NICKEL DEVELOPMENT – Costs up at Ravensthorpe mine in Australia

WESTERN AUSTRALIA - Melbourne-headquartered BHP BILLITON has, like so many other developers, revised the capital cost of its latest mine upwards. The total budget of the Ravensthorpe nickel project 570 km from Perth is now US$2.20 billion. That is up from the August 2005 estimate of U$1.34 billion.

Construction at Ravensthorpe is now approximately 73% complete. The refinery at Yabulu is being expanded to treat material from the new mine, and work there is about 87% complete. The first Ravensthorpe metal is expected to ship from Yabulu in the first quarter of 2008.

A check of employment opportunities at www.BHPBilliton.com at press time revealed that there is a job opening for a risk co-ordinator at the Ravensthorpe project.