Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine/Project

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Ravensthorpe nickel is a AU$ 1.8 billion project owned by BHP Billiton who acquired the company from Comet in 1999,. It uses Enhanced Pressure Acid Leach technology.

BHP Billiton commenced a feasibility study in 2002 into opening a nickel and cobalt mine and processing plant 35 km East of the town. The project was approved in 2004 and construction commenced shortly afterward. The plant known as the Ravensthorpe Nickel Project was commissioned in late 2007 with first production occurring in October and the first 5000 tonnes being produced by December 2007. The plant was officially opened in 2008.

The mine was mothballed by BHP, note the following article:
www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/11/2816551.htm

Ravensthorpe Mine to Restart:
First Quantum Minerals Ltd hopes to get Western Australia's troubled Ravensthorpe nickel mine up and operating within 18 months, after formally taking control of the site.

The Canadian copper miner took control of the mine on Wednesday, after receiving government approvals.

Over the next year the company will work on modifying the troubled plant and then spend about six months to commission and ramp-up the mine.

Advertisement: Story continues below It expects the works to cost about $US150 million ($A171.47 million).

Ravensthorpe was controversially closed down by BHP Billiton Ltd in January 2009, amid difficulties in exploiting the nickel laterite deposits and plunging prices of the metal.

The nickel mine cost about $US2.1 billion ($A2.4 billion) for BHP to build and when it closed 1,800 people lost their jobs, a huge economic blow to the town of Ravensthorpe.

The mine is located about 550 kilometres southeast of Perth, and First Quantum expects it will produce 39,000 tonnes of nickel each year for the first five years and 28,000 tonnes annually after that.

The mine's expected life is 32 years.

Bruce McNally from the Ravensthorpe Hopetoun Media Liaison Group said working with First Quantum was in stark contrast to his dealings with BHP Billiton.

"Their (First Quantum's) front people have a deep knowledge of the process and a very deep knowledge of how to make that plant a viable proposition," Mr McNally said.

"BHP are a massive bureaucracy, far more complex than any government bureaucracy and therein lies their incompetence," he said.

He said now that the mine was restarting he expected businesses that had shut their doors to return.

"And not only that, but it will be even brighter for Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun, because we have a lithium mine here through Galaxy Resources and that is going to be a big boost to the town," he said.

Reference for restart article:
news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-business/ravensthorpe-nic...

Reference for location (Bonzle):
bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=260200&c=1&x=120%2E319911844052&y=...