BHP extends Mincor nickel offtake deal
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BHP Billiton has elected to extend a nickel offtake agreement with miner Mincor Resources for a further nine years.
The offtake deal covers several of Mincor's nickel in the Kambalda region, including Miitel, Mariners, Wannaway, Redross, North Miitel and the partially owned Carnilya Hill.
Earlier this month, BHP extended its offtake arrangement with nickel miner Panoramic Resources for a further nine years.
The announcement is below:
Australian nickel mining company Mincor Resources NL (MCR: ASX) announced today that its nickel offtake customer, BHP Billiton, had, as expected, exercised its option to extend the Ore Tolling and Concentrate Purchase Agreements (OTCP Agreements) with Mincor for a further nine years, to 27 February 2019.
The OTCP Agreements provide for the toll treatment of Mincor's ore through the central BHP Billiton-owned mill at Kambalda, and the sale to BHP Billiton of the resulting nickel concentrate. The Agreements have operated successfully since Mincor commenced production in March 2001.
Separate OTCP Agreements are held with BHP Billiton over a number of tenement packages in Kambalda. Four of these, covering production from tenements that hold Mincor's Miitel, Mariners, Wannaway, Redross, North Miitel and the partially owned Carnilya Hill Mine, expire in February 2010. It is these four Agreements that BHP Billiton has now extended for a further nine years.
Mincor holds an additional two OTCP Agreements with BHP Billiton, one covering production from its North Kambalda Tenements, including its Otter Juan, McMahon, Coronet and McCloy Mines. This Agreement was extended before Mincor's acquisition of the tenements in 2007, and expires in 2019.
The final OTCP Agreement covers any future production from the Bluebush tenements, secured by Mincor in 2007. This OTCP Agreement expires in 2016.
"We are delighted that BHP Billiton has chosen to renew the OTCP Agreements", said Mincor's managing director David Moore. "These Agreements have proved both workable and durable and have provided Mincor with long-term marketing certainty, reduced processing risk, and significant operational flexibility. We look forward to deepening our already strong relationship with BHP Billiton".