Overview

The Kambalda Nickel District in Western Australia is one of the world's great nickel provinces.  Since its discovery by WMC Resources Ltd in 1968 it has produced over 40 million tonnes of ore, containing more than 1.2 million tonnes of nickel metal.  The District has consistently generated more than 35,000 tonnes of nickel metal per annum, apart from a brief period in the late 1990s when it was partly shut down.

Mincor played a leading role in the post-2001 revival of the Kambalda Nickel District, and is the largest single producer in the District.

Mincor commenced production from its Miitel Nickel Mine in March 2001.  Since then it has grown to become one of the largest producers of nickel in Australia.  To the end of June 2007, Mincor had produced over 74,000 tonnes of nickel metal contained in more 2.5 million tonnes of ore.  Over the same period Mincor has maintained an outstanding record of increasing its ore reserves, and today has a bigger inventory of nickel metal than at any time in its history.

The Company operates the Miitel, Otter-Juan, Mariners, Redross, Coronet/McCloy and Wannaway Mines, and is developing the Carnilya Hill Mine (in joint venture with View Resources Ltd) and the McMahon Mine.  Mincor is also carrying out feasibility studies on the development of a new mine at its Durkin project.  All of these mines are underground narrow-vein mining operations, and all are owned 100% by Mincor, apart from Carnilya Hill, which is 70% owned by Mincor.

Mincor's production is targeted to reach an annualised rate of 20,000 tonnes of nickel metal contained in ore by the end of the 2008 financial year.  Mincor's goal is to maintain production at that rate for the long term, exploiting the extraordinary nickel endowment of the Kambalda District to continually grow its resources and reserves.

All Mincor's ore is toll-treated at BHP Billiton's Nickel West concentrator plant in Kambalda.  The resulting concentrate is sold to BHP Billiton under a long term off-take agreement with that company.

ATTRIBUTABLE ORE PRODUCTION

 

Safety

The safety and well-being of its employees and contract staff is Mincor's paramount concern.  Mincor operates its mines to the highest standards of safety and demands the same from all its contractors.

Mincor's board-approved formal safety policy is available on this website, together with quarterly updates on Mincor's progress with regard to safety matters (see Health, Safety & Environment ).

The Company employs a wide range of measures to ensure that its safety standards are maintained at the highest level.  These include continuous training programs, continuous revision and implementation of enhanced safety procedures, the use of safety incentive bonuses among senior staff and mining contractors, and the close implementation and management of a series of leading safety indicators.