Local miner Western Areas has expanded its operations portfolio with the acquisition of Glencore Xstrata's mothballed Cosmos nickel project in the Agnew Wiluna belt, for $24.5 million.
Mid-tier nickel miner has posted a strong half-year with a 782 per cent surge in profit to $23.6 million thanks to lower costs, along with productivity and efficiency improvements.
Nickel miner Western Areas says it has awarded an offtake agreement to Jinchuan Group, building on a five-year relationship with the Chinese nickel producer.
Nickel miner Western Areas is getting closer to marketing a unique bacterial leaching project that will improve its profits by enhancing the grade of concentrate it can produce.
Local miner Western Areas is extending its exploration program in South Australia, inking farm-in and joint venture agreements with Gunson Resources and Monax Mining.
Perth nickel miner Western Areas has returned to the black with a full-year net profit of $25.5 million, on the back of an improvement in the price of nickel and lower production costs.
West Perth-based Western Areas has begun the tender process for nickel concentrate offtake that will be available after the expiry of its contract with Jinchuan Group later this year.
Perth nickel miner Western Areas has made a $95 million repayment of convertible bond debt from its existing cash reserves, with a $125 million bond repayment still remaining.
Western Areas is looking to raise $104 million to reduce debt and provide greater financial flexibility after a positive half-year report which saw the nickel miner turn a big loss to a modest $2.7 million net profit.
Nickel producer Western Areas has upgraded its production guidance and lowered its forecast cash costs amid hopes of an improvement in the persistently soft nickel price.
Western Areas has defied challenging conditions in the nickel sector to deliver an operating profit, but a near-$100 million write-down in the value of its exploration tenements meant the miner boo
The rapid expansion of the WA mining industry over the past decade has mostly been good news for mining contractors, but the benefits have not always come as expected.
