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 47 million tonnes of ore, containing more than 1.4 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 December 2010, Mincor's attributable production had reached 127,000 tonnes of nickel metal contained in more 4.2 million tonnes of ore, for just over 112,000 tonnes of nickel-in-concentrate. Over the same period Mincor has grown its starting ore reserve by more than five times, consistently replacing mined ore reserves with new metal through exploration and, more rarely, acquisitions.
The Company owns the operating Miitel, Otter Juan, Mariners, McMahon and Carnilya Hill Mines, as well as numerous resource-level projects and exploration prospects in the District. 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.
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.
Safety
The safety and wellbeing 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 Mincor's Health, Safety & Environment web-page).
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, and the close implementation and management of a series of leading safety indicators.