Federal Minister for Resources Madeleine King and Western Australian Minister for Mines David Michael met with nickel and lithium producers last week to discuss challenges facing the industry.
“Today I’ve held alongside with my colleague, the WA Minister for Mines David Michael, a roundtable with the nickel miners and producers here in Western Australia,” King said.
“It was a very important, a very constructive discussion … for me and Minister Michael to get some input from the industry and how we can assist the nickel industry in this country to thrive and continue in what is some difficult international circumstances with the nickel industry.”
The roundtable comes after a challenging week for the nickel industry, with Wyloo temporarily shutting down the Cassini, Long and Durkin nickel mines and BHP pausing part of its Kambalda processing operations.
The nickel downturn has also had an effect on other nickel miners operating in Australia, notably Chalice Mining, First Quantum Minerals, IGO and Panoramic Resources.
“Australian nickel and lithium producers must be able to compete fairly in international markets,” King said. “We are determined to make this happen. When the playing field is fair, Australian resources stand a fair chance.”
Following the discussions, King, with support from Michael and the WA Government, will:
- Accelerate discussions within Government on incentivising investment, for example through the taxation system
- Urgently progress discussions with State and Territory Governments on common user infrastructure for critical minerals to include strategic materials like nickel to complement the Strategic Infrastructure Hubs Scoping Study
- Engage in further discussions with the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA about the future of the nickel industry and the role of royalties
“Both industries are incredibly important to our State and to our planet as the planet decarbonises,” Michael said.
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