AGL 38.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.78 (-1.97%)
AIRLINK 131.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.21 (-0.16%)
BOP 6.76 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.73%)
CNERGY 4.64 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-1.49%)
DCL 8.45 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.12%)
DFML 41.09 Decreased By ▼ -0.38 (-0.92%)
DGKC 81.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.59 (-0.72%)
FCCL 32.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.30 (-0.91%)
FFBL 72.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.57 (-0.78%)
FFL 12.49 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (1.88%)
HUBC 110.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.04%)
HUMNL 14.06 Decreased By ▼ -0.45 (-3.1%)
KEL 5.13 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-1.16%)
KOSM 7.68 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (0.92%)
MLCF 38.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.42 (-1.08%)
NBP 63.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.91 (-1.42%)
OGDC 190.00 Decreased By ▼ -2.82 (-1.46%)
PAEL 25.46 Decreased By ▼ -0.22 (-0.86%)
PIBTL 7.45 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (1.5%)
PPL 150.00 Decreased By ▼ -4.07 (-2.64%)
PRL 25.49 Decreased By ▼ -0.34 (-1.32%)
PTC 17.49 Decreased By ▼ -0.32 (-1.8%)
SEARL 81.00 Decreased By ▼ -1.30 (-1.58%)
TELE 7.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.39%)
TOMCL 33.14 Decreased By ▼ -0.32 (-0.96%)
TPLP 8.38 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-1.3%)
TREET 16.85 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (1.38%)
TRG 57.95 Increased By ▲ 0.55 (0.96%)
UNITY 28.15 Increased By ▲ 0.64 (2.33%)
WTL 1.35 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-1.46%)
BR100 10,452 Decreased By -52.3 (-0.5%)
BR30 30,907 Decreased By -319.6 (-1.02%)
KSE100 97,617 Decreased By -462.4 (-0.47%)
KSE30 30,373 Decreased By -185.6 (-0.61%)

Nickel prices will need to double before Metallica Minerals resumes work on a mine in Australia suspended because of a bleak outlook for the metal, the companys managing director said on Thursday. "Well wait for firmer and lasting prices above eight dollars a pound, rather than below five dollars a pound," Andrew Gillies said in a telephone interview from Brisbane.
Gillies blamed the sharp drop in nickel prices - currently around $9,575 a tonne ($4.34 a pound) versus a May 2007 peak of $51,650 ($23.42 a pound) - for a board decision to defer feasibility work indefinitely on its 8,000 tonnes-per-year Nornico mine project in Queensland state. A ballooning nickel surplus - more than 100,000 tonnes or one-tenth of annual global consumption sits in London Metal Exchange warehouses - was undermining attempts by suppliers to bring the market into balance, Gillies said.
Metallicas study covers two promising nickel finds called Bell Creek and Minnamoolka, he said. The project hinges on an energy-intensive heap leaching-type technology employed by the now-defunct Ravensthorpe nickel mine, also in Australia. BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc, the worlds biggest mining house, closed Ravensthorpe after spending more than $2 billion on construction and only six months in operation once costs of production exceeded selling prices.

Copyright Reuters, 2009

Comments

Comments are closed.