JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – TSX- and LSE-listed First Quantum Minerals on Wednesday announced that its $340-million acquisition of the Ravensthorpe nickel mine, in Western Australia, has been finalised, following the receipt of the relevant government approvals.

BHP Billiton announced in December last year that it would sell the Ravensthorpe operation, which was completed in 2007, but suspended early in 2009, as a result of low nickel prices, to First Quantum.

The base-metals-miner confirmed that it would now spend about $150-million in capital expenditure to modify the crushing, conveying, stockpile and reclaim areas of the operation’s processing plant.

Two new crushing plants would be built in the coming 12 months, which would be followed by a six-month commissioning and ramp-up phase.

When first announcing the acquisition, First Quantum chairperson and CEO Philip Pascall had said that it had found that the main plant to be in “an excellent condition”.

However, there were some technical challenges, mainly related to the front end of the plant, which along with the financial challenges faced by BHP, had led to the closure of the operation, he noted at the time.

Pascall had emphasised that it had the capability to overcome these technical challenges, as well as some of the operational management challenges that BHP Billiton had faced at the operation.

Ravensthorpe is an openpit mine and hydrometallurgical process plant used to recover nickel and cobalt to produce a mixed nickel cobalt hydroxide intermediate product.

First Quantum expected the mine to produce about 39 000 t/y of nickel in the first five years after recommencement of operations. This would decline to about 28 000 t/y of nickel output over the remainder of the operation's 32-year life-of-mine.

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