WORTH A READ FOR HRR HOLDERS.FROM MINING NEWSRavensthorpe takes...

WORTH A READ FOR HRR HOLDERS.

FROM MINING NEWS

Ravensthorpe takes flight

Kate Haycock
Friday, 23 May 2008

ALMOST a decade and more than $US2.2 billion later, BHP Billiton today officially opened its Ravensthorpe nickel laterite mine in Western Australia.

The project, only Australia’s second large-scale attempt at mining and processing nickel laterites, has been a long time coming.

BHP gave the development the go-ahead in 2004 but the project has been bubbling along for the better part of eight years.

The massive nickel project should produce around 50,000 tonnes of nickel and 1400t of cobalt when it reaches nameplate levels, but it has been beset by delays and cost blow-outs.

Originally, the project was to have cost around $US1.04 billion ($A1.09 billion) but the capital expenditure blew out to $US2.2 billion by November 2006 thanks to labour and material shortages.

Nickel laterites – in contrast to their siblings, nickel sulphides – are lower grade and harder to process.

Murrin Murrin, owned by Minara Resources, was Australia’s only officially operating nickel laterite project until today.

And while the project has managed to make money, it has never reached its planned production capacity of 40,000tpa. In the first quarter of this year production reached 7754t, or around 31,000tpa on an annualised basis, its highest rate.

In 2006 the mine produced 14,060t of nickel, in 2007 it hit 14,889t. Meanwhile, cobalt production last year reached 1062t.

Nonetheless, the mining industry is looking towards nickel laterites more and more as nickel sulphide deposits become harder to find.

The project was opened today by WA Premier Alan Carpenter and Federal Minister for Resources Martin Ferguson.

Ferguson said BHP’s commitment to not only nickel mining but nickel processing – nickel from Ravensthorpe will be treated at the company’s Yabulu refinery in Queensland – would increase Australia’s export earnings and economic benefits from mining.

“BHP Billiton’s multi-billion dollar greenfield investment at Ravensthorpe will help
cement the company’s place as one of the world’s top nickel producers and it will also
serve to reinforce Australia’s standing as a resources powerhouse,” Ferguson added.

“But more importantly – this project will invigorate the economy of Ravensthorpe and
the surrounding region.”