Tag: First Quantum Minerals

Ravensthorpe reopens on nickel surge FIRST Quantum Minerals expects to ship its first nickel concentrate from its mine in Ravensthorpe, WA, by April this year. The first shipment of sulphur, a vital component of nickel production, arrived through the Esperance port last week. The Canadian company has made significant upgrades to the processing plant since acquiring it in February 2010 for the cut-throat price of $340m. The plant cost BHP Billiton $3b to build and commission. When it was closed in 2017, it was the nickel project’s second major closure and loss of jobs. The mine is wholly owned by First Quantum and currently employs around 250 people with another 100 jobs projected to be filled. Locals and residents from...

WHILE 68pc of global nickel is still used for the production of stainless steel, and only 3pc for battery metals, an announcement by the Chinese government may have changed the fortune of the metal, along with the future of the automotive industry forever. In 2018, China sent ripples throughout the car manufacturing and mining worlds when it announced its New Energy Vehicle (NEV) deal. The deal set a quota for the number of zero-emissions vehicles that carmakers must sell, with companies each receiving a certain number of credits, depending on certain characteristics of the vehicles. From 2019, major Chinese manufacturers would be punished unless they met quotas for zero and low-emission cars, or bought credits from companies that did not...