I recently started doing homework on POS and read some news from last December, which was saying the POS requires $200 millions, and recently during the presentation, it says $50millions, so where does the other $150 millions come from??
Will Poseidon Nickel Rise Again?
Posted on December 19th, 2013 by Ashburton Crane Hire, Perth, WA
Poseidon Nickel is set to commence production at its Windarra Nickel mine in 2014 – if it can find the $200 million needed to restart the mine. Fraught with bad luck from its earliest days, the Windarra mine’s bumpy ride may end in a financial slump or rise up in a blaze of glory.
Windarra’s History
Discovered in 1969 by Ken Shirley, a prospector employed by Poseidon Ltd (an unrelated company) the Windarra mine was located NE of Kalgoorlie. Shares in the company soared but just as quickly dropped due to falling nickel prices.
The mine was then sold to Western Mining Corporation (WMC) and the first nickel was produced in 1974.WMC mined 5 million tonnes of nickel ore but by 1995 the price of nickel had fallen so low – again – that operations at Windarra ceased. The site was subsequently rehabilitated and turned into a tourist attraction.
In 2006, Windarra changed hands again when it was bought by Niagara Mining. The mine was slowly refurbished, Niagara Mining was renamed Poseidon Nickel and exploration recommenced. Funds of $50 million were secured from
Harbinger Capital Partners – a U.S. investment firm, however the global financial crisis in 2008 caused Windarra to be placed in care and maintenance. Operations were again ceased in 2010.
Two months later, increasing nickel prices encouraged Harbinger to contribute a further $20 million to help rehabilitate the project.
Current financial woes
To date, Poseidon’s Chairman Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest and CEO David Singleton have failed to secure the $200 million needed to restart the mine. In addition, the repayment of $8 million to Andrew Forrester’s investment company which had been extended from July 31
st this year to October 1
st – was not paid.
A further 12 months extension has been secured for this repayment, however despite owning 32% of Poseidon, Twiggy has since left his position as chairman to focus on his involvement with Fortescue Metals and his charity work.
Windarra’s future
CEO David Singleton has stated that even though short term nickel prices remain gloomy, longer term forecasts are good – with a predicted 49% price rise.
Other Australian mining companies appear to be bullish on nickel:
- Western Areas – has continued to make profits during the commodity price cycle and is investing in further exploration in the region of the Flying Fox and Spotted Quoll nickel fields.
- Rox Resources – Discovered nickel deposits at their Camelwood mine in 2012 and their new Cannonball prospect in 2013.
And others seem to be bearish:
- BHP Billiton – Apparently BHP is selling its Nickel West and Cerro Matoso nickel mines an opinion reinforced when its CEO Andrew Mackenzie excluded nickel from its future strategies in May earlier this year.
- Hannans Reward–On 25th September 2012, Hannans officially informed ASX that it would sell its nickel portfolio in Western Australia.
So the future of Poseidon’s nickel production still appears up in the air.
For information on hiring mine site equipment in Western Australia, contact
Ashburton Crane Hire.
(20min delay)