Mount Keith Mine

Mount Keith Mine is an open pit nickel mine in Western Australia. It is operated by BHP. The site's closest landmark is the town of Wiluna, 85 kilometres (53 mi) to the north.

Mount Keith
Satellite image of the mine in 2010
Location
Mount Keith
Location in Western Australia
LocationWiluna
StateWestern Australia
CountryAustralia
Coordinates27°12′48″S 120°33′06″E
Production
ProductsNickel
Production89,000 tonnes[1]
Financial year2020–21
History
Opened1995
Owner
CompanyBHP
WebsiteBHP website
Year of acquisitionJune 2005

Overview
Mining in the Wiluna-Leinster area.

The mine is located on the north end[1] of the 800-kilometre (500 mi) long Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone belt, with nickel sulfide deposits of the dyke-like or sill deposit type. The important known nickel deposits are in the ultramafic rocks of the lower cycle, around 2700 Ma old.[2] In 1971, the mine was thought to be able to provide 10% of the world's demand for nickel;[3] in 1992 it was estimated as containing 270 million tons of sulfide ore, grading 0.6% nickel, enough for about twenty years.[4]

Previously owned by WMC Resources Limited, which commissioned the mine in 1995,[5] it was acquired by BHP in June 2005.[6]

In 2009, BHP reduced the mine's activity, laying off 300 employees.[7][8]

Production

Mount Keith is part of BHP's Nickel West operations, which includes, apart from Mount Keith, the Leinster Nickel Mine, the Kambalda Nickel Concentrator, the Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter and the Kwinana Nickel Refinery.[9]

After crushing and processing the ore on site, nickel concentrate is transported by road from the mine to Leinster for drying and subsequent on-shipping.[5]

Production figures published by the company for the whole Nickel West Operations and not broken down to individual mines. In 2020–21, Nickel West produced 89,000 tonnes of nickel, an eleven percent increase of production in comparison to the previous year. The average sale price for the produced nickel was US$16,250 per tonne.[5]

See also

Notes
  • ^[1] Production figure is for the combined Nickel West Operations, which consists of the Mount Keith Mine, Leinster Mine and Cliffs Mine.

References
  1. Ernst, Richard E.; Kenneth L. Buchan (2001). Mantle Plumes: Their Identification Through Time. Geological Society of America. p. 314. ISBN 978-0-8137-2352-5.
  2. Anthony M. Evans (1993). Ore geology and industrial minerals: an introduction. Blackwell Scientific. pp. 145–46. ISBN 978-0-632-02953-2.
  3. "ША". Far Eastern Economic Review. 73–74: 51. 1971. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
  4. Clow, Simon (1992). The International Nickel Trade. Woodhead. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-85573-049-6.
  5. "BHP Annual report 2021" (PDF). www.asx.com.au. BHP. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  6. MINDEX website Archived 11 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine Government website on mining in Western Australia, accessed: 10 September 2009
  7. Freed, Jamie (13 March 2009). "BHP bolsters nickel supplies". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  8. "Major job losses this year". Herald Sun. 26 February 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  9. Nickel West BHP Billiton website, accessed: 11 December 2009
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