Nickel mining in Western Australia

Nickel mining in Western Australia has been an industry that has had many fluctuations of fortune in its history. Large fluctuations in the world nickel price[2] have seen mines close and reopen on several occasions.

Main article: Mining in Western Australia
Nickel mining in Western Australia
Position of Western Australia within Australia highlighted
Location
StateWestern Australia
CountryAustralia
Regulatory authority
AuthorityDepartment of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety
Websitehttp://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/index.aspx
Production
CommodityNickel
ProductionDecrease 147,190 tonnes
ValueIncrease $4.946 billion
EmployeesIncrease 8,294
Year2021–22[1]

Nickel mining is the sixth largest commodity sector in Western Australia with a value of $4.946 billion in 2021–22. The 147,190 tonnes sold during this time period accounted for 5.5 percent of the world's Nickel production and 100 percent of all nickel produced in Australia. The 2021–22 value of nickel sales was the highest in 15 years while the amount produced was the lowest in 20 years.[1]

From 1997 to 2022, Western Australia was the only state or territory in Australia to produce nickel. With the restart of nickel concentrate production at the Avebury nickel project in Tasmania in October 2022, this status changed.[1]

Australia (predominantly Western Australia) holds one-third of the world's known reserves of nickel-producing laterites and sulfide deposits.[3] As of 2011, Australia was the world's fifth largest nickel producer. The only other significant Australian nickel production outside Western Australia is a refinery at Yabulu, Queensland which processes ore from New Caledonia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Cobalt is produced as a by-product in Western Australia nickel mines, producing 5,314 tonnes at a value of $522 million was produced in 2021–22.[1]

Early mines
Major nickel mining locations in Western Australia with Perth as a reference. Red dots indicate mines, green dots indicate process facilities.

The first Nickel mines in Western Australia were developed in the late 1960s in Kambalda,[4] Laverton and the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The price of nickel peaked at about £7,000 per pound in late 1969, driven by demand from the Vietnam War and the major Canadian producer, Inco (now Vale Canada), being embroiled in industrial action, creating a supply shortage. In November 1969, a prospector working for Poseidon NL made a promising nickel discovery at Mount Windara near Laverton. The discovery created a spectacular investment bubble when its shares moved from $0.50 to $280 in February 1970.[5]

During the early 1970s, an exploration boom fueled by speculators followed, with new companies searching for new deposits. Western Mining Corporation (WMC) purchased Poseidon and developed the find into a major mining and processing operation which continued until 1989.[6] WMC had initially identified a total resource of 8.5 million tonnes of ore @ 2.02% Ni for 172,000 tonnes of nickel metal.[7] The first shipment of nickel concentrate was made in 1974, but by this time the nickel price had fallen significantly. By 1990 the company had mined 5 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.59% Ni and had produced 80,000 tonnes of the metal. Operations at Windara re-commenced several times during the 1990s. Several of the Kambalda mines have since been sold and the remainder are known the Windarra Nickel Mine which, as of 2012 is under care and maintenance.

WMC was taken over by BHP and the company was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in 2005.[8]

The 1971 movie Nickel Queen reflected upon the Poseidon bubble.[9]

Nickel West
Satellite image of the Mount Keith Mine in 2010

Nickel West is a division of BHP. In Western Australia, BHP's nickel operations are combined under the Nickel West Operation[10] which includes Mount Keith Nickel Mine, Leinster Nickel Mine, Kambalda Nickel Concentrator, Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter and Kwinana Nickel Refinery.

Production figures published by the company at the end of 2008 are for the whole Nickel West Operations and not broken down to individual mines. In the calendar year 2008 Nickel West produced 85,800 tonnes of nickel. At the time, Nickel West also included the Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine.[11]

In 2012 there were press reports suggesting the operations may be divested.[12][13]

Current mining operations

The following companies operated Nickel mines in Western Australia in 2021–22, according to the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. To qualify for the department's official list of principal mining projects an operation has to either had mineral sales valued at more than $5 million, or, for operations where such figures are not reported, had a minimum of 50 employees:[14][15]

Mine Owner Location Production
(Tonnes)		 Period Source
Leinster Nickel Mine BHP Shire of Leonora 77,000[2] 2021–22 [16]
Mount Keith Mine BHP Shire of Wiluna
Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine First Quantum Minerals Shire of Ravensthorpe 21,529 2022 [17]
Forrestania Operations IGO Shire of Kondinin 14,028 2021–22 [18]
Nova Operations IGO Shire of Dundas 26,675[1] 2021–22 [18]
Murrin Murrin Mine Minara Resources Shire of Laverton 35,700[3] 2022 [19]
Kambalda Nickel Operations Mincor Resources Shire of Coolgardie 1,404[4] 2021–22 [20]
Savannah Mine Panoramic Resources Shire of Halls Creek 3,044[5] 2021–22 [21]
  • ^[1] The Nova Operations also produced 11,483 tonnes of cooper and 982 of cobalt
  • ^[2] Production figure is for the combined Nickel West Operations
  • ^[3] The Murrin Murrin Mine also produced 3,000 of cobalt
  • ^[4] Production at the Kambalda Nickel Operations commenced in 2022
  • ^[5] Production at the Savannah mine commenced in April 2022. The mine also produced 1,908 tonnes of cooper and 205 of cobalt

Nickel processing facilities

In 2020–21, BHP operates three processing facilities for Nickel in Western Australia, the Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter, the Kambalda Nickel Concentrator and the Kwinana Nickel Refinery while Minara Resources operates the Murrin Murrin nickel refinery.[14]

Former operations

Former operations include:

Mine Owner Location Production period Production
(Tonnes)		 Source
Beta Hunt Mine Karora Resources Shire of Coolgardie 1973–2008
2014–2018
Black Swan Nickel Mine Poseidon Nickel City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder 1997–2008 179,000 [22][23]
Bulong Nickel Mine Wingstar Investments City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder 1998–2003 [24]
Cawse mine Wingstar Investments City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder 1999–2008
Cosmos Nickel Mine IGO Shire of Leonora 2000–2012 127,000 [25][26]
Emily Ann and Maggie Hays nickel mines Poseidon Nickel Shire of Dundas 2001–2009
Lanfranchi Tramways Nickel Mine Black Mountain Metals Shire of Coolgardie 2005–2015 [27][28]
Radio Hill Nickel Mine Artemis Resources City of Karratha 2004–2008 [29][30][31][32]
Waterloo Nickel Mine Northern Star Resources Shire of Leonora 2006–2008 [33][34][35]
Windarra Nickel Mine Poseidon Nickel Shire of Laverton 1974–1978
1981–1991		 93,446 [36]

Controvesises

Fatalities

Fatalities in Western Australian nickel mining include:

  • During the development of the Leinster Nickel Mine, on 27 April 1977, five employees died at the mine's Perseverance shaft after falling 35 metres in an ore bucket.[37]
  • In 1981, an employe was killed in an underground cave-in at the Leinster mine. On 11 December 1985, two men died of asphyxiation in the underground operation of the mine, the second one dying while attempting to rescue the first.[38] On 11 April 2010, a miner fell to his death at the mines underground operation.[39]
  • On 9 June 1978, two employees were killed at the Kwinana Nickel Refinery, J. W. Bell and S. J. Haywood. Bell collapsed in a hazardous environment in a convertor vessel due to what is presumed to have been a faulty seal on his face mask. Haywood attempted to assist him and both died of asphyxiation, inhaling nitrogen gas.[40]

Environmental pollution

Despite only operating for five years from 1998 to 2003, clean-up at the Bulong Nickel Mine was reported in April 2016 to cost as much as $6.8 million. At this point, $6 million in clean-up cost had already been accumulated by the mine. A $1.1 million bond had been collected from the former owners of the mine, which proved insufficient to cover the cost. Introduced in 2013, mining companies were required to pay around one percent of their profits into a mining rehabilitation fund, which was only accessible once it reached a sum of $500 million. In 2016, this was estimated to be 20 years away and therefore not able to cover the estimated state-wide cost of $60 million to rehabilitate mines like Bulong.[41]

Because of local concern over the state of the abandoned tailings storage facility and evaporation ponds at Bulong, the mining lease having expired in 2013, and its impact on near-by Lake Yindarlgooda, the Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety commissioned an investigation which resulted in a 900-page report published in 2021.[42]

Statistics
Western Australian Nickel production and value from 2000 to 2022

Annual statistics for the Western Australian nickel mining industry:[1][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]

Subject 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Production (tonnes/annum) 47,830 54,490 50,170 53,270 61,110 92,990 103,300 114,100 135,190 125,770
Production value ($A billion) 0.586 0.596 0.490 0.472 0.459 0.897 1.097 1.051 1.146 0.877
Subject 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Production (tonnes/annum) 143,930 167,450 179,460 191,680 182,210 180,420 183,560 173,660 172,360 178,390
Production value (A$ billion) 1.806 2.239 2.002 2.458 3.031 3.503 3.815 8.059 5.142 2.997
Employees 5,038 5,160 4,699 5,714 6,704 9,423 10,583 12,736 13,307 7,561
Subject 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Production (tonnes/annum) 180,150 192,450 208,540 228,300 232,673 183,320 175,752 157,564 163,374 154,383
Production value (A$ billion) 4.041 4.649 3.712 3.625 3.419 3.17 2.203 2.095 2.636 2.700
Employees 7,266 9,168 8,798 7,664 6,447 6,096 5,645 5,900 5,474 6,062
Subject 2020 2021 2022
Production (tonnes/annum) 153,516 158,710 147,190
Production value (A$ billion) 3.168 3.480 4.946
Employees 7,285 7,345 8,294

Notes
  1. Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2021-22 Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, accessed: 5 March 2023
  2. "Nickel Monthly Price - US Dollars per Metric Ton". Index Mundi. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  3. "Nickel" (PDF). U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries. January 2012.
  4. Western Mining Corporation (1967), Kambalda nickel project : opening ceremony by the Honourable David Brand, M.L.A., Premier of Western Australia, Friday 15th September 1967, The Corporation, retrieved 26 October 2012
  5. "The 10 Most Ridiculous Price Bubbles In History". Business Insider. 11 October 2010.
  6. "Windarra Nickel Project" (PDF). Poseidon Nickel. June 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2013.
  7. "Mount Windara". Poseidon Nickel. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  8. BHP Billiton Announces 100 Percent Ownership Of WMC Resources BHP 2 August 2005
  9. Verevis, Constantine (2001), After the nickel boom, British Australian Studies Association, retrieved 26 October 2012
  10. "Nickel West Media Tour". BHP Billiton. 19 September 2007.
  11. "BHP Billiton Quarterly Production Report – December 2008" (PDF). 21 January 2009. p. 11. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  12. "BHP may offload Nickel West: analyst". ABC News. 26 October 2012.
  13. Nick Evans (28 August 2012). "BHP takes razor to WA nickel". The West Australian.
  14. "Western Australia's principal resources projects, 2020-21" (PDF). www.dmp.wa.gov.au. Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  15. "Western Australia's principal resources projects, 2021-22" (PDF). www.dmp.wa.gov.au. Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  16. "BHP Annual Report 2022" (PDF). www.bhp.com. BHP. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  17. "Ravensthorpe Production Statistics". www.first-quantum.com. First Quantum Minerals. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  18. "IGO Limited Annual Report 2022" (PDF). www.igo.com.au. IGO Limited. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  19. "Glencore Annual Production Report 2022" (PDF). www.glencore.com. Glencore. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  20. "Mincor Resources Annual Report 2022" (PDF). www.mincor.com.au. Mincor Resources. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  21. "Panoramic Resources Annual Report 2022" (PDF). wcsecure.weblink.com.au. Panoramic Resources. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  22. "Black Swan". poseidon-nickel.com.au. Poseidon Nickel. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  23. "Black Swan Mine". www.mindat.org. Mindat.org. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  24. "Bulong Ni Mine". www.mindat.org. Mindat.org. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  25. "Cosmos Project". www.mindat.org. Mindat.org. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  26. Henry Ballard (1 November 2021). "GR Engineering to concentrate on Cosmos nickel". Australian Mining. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  27. Spencer, Ben (24 November 2004), "Sally Malay takes reins of its last WMC mine", Australasian Business Intelligence, Comtex, ISSN 1320-6680
  28. Stuart McKinnon (13 September 2018). "Black Mountain pays $15m to recharge Lanfranchi nickel". The West Australian. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  29. "Fox tunes in at Radio Hill", Australasian Business Intelligence, Comtex, 28 September 2004, ISSN 1320-6680
  30. "Radio Hill". artemisresources.com.au. Artemis Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  31. "Radio Hill prospect". www.mindat.org. Mindat.org. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  32. Stevenson, Kinder & Scott Corporate Photography (1998), Radio Hill Mine, 29 June 1998, retrieved 28 March 2023
  33. "Waterloo drilling yields high-grade nickel", Northern Miner, Business Information Group, 88 (2): 14, 4 March 2002, ISSN 0029-3164
  34. "Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2006–07" (PDF). www.dmp.wa.gov.au. Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  35. "Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2008–09" (PDF). www.dmp.wa.gov.au. Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  36. Gilbert M. Ralph (15 March 2005). Chronological History of WMC (Report). WMC Resources. Retrieved 16 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  37. "History". Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 27 April 1989. p. 12. Retrieved 11 March 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  38. "Edward John POTTS". www.wavmm.com. Western Australian Virtual Miners Memorial. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  39. "Trapped miner found dead at BHP's Perseverance mine". Australian Mining. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  40. Department of Mines Annual Report 1978 (PDF) (Report). Department of Mines (Western Australia). 1978. p. 27. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  41. Sam Tomlin and Jasmine Bamford (14 April 2016). "Greens say WA taxpayers could be left liable for $60 million mine clean-up bill". ABC Goldfields. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  42. "Bulong". www.dmp.wa.gov.au. Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  43. Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2020-21 Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, accessed: 25 March 2022
  44. Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2019-20 Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, accessed: 31 March 2022
  45. Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2012-13 Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, accessed: 12 March 2023
  46. Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2002-03 Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, accessed: 12 March 2023
  47. Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 1999-00 Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, accessed: 28 March 2023
  48. Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 1998-99 Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, accessed: 28 March 2023
  49. 2017 Economic indicators resources data Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, accessed: 30 May 2018
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