won't start doing rehabilitation. The definition of C&M is that it is for a period of time before resuming activity. Some small rehab/closure works might happen but they won't be significant.
I think within the next week, maybe two they will announce C&M in some form. Potentially a concentrate only business? - doesnt make sense to me as they take a large discount on concentrate, but would be the only way to keep operating without Capex needed for smelter and refinery.
NiW is loosing a lot of money each month, poor asset performance and limited resources knowledge ahead of them. C&M is the best option for shareholders, continue exploration and strategic studies if management truely believes Nickel has attractive economics in the next decade as Mike has said numerous times. Maybe BHP might go HPAL like Indonesia and get away from traditional smelter/refinery model? Or go offshore processing?
Agree though, it seems like management dropped the ball here. BHP arrogance I think, a few to many mistakes lining up. I believe they didn't think Indonesia would be able to ramp up as fast or be cheap, not sure why? Also, gambled on green Nickel. Isnt 80+% of Nickel globally consumed by China? Might be more or less, I cannot recall the exact number. But it's Chinese investment in Indonesia that has made them a nickel powerhouse. How was the green premium ever going to work?
BHP Price at posting:
$45.18 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
A personalised tool to help users track selected stocks. Delivering real-time notifications on price updates, announcements, and performance stats on each to help make informed investment decisions.
(20min delay)