PERTH (miningweekly.com) - Nickel miner Western Areas has entered into a strategic alliance agreement with China’s Jinchuan Group to examine global mining opportunities in the base metals sector.
Western Areas MD Daniel Lougher said that the alliance would allow the company and Jinchuan to beneficially share assessment and due diligence costs on future evaluation of projects of mutual interest.
“We have been in partnership with Jinchaun through a very successful nickel concentrate offtake agreement for over three years now. Both companies agree that a logical extension of the relationship should be to assess global base metal opportunities, where this makes sense,” Lougher added.
“With this style of alliance, both partners bring different skills and strengths to the table. With Jinchaun, there is a globally significant base metals producer with substantial balance-sheet strength, coupled with a long and proud history.”
Jinchuan is China’s largest nickel company and a significant producer of other metals, including copper.
Lougher noted that Western Areas, in turn, had proven its ability to explore for base metals, execute feasibility studies, and develop and operate successful projects.
“Therefore, we believe our relative strengths meld well,” he added.
The alliance would not require any up-front contributions from the parties, with future contributions limited to the sharing of agreed assessment and due diligence costs.