THE purchase of BHP Billiton's Ravensthorpe nickel mine is set to shine the spotlight on First Quantum Minerals, an international mining company founded in Perth 13 years ago.
Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals is budgeting a further $US150 million to bring the Ravensthorpe nickel mine into production within 18 months, after it today announced it had bought the operation from BHP Billiton.
In its first year of operation, Perth-based First Quantum Minerals Ltd has commissioned two new mines in Cen-tral Africa and placed its Likasi copper-cobalt tailings project in the Shaba province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into mothballs.