Nickel miner Western Areas is seeking new offtake deals for 2010 onwards after allowing BHP Billiton to take Norilsk Nickel's share of concentrate until the end of the year.
The state government says it will order work to stop at any BHP Billiton mines where workplace breaches are found, after five recent deaths at the company's Pilbara iron ore sites.
Nickel producer Western Areas has signed an offtake and $45 million financing agreement with BHP Billiton, with the funds earmarked for mine development and plant expansion.
BHP Billiton could redeploy some of the sacked workers from its Ravensthorpe nickel mine to its iron ore operations in the Pilbara, as the miner confirms that it will buy back 60 houses in the Hopetoun area.
BHP Billiton has reportedly made a series of commitments to the unemployed mine workers from the Ravensthorpe nickel operation, including the redeployment of up to 200 former employees.
Premier Colin Barnett has reportedly indicated the government could buy back some houses in the Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun areas following BHP Billiton's decision yesterday to close its nickel operation.
BHP Billiton has today announced plans to cut 2100 jobs in Western Australia as it suspends operations at its Ravensthorpe nickel mine indefinitely and scales back production at its Mt Keith nickel mine on the back of a falling metal price.
Shares in BHP Billiton have climbed higher despite a report the miner could close its Ravensthorpe nickel mine and some 700 employees may lose their jobs.
BHP Billiton says it will focus on brown-field expansion projects including its Western Australian iron ore operations, to help carry it through the current economic uncertainty.
BHP Billiton's approval to proceed with further expansion works at its Pilbara iron ore operations has proved to be a boon for Macmahon Holdings, which today secured a $50 million contract with the miner.
BHP Billiton has emerged from its decision to dump a $100 billion-plus takeover for rival Rio Tinto Ltd with 'buy'recommendations from analysts, while Standard & Poor's has maintained its rating for Rio but warns of a downgrade.
The value of BHP Billiton's Ravensthorpe and Yabulu nickel operations have been written down by $US2.1 billion ($A3.3 billion), which equates to three quarters of its total investments in the related projects.
BHP Billiton will go ahead with its iron ore expansion works, today approving its $US4.8 billion ($A7.5 billion) Rapid Growth Project 5 for its Pilbara operations.
MIGRATION is such a broad ranging and complex issue that it needs to be concentrated in a single arm of government, the recent WA Business News migration forum was told.
Perth-based engineering firm, GRD Minproc has been awarded an ore processing technology contract on the world's largest uranium deposit and a world scale copper and gold resource, BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam Expansion Project.
