Loading icon Loading
1 min read

BHP announced on Friday that it has produced the first nickel sulphate crystals from its plant in Kwinana, outside Perth, part of a strategy to grow its battery metals footprint to meet expected rising demand.

Nickel is a key component for electric vehicle (EV) cathodes and that demand for the metal from the battery industry alone will increase by 500% over the next decade.

Nickel sulphate, a key battery chemical, has much higher margins than nickel metal and BHP believes it will be in high demand due to a surge in EV adoption as governments commit to decarbonisation and set end dates for combustion engine sales.

The Kwinana plant will produce 100,000 tonnes of nickel sulphate per year when it is fully operational.

The plant will create 80 new direct jobs and support 400 new indirect jobs. Nickel is essential for decarbonisation and Western Australia has some of the largest and highest grade nickel sulphide deposits in the world, as well as leading mining and mineral expertise.

Over 50% of the plant was manufactured in Western Australia using local skills and suppliers. This included steel fabrication, fibreglass leaching vessels and stainless steel tanks. Half of the refinery’s electricity needs will be met by solar power.

WA is the world’s fourth-largest nickel producer, with more than A$3.3 billion (about $22 billion) in sales in 2020.

BHP’s nickel operations include the Mt Keith, Cliffs and Leinster mines. It has concentrators at Mt Keith, Leinster and Kambalda, a smelter at Kalgoorlie and the Kwinana refinery.