Opening of Western Mining Corporation's Mount Keith nickel project

30/5/95

Premier Richard Court says today's official opening of Western Mining Corporation's $450 million Mount Keith nickel project is likely to be the first in a series of major new nickel developments in the Northern Goldfields.

Mr Court said the opening of Mt Keith would underwrite Western Mining Corporation's reputation as one of the world's most efficient nickel producers and send a clear message on the nickel 'wealth' of the region.

"The combination of improved infrastructure, competitive energy costs and the current strong nickel prices are expected to accelerate the development of other world class nickel bodies in the region - including CRA's Honeymoon Well prospect, Dominion Mining's Yakabindie Project and Anaconda's Murrin Murrin prospect," Mr Court said.

"Commercial production at Mt Keith began only this year but already Western Mining is assessing a number of options with regard to the expansion of this tremendous project."

The development of the Mt Keith project follows a comprehensive review of Western Mining Corporation's nickel activities in 1990 and a decision by the company to invest more than $800 million to upgrade and expand its mining, smelting and refining capacity in Western Australia.

The project is producing at a rate of about 30,000 tonnes of nickel concentrate a year and at present about 300 people are employed at the project.

"Mt Keith is an accomplishment in the application of skills, technology and techniques developed to establish efficient, open cut mining operations on a low-grade ore body in a remote and semi-arid region of the State," Mr Court said.

"Overall the company's investment program has made a significant impact on the nickel industry, with the State's production capacity almost doubling from less than 50,000 tonnes a year to more than 90,000 tonnes."

Mr Court said that the State Government had agreed to jointly fund with WMC the sealing of the 52-kilometre road between Lake Miranda and Mt Keith at a total cost of $23.5 million.

The project, which includes a bridge over Jones's Creek, is part of the Government's campaign to address infrastructure deficiencies in the region and create an appropriate environment in which large scale investment for long-life, capital intensive projects can take place with certainty.

Tenders for the work have been awarded to Perth-based civil engineering company Henry and Walker Contracting Pty Ltd and construction was expected to be completed by December.

The Premier said that Western Mining Corporation had played an integral part in several developments which had accelerated the process of deregulation of the State's energy markets.

He said that the company was a major proponent in the $450 million Goldfields Gas Transmission Pipeline which will provide competitively priced gas transmission services to major resource projects in the inland Pilbara and Goldfields regions, including Mt Keith.

"The open access and non-discriminatory rules for use of the pipeline will provide powerful inducements for other nickel and gold producers to purchase pipeline capacity for the transport of contracted gas," Mr Court said.

"These developments will significantly change the economics of inland processing of minerals in the Pilbara and Eastern Goldfields as the benefits that will flow from cheaper energy spread to other companies and mining operations and to local communities."