Australia's OZ Minerals has suspended operations at its Avebury nickel mine in Tasmania, in response to the sharp fall in metal prices, the company said Friday. With current nickel prices at around $4.40/lb, the firm's CEO Andrew Michelmore said the Avebury operation was just not profitable. "In the nine months we've seen the nickel price drop by 68% an unprecedented fall in such a valuable commodity," said Michelmore. "At these prices, it is simply more economical to keep this metal in the ground and resume production when prices improve."
The decision will result in the loss of 189 jobs at the operation, although OZ will work with the staff to identify alternate roles within the company where possible. The nickel-sulphide concentrate sales from Avebury are contracted to Chinese non-ferrous metallurgical firm Jinchuan Group. OZ said it is in discussions with Jinchuan about the impact of Avebury's closure and expects supply to Jinchuan to continue when production resumes.
The Avebury mine was commissioned in August and has produced 10,381 mt of nickel concentrates to date. "Obviously, this is a disappointing decision to make as the mine had just recently commenced production," said Michelmore. The mine is located 10 km west of Zeehan on the West Coast of Tasmania, and has nickel reserves of 5.85 million mt and resources of 18.2 million mt.
The decision will result in the loss of 189 jobs at the operation, although OZ will work with the staff to identify alternate roles within the company where possible. The nickel-sulphide concentrate sales from Avebury are contracted to Chinese non-ferrous metallurgical firm Jinchuan Group. OZ said it is in discussions with Jinchuan about the impact of Avebury's closure and expects supply to Jinchuan to continue when production resumes.
The Avebury mine was commissioned in August and has produced 10,381 mt of nickel concentrates to date. "Obviously, this is a disappointing decision to make as the mine had just recently commenced production," said Michelmore. The mine is located 10 km west of Zeehan on the West Coast of Tasmania, and has nickel reserves of 5.85 million mt and resources of 18.2 million mt.
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