Clive Palmer considers buying BHP July 03, 2009 Article from: Australian Associated Press ONE of Australia's wealthiest individuals says he will consider buying BHP Biliton's troubled nickel assets to underpin an expansion of the Yabulu nickel refinery in Queensland.
The refinery was sold today to companies wholly owned by Queensland-based iron ore billionaire Clive Palmer for an undisclosed sum.
Professor Palmer said that the purchase price was less than the $2 billion replacement cost of the refinery.
He also said he would consider purchasing BHP's Ravensthorpe and Leinster nickel mines in Western Australia to provide additional feedstock to an expanded Yabulu refinery.
"The refinery has produced up to 32,000 tonnes of nickel and 2700 tonnes of cobalt a year for the past 35 years,'' Prof Palmer said.
"BHP spent over $1 billion in the last two years upgrading the plant so it could take another 40,000 tonnes of feedstock from Ravensthorpe in Western Australia.
"That plant was doing that up until Ravensthorpe closed down so there is the potential to open up the back end of the plant again to take an additional feedstock source.''
There is speculation that BHP Billiton will sell the mothballed Ravensthorpe nickel laterite mine in WA's south, which closed in January about a year after it opened resulting in 1800 job losses.
The future of the mining giant's operations at Leinster, WA is also in doubt. Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore recently threatened to close the Perseverance mine following two rock fall incidents this month.
"It could be (of interest),'' Mr Palmer said.
"We've been negotiating Yabulu since December and haven't had the ability to look at all the Ravensthorpe data and plant to do a proper due diligence to know whether there is an angle or way that that could be revitalised.
"Maybe BHP want to put it on the market in the future and provide more information.
"We're also in the process of acquiring more nickel deposits to feed this plant.''
BHP Billiton Nickel West public affairs manager Graham Reynolds told AAP on Tuesday that the miner had just finished an options study at Yabulu, under which it would determine whether to retain the asset or divest it.
Mr Reynolds also said Ravensthorpe was the subject of an options study, which was expected to conclude by the end of calendar 2009, and that there were no current plans to sell the Nickel West assets including the Perseverance mine.
BHP acquired its Nickel West arm, the world's third largest producer of nickel in concentrate, from WMC Resources in 2005. The assets include the Mt Keith mine, Kambalda nickel concentrator, Kalgoorlie nickel smelter and Kwinana nickel refinery.
About 300 workers were sacked at the Mt Keith mine in February, a month after BHP Billiton decided to reduce the mine's output amid slumped nickel prices.
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