BHP to Shut Australia Nickel Business as Glut Upends Market – by Paul-Alain Hunt, Thomas Biesheuvel, and Mark Burton (BloombergBNN News – July 11, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — BHP Group Ltd. will close its loss-making nickel business in Australia until at least early 2027, after a global glut of the metal spread havoc through the market.

The company will place its Nickel West business on “care and maintenance” from October due to low prices of the metal used in electric-vehicle batteries, it said in a statement Thursday. It will also halt the development of its West Musgrave nickel mine.

BHP plans to spend A$450 million ($304 million) a year to support a potential restart should market conditions and the outlook for nickel improve.

Nickel prices have crashed in recent years as new, low-cost production from Indonesia floods the global market. Benchmark futures on the London Metal Exchange have slumped about 20% since hitting a peak in May, when several mine closures prompted a bump higher. LME nickel traded around $16,960 a ton on Thursday.

For the rest of this article: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/international/2024/07/11/bhp-to-halt-australia-nickel-project-as-glut-upends-industry/