Thousands of Jobs At Risk: Nickel Industry on Life Support Amid Flood of Indo-Chinese Supply

Australia’s nickel industry is in danger of collapse as Indonesia—with Beijing’s support—ramps up supply, causing prices to fall sharply. The situation has forced mining giant BHP to write down the value of its nickel business to zero, warning that a full suspension of business activity was possible, placing 3,000 jobs at risk. BHP’s Kalgoorlie smelter is at the centre of the Western Australian (WA) nickel industry, with miners such as IGO Limited and Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo selling their raw nickel into BHP’s smelter supply chain. This smelter will now be placed into “care and maintenance” in June, after Wyloo’s decision to suspend its Cassini and Northern Operations mines from May. The rapid demise of Australia’s nickel industry has largely centred on WA and has resulted in nearly 1,200 job losses in recent months....