BHP Billiton to close Ravensthorpe nickel mine

BHP Billiton is to cut 3,400 jobs in Australia, where it is closing its Ravensthorpe nickel mine.

The mine, which is near Western Australia’s south coast, was opened in May 2008 and will be closed by June of this year in response to a significant and continued deterioration in the outlook for the nickel market.

The company says it will mothball the site in a move that will result in an impairment charge of around US$2 billion.

The closure will also affect BHP’s processing plant at Yabulu in Queensland, which will cease processing output from Ravensthorpe and will revert to processing ore only.

The miner is also cutting 200 positions related to a planned expansion of its Olympic Dam project in South Australia, although the project itself may still go ahead.

The job losses come in addition to 2,000 in Chile and 550 in the US, at the Pinto Valley copper mine.

The total cull represents around 6% of the international workforce of the world’s largest diversified miner, as the group continues to adapt to the slump in commodity prices and demand brought about by the global economic slowdown.