KALGOORLIE (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed junior Mincor Resources has inked a binding ore tolling and concentrate purchase agreement with mining major BHP’s Nickel West division.

The two companies in March signed an offtake term sheet, under which Nickel West would process a minimum of 200 000 t/y and a maximum of 600 000 t/y of Mincor’s nickel ore through the Kambalda concentrator, with the contract to conclude on the earliest of the fifth anniversary of first delivery, or by the end of December 2025.

The nickel concentrate produced will be sold to Nickel West for further downstream processing at the Kalgoorlie nickel smelter and the Kwinana nickel refinery.

Mincor MD David Southam on Monday said that the signing of the long-term agreement with Nickel West was a significant milestone for the company’s shareholders, the Kambalda region, and for the broader revival of the nickel industry in Western Australia.

“We are delighted to have established a long-term partnership with a tier-one counter-party who shares our view of the battery market.

“Both of our teams have taken the necessary time to complete what will be a long-term agreement that we believe will stand the test of time and underpin the future of the Kambalda nickel sulphide region.”

The offtake agreement comes as BHP on Monday revealed a development pathway to grow its Nickel West division.

Speaking at Diggers and Dealers, in Kalgoorlie, Nickel West asset president Eddy Haegel said that the development pathway would include debottlenecking operations at the Mt Keith concentrator and the Kalgoorlie smelter, the introduction of high pressure oxidation (HPOX) technology, and capital spend on exploration, including $50-million on brownfield exploration over the next five years.

“These pathways have the potential to create a BHP-scale business, and to build upon themselves.”

Haegel noted, however, that any investment made by the Nickel West division would be subject to BHP’s investment criteria.

Debottlenecking activities at Mt Keith are aimed at ultimately growing capacity at the concentrator to 15-million tonnes a year, while the miner has aspirations to grow capacity at the Kalgoorlie smelter to between 110 000 t/y and 120 000 t/y over the coming years.

The miner is also investigating the introduction of HPOX technology to process waste streams like refinery residue, converter and furnace slag, but Haegel noted that the technology was currently untested.

If approved, an HPOX demonstration plant will be constructed next to the Kalgoorlie smelter, and if the demonstration plant proves positive, the HPOX technology could create a new pathway to the Kwinana refinery, Haegel said.

“We ultimately want to grow the Kwinana refinery’s capacity to use all of our smelter product, and to cease exports entirely. To support this, we have already submitted a proposal to increase the capacity of the refinery to 90 000 t/y.”